Topic: 1972 CB 450 re-build Battery question

[giusto]

Hello,

First time posting on this site though I have used the archives in the past. I've been stuck on Guzzi's for a while and really dig the wild goose chase site....anyway I was looking for a winter project and this poor guy chained to a fence post not 2 miles up the road from me with a for sale sign on it that says
1972 Honda 450, Runs, shifts and no brakes $450.....I knock on the door and offer the guy $200 for it...which he kindly accepts and get it started...barely... drove it home..., I am really liking this bike...it was the same model I bought in 1977. Any way it is way to far gone to restore and I have been wanting a two track gravel road scrambler and this is it. Needed lots of work and took it down to the frame, sand blasted and it coming back very nicely...though I want to keep it bare minimalistic...I'll open the midsection of the frame up and get rid of non-structural/essential garb.
It'll wind up being kind of a bobber scrambler...finally my question.....I want to remove the battery box/tool box and was hoping I could get some ideas of

 1) what small model battery would work well and 2) where can I best hide it??? thus opening up the mid section of the bike...I'd appreciate some ideas and information.

Thanks

[calj737]

A Shorai LFX14A2 is very small, very light, and has ample juice to run your bike. If you can't stash it under a seat, then many install them on the pivot tube of the swing arm, directly behind the motor.

[giusto]

Thanks for the speedy reply... I was thinking of installing on the swing arm tube...any ideas for a pan or housing?

[calj737]

Well, you're making it very hard on yourself with the "open triangle" and flat seat. An under seat tray is your best bet:

http://cognitomoto.com/collections/electronics/products/under-seat-electronics-tray-shallow-cb350-cl350

See if Devin (owns CognitoMoto) has a tray for a 450 already. He's got a 450 frame sitting in his shop, so he might be able to make one for you quickly.

Once you start the "reduce, relocate, minimize" endeavor on these bikes, I urge you to replace the stock electronics with a MotoGadget M-Unit, and a solid state Regulator/Rectifier. This reduces the number of components, and their size tremendously. It also allows you to re-wire the bike with a simplified harness, and everything becomes clean, stable and reliable.

Here's a 350 with basically no room under the seat despite a very small cowl that used this exact system:





You can see, the battery had to be oriented here in an unusual fashion, above the m-unit, with the solenoid tucked beside it. Of course, you could move the battery and provide some extra room on yours. This bike was super clean in terms of "electronics" hidden away. Even the Reg/Rec was hidden inside the frame tube at the rear of the motor, under the seat post.