Author Topic: 1972 HONDA CL450 BUILD a.k.a PROJECT "StageCoach" (Read 17610 times)

ProTeal55 · « **on:** November 17, 2008, 12:42:20 PM »

yO,

Surprise surprise I bought another bike to tear into over the long Chicago winter.
I found a super clean/low mile 1972 CL450 on Craigslist and had to pick it up (couldnt beat the price).
The bike is complete minus a tank that is gummed up past all repair and a stock seat that is torn to threads. Everything else (including the CL/Scrambler pipes) are in KILLER shape. Stock parts will be posted soon for sale, becasue most if not all of the stock parts are not gonna be used for the build..

Here's a camera phone pic of the bike I took the minute we got it in the back of the truck (in the snow of course):

More to come...

scunny · « **Reply #1 on:** November 17, 2008, 01:17:44 PM »

looking forward to this build. those pipes shouldn't be too hard to sell, there are a couple of guys doing 450's

tbpmusic · « **Reply #2 on:** November 17, 2008, 01:20:21 PM »

PT -

Wait a minute, didn't you just get rid of all your 450 stuff recently??

bill

ProTeal55 · « **Reply #3 on:** November 17, 2008, 01:55:30 PM »

Quote from: scunny on November 17, 2008, 01:17:44 PM

looking forward to this build. those pipes shouldn't be too hard to sell, there are a couple of guys doing 450's

I am def. keeping the headpipes, but the muffler setup is up for grabs.
Things are in near perfect shape (pics to come soon)..

Quote from: tbpmusic on November 17, 2008, 01:20:21 PM

Wait a minute, didn't you just get rid of all your 450 stuff recently??

I still have the main parts, but I did sell off a bunch of stuff I had no need for.
My 21'' dual disc spoke wheel is def. going to find a home on this project 4 sure (prob. with a dirtbike tire on it).
Anyone have a 16'' HD wheel laced to a Honda hub they wanna get rid of ?

ProTeal55 · « **Reply #4 on:** November 17, 2008, 04:08:54 PM »

Here's what I am thinking that I wanna come up with when I am done with the project:

Or something along these lines:

Things the bike will def. have done to it:
1. BSA weld on hardtail (bike is gonna sit LOW).
2. 21'' front wheel with cross drilled dual discs
3. 16'' HD rear wheel laced to a Honda hub
4. Dirtbike tire up front and "digger" rear tire
5. Some kinda superbike/dirtbike bars (maybe clip-on's)
6. HD style "oil tank" to hold battery/electronics/etc
7. No gauges, no key, no nothing that isnt needed
8. Lots of Speed Holes (the last CB450 I did will have nothing on this one)
9. Some sorta trick LED running/tail lights
10. Minimal/smallest possibile headlite
11. Not gonna give away all of my ideas

AHuff · « **Reply #5 on:** November 18, 2008, 09:14:47 AM »

If you are going to run a dirtbike tire go to a 23" front. Is a CB450 hub 36 or 40 spoke? If its 36 then an XL500s wheel would match the spoke count.

ProTeal55 · « **Reply #6 on:** November 18, 2008, 10:30:00 AM »

Quote from: AHuff on November 18, 2008, 09:14:47 AM

If you are going to run a dirtbike tire go to a 23" front.

The only thing I am worried about doing that is I want the bike to be as low to the ground as possibile. With a 23'' front wheel I am afaird that under compression the top of the tire would hit the the lower triple-tree (which would not be good).. Once I get things going I will mock it up with the 21'' I have and see how things look..

My old CB750 had a 21'' wheel on it and with the front end lowered 2'' or so I had just enough clearance fron the top of the tire to the bottom of the lower triple tree..

AHuff · « **Reply #7 on:** November 18, 2008, 11:56:42 AM »

Whats the distance from the front axle to the bottom of the lower tree on a stock 450?

ProTeal55 · « **Reply #8 on:** November 18, 2008, 01:37:42 PM »

I dont know off the top of my head.
I will have to measure once I get into "tear down" mode.
And with it being below freezing here in Chicago that might be awhile..

DCopp · « **Reply #9 on:** November 18, 2008, 03:19:31 PM »

A CB200 tank would be the cat's ass on a build like that.

