Honda CB450 K5 restoration

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The CB450 K5 restoration coverage here is a flip/photo album, as with my other restoration uploads it was never my intention to publish them on YouTube, the photos were taken simply as a reminder of the work done and as proof when the time comes to sell.
This Honda CB450 K5 is a U.S. 1972 model, it was never officially exported to the U.K. from Japan and as with so many rarer Japanese classic motorcycles this one came from the States, I have no official information regarding when this bike was originally imported into the U.K. but suspect from what little evidence there is it may have been 1997?
The CB450 K models are famously known for their DOHC engines as used earlier in the Honda CB450 KO that got the nickname 'The Black Bomber', that model was exported to the U.K. but it wasn't as successful as Honda had hoped but did show the declining British motorcycle industry just what Honda were capable of.
Now about the restoration.
I got this bike in September 2017 in what I'd call a half decent condition for a 1972 Honda, the previous owner paid a lot for it in March 2013 as it was very rare at the time, I have the receipt from the company that sold it to him and the actual 'for sale' advertisement, it wasn't cheap, more recently some rough and neglected CB450 K models have been imported by D.K.'s.
I bought it unseen other than in photos and a phone call chat with the seller, he told me it ran well when he bought it but within a couple of years he had many problems starting and running the engine and admitted it was most likely self inflicted through tinkering with it and just making it worse over the years as it sat in his garage. Seems it was extremely difficult to start and when it did eventually fire on both cylinders that was a bonus, it coughed, spluttered and backfired and refused to rev much higher than 2,000 rpm and that's exactly how I got it, oh and the engine kill switch didn't work as some of the wiring had been butchered at some time.
I like a challenge and that's what I got. First thing was to cover the basics to get it running, some wiring needed replacing as there were some faults and everything reliant on getting a spark to the plugs at the right time were renewed, ignition timing, valve timing all set to manufactures specification, so did that fix it? No, it was better but still not right, next up were the carbs, cleaned these and set them up several times and also made new air filters as the old ones had perished as NOS ones are no longer available. Removal of the resistors in the spark plug caps made it possible to use Iridium plugs, still ran a little rich but it seemed to run quite happily now.
Further twin points tweaking and road tests were positive until I was happy that I couldn't improve the running any further. Not an instant starter after being left for a week or longer but after that initial cold start there would be no hesitation in starting every day, I think it was to do with oil circulation/lubrication letting the engine spin over quicker on the button?
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Someone on-line had a similar experience and suggested that when I put the bike away long term I should run the carbs dry, I did this and after two months standing in the garage it started within seconds, coincidence or a fix?
I started to replace or refurbish any part of the bike that looked tired, worn, suspect or missing, to be honest I think I went way over the top just changing pieces for the sake of it. David Silver was my main supplier of parts throughout this restoration, without him it simply wouldn't have been possible, all David Silver and most other new part receipts have been saved, in fact anything relevant to the restoration has mostly been saved.
Later on I decided to change the timing chain as it may well have stretched over the years, as this was an engine out job I then decided to completely rebuild the engine as can be seen in the photos, without going into too much detail I'm sure you can see and appreciate just what was involved here and appreciate how much it cost but was it all really necessary? Probably not but being a 'perfectionist' everything had to be just right.
The wheels were fully refurbished and as with everything else not mentioned above no corners were cut, yes this was an expensive over the top restoration, the slightly inflated price I paid for the bike plus the added restoration costs is likely to be greater than the bike's actual worth but I didn't restore this this bike for profit, I actually enjoy it.
So why the Honda CB450 K5? Well I just wanted a reliable classic bike I could ride occasionally in the summer months and maintain thanks to David Silver spares and no need to pay the outrageous costs involved when importing parts from the States so importantly I'll never be stuck waiting for that impossible to find part, been there done that and collected the trophies.

Bike sold December 2023.







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