Topic: black bomber

[Roach Carver]

check this out. FIFTY miles. 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Honda-CB-1966-CB-450-1966-Honda-CB-450-Super-Sport-black-bomber_W0QQitemZ230217551883QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item230217551883

[jdigga]

OMG that belongs in a museum! 

[Bob Wessner]

Oh, oh, wait until Bill sees it.

Very nice indeed.

[ekim98]

I can't believe he had that bike that long and only put 50 miles on it. He must of had a lot of other bikes he liked more. I don't think I could let it set that much!!!

[bill440cars]

Oh, oh, wait until Bill sees it.

Very nice indeed.

          50 MILES! He only put FIFTY MILES ON IT! I've only seen this 450 for about 10 minutes and (in my mind) I've put over a HUNDRED!!!!!!!!!!! In the words of Terry of Australia,
"I WANTY!" Boy DO I WANTY! You see, that's MY problem. If (and that's a BIG IF) I had a bike like that, there's NO WAY that it would be sitting and NOT be ridden. I see bikes, cars, whatever that have no or very minimum miles and I'm totally amazed at how anyone who is so motorcycle (car, or whatever) oriented can NOT ride (or drive) them, is beyond me. About 25-30yrs ago, I saw (in a magazine) where someone had a BSA Gold Star (about a 56-58, don't recall exactly) and it was STILL IN THE CRATE!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I was amazed.  Shocked actually. To me, it'd be like putting a young person in a coma, so you could see them but not take a chance of them getting hurt or anything, you know? Maybe, he just needs someone to volunteer to take care of it and ride that baby!   Now, it's MY turn to say, Wait til Gordon (Ilbikes) see's it. Probably a close relative of his 450.

                                       Later on, Bill  

[RRRToolSolutions]

Guys,

That is a very nice bomber indeed, but - I caution anyone looking at buying it to be aware that there are some unanswered questions. I'm not the Bomber police, but I've just invested $20,000 to have one with as many nos parts as was possible. There are too many things missing/replaced for me to explain the "new" bike history this one is said to have. It is an awesome bike, but just remember - you will have additional expenses if you want it right and why would so many things be changed in storage?

1) The rubber pegs are definitely wrong - front and rear both should be checkerboard - not ribbed.
2) The rear axle is in from the wrong side and the axle head looks too big
3) The rear sprocket - it's slotted not round holed - this is definitely a late model sprocket
4) There is a 3rd, black wire running over the back fender to the tail light
5) The seat foam is not stock - the original is blad/red underneath
6) The strap buckles look to be after-market repros - not stock
7) The battery bands weren't rubber. That's a superseded part from a later model. The originals were a threaded metal band.
The sparkplug caps "NGK" on a brand new bike?
9) The shifter is the late-model 1969 and up
10) The coils are mounted backwards - the wires come from the coils and route through the cam bearings.

Regards,
Gordon

[dustyc]

It's too bad ebay doesn't have a way to post comments to debunk things like this.  I'm pretty sure they have a forum where one could post, but I doubt the majority of bidders and lookers talk on the forum.  I know I haven't. 

You know your stuff Gordon.  I've got to poke around and find your bomber thread.  I haven't kept up with whether you're finished.  It was an amazing transformation.

[bill440cars]

         Gordon, you might not be "The Bomber Police" but, by golly (after having just gone completely through one like you did) you're pretty darn close, in my book! I couldn't afford that sucker anyway! I HAVE seen bikes though, that were authentic and it just kills my soul to see something like that and it can't be FULLY enjoyed. I've got SOME knowledge on the 450s but not down to some of the specifics like Gordon. Shame that folks will misrepresent things like that.

              Thanks for the enlightenment Gordon,  Bill

[RRRToolSolutions]

Dusty, thanks for the compliments. I love restoring - the challenge of researching and finding parts gives me an adreline rush. When
I started, the project was to simply find an old Bomber and get it on the road. I never intended to go as far with it as I did, but something happened while I was digging for parts - I realized how rare and how difficult it would be to do another one. I built a network of a dozen different dealers and collectors both here and overseas who specialized in old Honda parts. I then started buying nos parts that I'd need for an nos Bomber. Excluding some person or collector who is "holding on" to some secret inventory, I know that I bought the last nos handlebar available anywhere. I have the only nos set of those checkerboard rubber foot pegs front and rear that I've ever seen. Nick at Ohio Cycle says he searched for years and never found them. I spent months tracking down the original hollow, curved shifter with it's checkerboard rubber, I called all 12 of those dealers and specialty stores for a nos starter switch, these nos exhaust came by the friendship I had with Terry at Western Hills Honda and the owner's willingness to let me have his personal set he had been keeping for his private project. The correct nos rear sprocket came through a friend willing to spend hours going through an obsolete rack of un-marked parts and knew what I wanted.

