1966 Honda 450 project

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This is my current project which is a 1966 Honda 450 colloquially know as a Black Bomber. I don't know what it is about this early style of the 450 Honda but to me it is the most beautifully proportioned, and styled Honda. It's self-centered to make a statement like that but we all have our inexplicable aesthetic tastes for things we think are beautiful; so, I love this bike. I'm going to post pictures with limited captions because at this stage of re-assembly it is mostly just assembly. All of the paint, and mechanical work was largely done 6 or 7 years ago and as usual I didn't take serial pictures of that foundational part of the project. This bike, and a 1933 H-D VL that I had were about 99% complete which is as good as it gets for restoration. Although they were not abused, both bikes were very neglected, and poorly stored so restoration was the only way to go. The '66 Honda was very rough and early pictures of it (in black paint) make it look like an easy survivor project; but that was not the case. I was fortunate to find genuine Honda 450 parts to replace parts that were beyond saving and now those parts are getting very hard to find. I'll post more comments as they occur to me.

66ac.jpg 66ab.jpg 66aa1.jpg

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Here are a few of the other issues with this bike. It's my understanding that rotted mufflers are not uncommon with this vintage of motorcycle, but I was fortunate to find a very nice pair to replace the ones in the photo. Also, the gas tank was quite rusty, but again, I found a replacement that was better; still needed work, but easier to fix than one that came with the bike. The last issue was big and I don't know what to make of the damage to the head. I guess it's possible the timing chain broke and might have done that, but I didn't see any marks on the engine case, or path through the cylinders. To me it looks like malicious ball-peen hammer damage, but why? I don't see that kind of idiot abuse elsewhere on the bike. Regardless, I found another head and had a valve job done and re-assembled everything with the best condition parts of 2 heads. The 450 did not have valve springs and used torsion bars in their place. According to the manual, the slightest scratch in the bar can become a fatal flaw that will cause it to break so they have to be carefully handled. Lastly, there was rust damage to the frame that required welding, and the seat pan was rusted through. Again, poor storage for many years in a harsh Northern climate.

66ax1a.jpg

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Let's see if the forum will take these 2 pics.

Sh!t !, I'll try later.