ProTeal55 · « **Reply #10 on:** November 18, 2008, 04:57:41 PM »

Quote from: DCopp on November 18, 2008, 03:19:31 PM

A CB200 tank would be the cat's ass on a build like that.

I have a few tanks in the kitchen hanging out I am going to fit on the bike when the time comes (a CB200 is one of them)

Gotta love living on your own !

DCopp · « **Reply #11 on:** November 19, 2008, 01:06:11 PM »

help yourself to some of that Jameson's while you're at it.

ProTeal55 · « **Reply #12 on:** November 20, 2008, 11:00:40 AM »

Thats for my buddies, The handle of Crown Royal (whcih you cant see) is for me

HavocTurbo · « **Reply #13 on:** November 22, 2008, 12:25:05 AM »

If you don't have a 16" HD rear....

I think I remember seeing one around here somewhere.... I'll have a look.

You going to "hide" the build or keep us updated?? I have liked every bike/idea you and spikey come up with....

ProTeal55 · « **Reply #14 on:** November 22, 2008, 05:55:05 AM »

Hey man,
If you have a 16'' let me know.
I am still on the fence with exactly what I want to do with this bike but I will def. take it off your hands if you have one up for grabs..

I will def. post my progress on the build of this bike, but I might do it all at once when the bike is finished

We shall see, I havent even touched it since I shoved it in the garage (too frickin cold out)..

Ecosse · « **Reply #15 on:** November 22, 2008, 03:42:06 PM »

ProTeal, those two images you posted should be in the inspiration thread if not already. They're both pretty cool; as I imagine yours will be when done.

ProTeal55 · « **Reply #16 on:** November 22, 2008, 06:54:16 PM »

Quote from: Ecosse on November 22, 2008, 03:42:06 PM

ProTeal, those two images you posted should be in the inspiration thread if not already. They're both pretty cool; as I imagine yours will be when done.

Thanks for the kind words. Not sure when I am going to tear into this project, just bought meself a 65'' LCD tv for the apt

ProTeal55 · « **Reply #17 on:** November 23, 2008, 10:23:37 AM »

Here's the first real pics of the bike (and the first time I saw it in daylight):

Yup, thts right. Only 6200 miles on the clock--->

The bike is more rough than I thought, but that hasnt stoped me before. Everything on the bike has minor surface rust but is solid.
Fenders would be great for a powdercoating job, but pretty much everything else is so-so..

ProTeal55 · « **Reply #18 on:** November 23, 2008, 07:17:04 PM »

I think I might do a low/long/hardtail bike with dual/fat 16'' wheels, clip-on's, funky exhaust, metal solo seat, etc..
Kinda like a more stripped/speedster/flat tracker/urban version of the last CB450 I built.
Kinda something Exile style, but not:

What ya guys think ?

Ecosse · « **Reply #19 on:** November 24, 2008, 12:11:50 AM »

What do I think? I think that British guy from Exile is responsible for popularizing the 'reverse peace sign' that every drunk/doped up, high school dropout, idiot on My Space does when their muggin' for the camera not realizing they're telling the viewer eff you.

God I wanna shoot* those losers!

Sorry... I like Exile bikes and I think your take on it inspired by Trackers should bring impressive results. I loved your last 450 man!

*when I say 'shoot' it is meant to be taken figuratively.

ProTeal55 · « **Reply #20 on:** November 24, 2008, 07:50:02 AM »

As with the last build I am going to jump head in and see what I come up with.
The weld on BSA hardtail is allready ordered, and should be in my hands in a week or so.
Once that arrives the bike is going to the shop to get cleaned/stripped down/ and torn apart.
Things like wheel sizes/seat choice/tank/bars/and so on will be decided upon once the hardtail
is welded on and I can get a better visual of how the bike is going to look..

Ecosse · « **Reply #21 on:** November 24, 2008, 10:16:40 AM »

Can you expand on that BSA hardtail mod? Is it a close fit? Off topic a bit but I recall someone offering a hardtail clip for a 550... I think. Maybe t'was a 750.