Guys - the "next" Bomber someone tries to assemble correctly will be one damn hard piece to put together from nos. I decided to make my largest restoration investment to date when I realized how many parts were not going to ever be available. I started a Bomber restoration because I was fascinated with it's history and unique valvetrain - I finished it like I did because I realized 10 years from now it would be near impossible to do at twice the price. I grumble about this one because it could bring more than it should because of it's well written story of existence. I don't mean the guy any harm, but I also don't want a buyer to think it's like Honda packaged it 42 years ago. It could also be the previous seller made the changes and the current seller did not know the Bomber as well as some.

Regards,
Gordon
 

[tortelvis]

Oh, oh, wait until Bill sees it.

Very nice indeed.

          50 MILES! He only put FIFTY MILES ON IT! I've only seen this 450 for about 10 minutes and (in my mind) I've put over a HUNDRED!!!!!!!!!!! In the words of Terry of Australia,
"I WANTY!" Boy DO I WANTY! You see, that's MY problem. If (and that's a BIG IF) I had a bike like that, there's NO WAY that it would be sitting and NOT be ridden. I see bikes, cars, whatever that have no or very minimum miles and I'm totally amazed at how anyone who is so motorcycle (car, or whatever) oriented can NOT ride (or drive) them, is beyond me. About 25-30yrs ago, I saw (in a magazine) where someone had a BSA Gold Star (about a 56-58, don't recall exactly) and it was STILL IN THE CRATE!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I was amazed.  Shocked actually. To me, it'd be like putting a young person in a coma, so you could see them but not take a chance of them getting hurt or anything, you know? Maybe, he just needs someone to volunteer to take care of it and ride that baby!   Now, it's MY turn to say, Wait til Gordon (Ilbikes) see's it. Probably a close relative of his 450.

                                       Later on, Bill  

I have abuddy that "collects" bikes and cars and he has a Water Buffalo (Kettle in GB) with 0 miles on it! I say collects, coz he leaves most of his stuff out in all weathers. Bear in mind the place looks like a junkyard, he has over 28 Jaguars, old model T's, couple of Rolls Royces, 3 Nascar body shells, midget racer, too many bikes to list. He won't sell to anybody but close friends; he offered me a 1967 Bentley for $3700, just what I need in the mountains!

[RRRToolSolutions]

We met a fellow up in Maggie Valley during one of our VJMC events and we went through is bikes and cars. This fellow had 1,000 or more motorcycles amoung wich was some nos Suzuki RE5's (rotary) a large collection of jaguars, MG's, Volvos, and more. A lot were junk, but a lot are real gems. Can't remember the name.

Gordon

[heffay]

gordon... i'm gonna call you mr bomberpedia from now on.

looking at those fuzzy pics makes me want to be blind  , much less call out all the missed details.   

[Gregorymoto]

That bike is sicK.

(sick good not sick bad)

[Raul CB750K1]

We met a fellow up in Maggie Valley during one of our VJMC events and we went through is bikes and cars. This fellow had 1,000 or more motorcycles amoung wich was some nos Suzuki RE5's (rotary) a large collection of jaguars, MG's, Volvos, and more. A lot were junk, but a lot are real gems. Can't remember the name.

Gordon

Maggie Valley.... what a blast from the past!  In july 2002 me and my wife did a trip to Cherokee and didn't care for accomodation until 6:00 PM or so. By that time all the hotels in town were full. In one of them they advised us to go to Maggie Valley and try there. On the way to there we found a small motel, Ed's Motel if memory serves me, run by a lovely old lady. We checked in and went to Maggie Valley for dinner. Man, that place was delightful, surrounded by mountains everywhere. I remember there was a bike museum there but we arrived too late and it was closed. (I doubt my wife would have appreciated a visit though)...