New Project! CB450 soon to be a cafe racer!

[scottmandue]

Originally Posted by Tim Hancock

Oddly enough, the factory Honda welds are pretty chunky on this bike however so I guess I need not worry about it.

There you go... just tell people "I was going for a period correct look."

Although all the welds in the pics look pretty darn awesome... I particularly like the seat pan.

[bell]

you make my little suzuki project lame LOL
next one i build i'm going all out.....and it'll most likely be a cb
nice work man

[Tim Hancock]

Originally Posted by bell

you make my little suzuki project lame LOL
next one i build i'm going all out.....and it'll most likely be a cb
nice work man

Your Suzuki project won't seem so lame as you ride it to work this spring while mine is still only half dis-assembled while I fret over and over think the next minor detail.

[bell]

i hear you......it's actually turning out to be a really nice "5 ft" bike
actually.........having moved from ohio to florida i can ride in the dead of winter

your seat panel is sweet and makes me want to learn to tig weld

[Tim Hancock]

Originally Posted by bell

i hear you......it's actually turning out to be a really nice "5 ft" bike
actually.........having moved from ohio to florida i can ride in the dead of winter

your seat panel is sweet and makes me want to learn to tig weld

The seat was a learning experience for me. I am fairly good at tig welding thin steel as I got lots of practice over the years building aircraft structures, but welding thin aluminum just piisses me off. I can do it, but it is hairy for me. The seat pan required grinding/filing/sanding to hide the weld and it was first time I really attempted such a feat. I have done fiberglass work over the years and it is much more forgiving, but I guess I get a kick out of the challenge of making stuff out of metal.

[Tim Hancock]

Spent a bit more time on the bike..... Pulled engine and started prepping it for paint (mild acid etch and pressure wash). I sandblasted the frame then wirebrushed it to remove some of the blast texture. Just got done spraying on a few coats of epoxy primer. Unless I change my mind, the frame is getting painted with gloss black Imron tonight or tomorrow.

While I got the fabrication part down pat, I am having a devil of a time deciding on paint colors/or polishing of various components (hubs, engine, frame fork tubes etc). IT IS STARTING TO DRIVE ME CRAZY!!!!






Thus far, I am thinking either silver or red tank and either a silver/polished engine or satin black engine (with polished small covers and stainless screws). Man do I ever hate making color scheme decisions.

I like various aspects of these random bikes found on the internet.

[scottmandue]

Your bike... how much for your bike.... I want to buy your bike...

[Tim Hancock]

Starting to feel like I am getting somewhere.... Sprayed some high dollar Glasurit chromated 2 part epoxy primer left over from an airplane project on my engine and a few other small parts.... then painted the engine with Polane satin black and the engine mounts with silver Imron left over from my 944 turbo wheels.

Still have a few small engine covers to remove and polish, then I am replaceing all the phillips screws with polished stainless ones.

[Steve Viegas]

This is awesome.

[the]

Very cool!

You know I'm one of your biggest long time fans. I'd love to own a "Tim Hancock original" some day! Seriously, let me know when you are looking to unload something like that. Any kind of an old motorcycle for light city use, I'd be interested in.

[Tim Hancock]

Originally Posted by the

Very cool!

You know I'm one of your biggest long time fans. I'd love to own a "Tim Hancock original" some day! Seriously, let me know when you are looking to unload something like that. Any kind of an old motorcycle for light city use, I'd be interested in.

I don't how "original" it is, but hopefully it will not look too gaudy or cobbled.

I have only sold a small handful of vehicles in the last 15 years..... They are my babies I will keep you in mind however if I ever end up with a few too many of these old Hondas.

[Harold_89_911]

Maybe this will help for inspiration. This is a local guy who has quite a collection. Maybe too vintaged for what you are looking for.

http://guywebster.com/photos/motorcycles

[Tim Hancock]

Got a little time in polishing covers and bolts. Just put the engine in and I think I like the satin black engine with the gloss black frame thus far.





Need to decide real quick whether to paint the forks satin black or whether to polish them.

[Dueller]

WOW, Tim. Just WOW. You are a talented man.

[Tim Hancock]

Originally Posted by Dueller

WOW, Tim. Just WOW. You are a talented man.

Thanks Dueller. You know working on a motorcycle project (a certain Buell) is a good way to take one's mind off of stepdaughters who are bound and determined to make all decisions in life by doing the exact opposite of what their stepfathers advise them to do. Others that are not stepfathers will just have to take my word on it.

[Tim Hancock]

Time to start digging into the old nasty looking front end. I need to get the forks and tank mounted temporarily so that I can measure and build a set of clip-on handlebars.

After going back and forth, I decided to just polish my forks. With that done, I made up a set of clip-on bars out of 4130 steel. Still need to cut the pinch slot, but I think I like them.

[tangerine911S]

Nice work there, Tim.

[Joeaksa]

Thats what a weld should look like. Very nice work. TIG or MIG?

[BlueSkyJaunte]

You are one badass fabricator.

That's a good thing, BTW.

[Tim Hancock]

Originally Posted by joeaksa

thats what a weld should look like. Very nice work. Tig or mig?

tig....