ProTeal55 · « **Reply #22 on:** November 24, 2008, 11:30:49 AM »

Their was this dude on Ebay that was selling a bolt on/weld on hardtail for a CB450, but he hasnt posted one for sale in quite some time. My buddy (and fellow Half Fast member) Danny has allot of experience with both BSA & Triumph hardtails so I decided to go that route. The BSA hardtail is abit wider and abit longer then the ones offered for Triumphs, so it will give us much more material to work with. The goal is to get the bike as low as possibile while having it still be able to be rode thru the mean streets of Chicago (which are horribile).

So really all we need to do is wack off the rear section of the stock CL450 frame, set the BSA hardtail in place where we want it, and weld away. Lots of gussets are going to be used in this build to both add strength as well as give off the "industrial" look I like in bikes like this..

HavocTurbo · « **Reply #23 on:** November 24, 2008, 08:25:51 PM »

Well no HD wheel sorry man....

All I managed to find was a 21" rim with a drum minus the backing plate. Seems I need to organize my shop after the move.

If you do go with a wide 16 front.rear what width are you going to use? Somewhere round the net there used to be a custom wheel advertiser that would widen any wheel for you. Could be an idea.

I have a CM400 that could probably use a freshening up.... Might look into a bobber-esque build.

ProTeal55 · « **Reply #24 on:** November 25, 2008, 04:23:21 AM »

I would prob. do a 16x4 front and back with the widest tire I could shove inbetween the frame/front forks.
That, along with a low stance, superbike/dirtbike bars, dual disc front end, some crazy candy powdercoating, and I could have a wicked little bike.
The more and more I think about the whole dirtbike tire on the street thing the more I dont wanna do it. Supermoto tires maybe, but not straight up dirtbike tires like my Half Fast brother Shane is doing to his project -->

Badass looking yes, but riding on the street is going to be "fun"

I am going to put the money and time into this bike, powdercoat, etc.. So I actually wanna be able to ride/enjoy it once it's done..

Ecosse · « **Reply #25 on:** November 25, 2008, 10:24:55 AM »

PT, would you mind enlightening me a bit about powder coating? Is the choice of colors pretty wide? You mention a candy powder coating and that piqued my interest... I mean more than this project has already.

I've never powder coated (sugar coated bad news, yes) anything but assumed choices were fairly limited.

Shane's build... cool. But I'd have to go with you on the tires at least in this case.

ProTeal55 · « **Reply #26 on:** November 25, 2008, 11:09:20 AM »

My good friend Sean is owner of "The Power Pro" here in Rolling Meadows, IL
He specialzies in custom/candy/deep powdercoating. His website (and some examples of his work) can be seen at the link below:

http://www.thepowderpro.com/

He has a oven big enough to do a bike frame in, and is always trying out different bases/clears/and so on to get more custom effects.

The frame on this build is def. going to be powdercoated by him, along with pretty much everything else on the bike. Powdercoating is much much much more durable than paint, and offers a deeper finish when done properly. Whatever color I go with will have some kinda metal flake/candy look to it, with a super thick clearcoat on top. After each stage of color/clear the stuff can be wetsanded and buffed for a even deeper looking finish. He can also put decals/stickers/logo's under the clear

ProTeal55 · « **Reply #27 on:** November 28, 2008, 06:59:10 AM »

At this point I think I am going with a 18'' rear and a 21'' front (ala my old CB750).
Plus it helps that I allready have a 21'' front wheel with cross drilled dual discs laced to a Honda hub sitting in my apt doing nothing. So I am gonna mock up the hardtail with the 18'' wheel in the back and get it as low as I can. I want the rear frame to be able to sit on a 2x4 !

darkbane · « **Reply #28 on:** November 28, 2008, 02:28:38 PM »

I'm not 100% sure about going with the dirtbike tires either. I'm gonna try it with the knobbies and see how she goes, but if I'm not comfortable on it, I'm going to switch out the tires for something more ridable. I'm also steering more towards a more solid hardtail. The more I mock it up, I'm seeing that I'm gonna be squished trying to sit on it.

I agree with Joe, I'm building this, I want it to fit me. I want to be comfortable.

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Author Topic: 1972 HONDA CL450 BUILD a.k.a PROJECT "StageCoach" (Read 17610 times)