A lot has been written about the sixties Black Bomber but not so much about the seventies version. Whilst in LA for a couple of months I decided that I needed a set of cheap wheels. In the States used bikes are incredibly cheap. Partly to do with how inexpensive new ones are and also because it's a bit of a throwaway society, where face has to be kept by buying the latest set of high tech wheels. I thought 300 dollars for a 19000 mile, 1973 Honda CB450 twin was an incredible bargain.
It looked more like a giant version of the CD175 than a classic motorcycle. The tall, DOHC engine (with its almost unique torsion bar valve springs) dominated the machine in away reminiscent of an old British bike. The vibes that afflicted the chassis when I fired her up were also similar. The engine sounded off-tune as it idled at 1200rpm but revved cleanly enough when I played with the throttle. Into first with a BMW clunk, rev, drop the clutch and take off up the street like a scalded cat.
In LA with its excess of sun and beautiful women it was damn hard to be in anything but a good mood, so getting some kicks out of any motorcycle was a lot easier than in the cold, wet and depressed UK. The CB450 fitted in well with the place, being noisy, fast when ridden above 6500rpm and able to brake and twist around the huge whales of cars piloted by drugged up lunatics. There were all kinds of minor rules that were supposed to stop motorcyclists filtering through the massive traffic jams but I ignored them. lt was unlikely that police cars would keep up and the one time I was pursued by a Harley mounted highway patrolman I left him for dead, revelling in the second and third gear acceleration.
The Honda boasted a modern front end with twin discs, in place of the rather stodgy single disc fitted as standard, and a pair of longer Koni shocks. Pot-holes and poor road surfaces could be absorbed with none of the wallowing or shocks that most seventies bikes had to suffer. The Honda had a hefty tubular frame and with its improved suspension tracked true and steady even on the odd 100mph expressway excursion.
The engine had a loud 2-1 exhaust matched to a K & N type air filter, seeming to improve on the quoted 45 horses at 8500rpm. The engine was willing to run to 11000 revs even in fifth gear, with a smoothness that was surprising in an unbalanced vertical twin, and an eagerness that belied its mere 450cc. It felt harder than a Bonnie. Below 6500rpm there was some mismatch between carburation and combustion chamber, as it never felt entirely happy, would backfire and sulk.
It also needed the best quality fuel to run properly and felt like it was going to seize when taken up the side of the huge mountains outside LA. As fuel was around 60mpg (corrected for UK gallons) it was undoubtedly running dangerously lean. In three months I did 6000 miles without doing anything to the engine except changing the oil. An eye had to be kept on the sump level and the oil also emulsified if left for much more than 500 miles.
Chatting with a dealer, trying to get him to give me a good price, he offered to add the bike to a container load he had going to the UK for just $200 as he had space to spare. I knew they were rare bikes in the UK, one in good condition bound to fetch £750 to £1000, so it seemed like a good scam.
The rareness of the bike meant I got away with paying tax on what I'd paid for it rather than what it was worth. With the pound worth 1.50 dollars I ended up paying £450 all in. Mind you, it took nine weeks to arrive at my door, by then in the depths of winter. I had little inclination to ride it then, so stashed the bike in the garage without trying to even start it. I had plenty of time to sort out the paperwork and get the bike properly registered - not a great problem if you have all the documents. There are so many great motorcycle bargains in the States that it's worth finding any excuse to get out there with a pile of money to spend. Even the more mundane British bikes are dead cheap.
Come the spring I pulled the bike out again. It had reacted to the cold and damp by rusting and corroding, beginning to look its real age. It was also a bugger to start, eventually traced to a cracked diaphragm in one of the big CV carbs. I bodged a repair. The engine didn't seem to run so well in the UK, needed 7000 revs to start producing power and stopped dead at 10000rpm.
I changed the needle height in the carbs, played with the pilot screws and cleaned out the air filter. A bit better. It wasn't until I changed the silencer for something longer, quieter and less diseased by rust (it was meant for a BSA A65) that the engine began to run as well as I recalled in LA. God, with intense rainstorms and the dampness creeping into my bones, I really missed the American scene. I was also a bit pissed off with people coming up to me asking why I'd put a CD175 tank on a CB500T!
It was quite good as a street sleeper. Some caged lout or less knowledgeable biker would assume it was some mild old plodder and have the surprise of their life as I shot off up the road. The bike would eat Superdreams, CB650 fours, CX500s and VT500s. Plastic replicas would scream past once they had got over the initial shock but there was no way they could match my minimal running costs.
90mph was a reasonable cruising speed, with no undue vibration and a bit of power in hand to get past the ton when the need arose. With the much stronger front forks and brakes there was nothing to stop the more crazed cut and thrust techniques, although about 3000 miles into the UK experience the swinging arm bearings wore out. Some plastic crap that after a few miles, in the worn state, actually broke up. The weave that resulted almost caused me to expire. The bike couldn't be ridden like that, for the first time in my life I had to be taken home by the AA.
The Honda dealer reckoned he could get new bearings in about two months. It had taken about half an hour to explain that the bike had absolutely nothing in common with the newer CB450D. I wasn't willing to wait that long, ended up handing over £30 to have a pair of phosphor bronze bushes machined to fit. These are tougher and self lubricating. | put some taper rollers in the steering head, as well, because under frantic braking the forks used to shudder around the headstock. After that effort, the handling became really good, better than most Brits and up to the standards of the latest Japanese middleweights.
It was this lack of originality that introduced me to the only other CB450 owner I ever came across. He wasn't actually riding his bike, which explained a lot, but ranted and raved over the numerous modifications that the machine sported and spluttered with indignation when I told him how much fun they made the bike to ride. I actually came close to giving him a slap, as he was becoming as nasty as a religious zealot over my total disinclination to take any notice of his point of view.
The last thing | wanted to do was ruin the usability of the Honda by fitting stock suspension, that by all accounts combined soft springs with a lack of damping, and weak forks that could be all twisted up by either brakes or bumps. I was always impressed by the CB450's handling, loads of feedback from the tyres and the general feeling that even in extremis I could pull the machine back from complete oblivion.
I feel just as happy with the motor. There are all kinds of tales about the valves dropping, the crankshaft failing or the rings falling apart but, with the clock now reading 44000 miles, I haven't had to touch the internals. I think the answer to this longevity is frequent oil changes (including cleaning the centrifugal oil filter on one end of the crankshaft) and regular engine maintenance. I've got into the habit of doing 750 mile sessions. The motor is easy to work on but the valve adjusters (rockers mounted on eccentric shafts to minimise moving mass) are rather finicky because the clearances are so small.
The electrics are the only real weak spot. Either vibration or voltage surges kill the batteries within six months. The minimal front light liked to blow its bulb and I never seemed to have enough battery power to spin the starter motor over fast enough to persuade the engine into life, although it needed but one lunge on the kickstart even when cold.
The electrics aside, it's one hell of an impressive machine, much more so than the Superdream series and their derivatives. | can think of no other big twin that can match its durability, handling, performance, frugality and butch looks. They get to you like Italian and British bikes - I've sold all my other machines and got the dealer in LA to send me over half a dozen of the sods in various states of health and neglect. I refuse to leave any of them stock, though, but will be happy to sell the crappy bits to other CB450 owners
Mark Fields