Country:
USA
Region:
NY
Make:
Honda
City:
Rochester
Zip:
14622
Model:
CB450 RED DRAGON
Year:
1966
Mileage:
5
Miles
Color:
Red
Condition:
Used
Engine:
444
cc
Very rare, restored 1966 HONDA CB450 RED DRAGON!.
I did extensive research to find the history on these motorcycles. This one, as far as I know, is the only restored Red Dragon Honda 450 in the United States! I purchased this bike about 8 years ago. When I went to work on it, I noticed there was red paint underneath the black paint. I sanded down every spot on the bike down to the original red paint. (I have many photographs and videos) I even found original red paint underneath the bottom steering race when I removed the races and bearings. I initially thought that the
CB450 may have come in all 4 colors that Honda provided in the 1960s: Black, red, white, and blue...But that was not the case. I found that the US market had only black bombers, the European market had a mix of black and red, white was only for the police CB450 models, and blue was never produced by the HONDA factory. I
have a factory Honda parts manual for police and black bomber CB450's and they only came in 3 colors: white, black, and scarlet red. once I establish that honda actually made red ones I disassemble the entire motorcycle for restoration. All parts removed from this bike were either repainted, re-chromed, polished
replaced with OEM parts or refurbished. This was a long restoration project. I never intended to have this bike for sale, it was for my personal collection.
The cases were split and completely cleaned. The top end was rebuilt: new cam rollers, new cam chain, cylinders honed, new rings installed, valves lapped, new valve stem seals, and new engine gaskets and seals. Aluminum engine cases and cam covers, were polished to a chrome like finish, and the body of the engine was
painted with high-temp aluminum engine paint. I did not powder coat the frame. I could not find a powder coat color that was close enough to the factory red. The Red colors that I found always had an orange tint in the sunlight. I found an actual can of factory Honda scarlet red paint that I was able to computer match and spray the bike with the absolute factory identical red paint!!! I still have the factory sample paint jar which will come with the motorcycle. This cost me A LOT more than it would cost to powder coat the bike!!. The fenders, side covers and fork tubes are painted cloud silver. The wire harness, rectifier, starter solenoid, and speedometer were completely refurbished and rebuilt by RJ cycles. My buddy Ronnie Jennings does amazing work! The speedometer, tachometer, and odometer all work perfectly.The front and rear aluminum hubs were polished and installed with brand-new brake shoes. Both wheels have chromed axles and chromed hub linkage. New Duro tires were installed, they are the closest to a factory size and tread that I could find. They look great. The rear sprocket it is an OEM sprocket with a new DID chain. The carburetors are original to the bike they were ultrasonically cleaned and rebuilt.
I did extensive research to find the history on these motorcycles. This one, as far as I know, is the only restored Red Dragon Honda 450 in the United States! I purchased this bike about 8 years ago. When I went to work on it, I noticed there was red paint underneath the black paint. I sanded down every spot on the bike down to the original red paint. (I have many photographs and videos) I even found original red paint underneath the bottom steering race when I removed the races and bearings. I initially thought that the
CB450 may have come in all 4 colors that Honda provided in the 1960s: Black, red, white, and blue...But that was not the case. I found that the US market had only black bombers, the European market had a mix of black and red, white was only for the police CB450 models, and blue was never produced by the HONDA factory. I
have a factory Honda parts manual for police and black bomber CB450's and they only came in 3 colors: white, black, and scarlet red. once I establish that honda actually made red ones I disassemble the entire motorcycle for restoration. All parts removed from this bike were either repainted, re-chromed, polished
replaced with OEM parts or refurbished. This was a long restoration project. I never intended to have this bike for sale, it was for my personal collection.
The cases were split and completely cleaned. The top end was rebuilt: new cam rollers, new cam chain, cylinders honed, new rings installed, valves lapped, new valve stem seals, and new engine gaskets and seals. Aluminum engine cases and cam covers, were polished to a chrome like finish, and the body of the engine was
painted with high-temp aluminum engine paint. I did not powder coat the frame. I could not find a powder coat color that was close enough to the factory red. The Red colors that I found always had an orange tint in the sunlight. I found an actual can of factory Honda scarlet red paint that I was able to computer match and spray the bike with the absolute factory identical red paint!!! I still have the factory sample paint jar which will come with the motorcycle. This cost me A LOT more than it would cost to powder coat the bike!!. The fenders, side covers and fork tubes are painted cloud silver. The wire harness, rectifier, starter solenoid, and speedometer were completely refurbished and rebuilt by RJ cycles. My buddy Ronnie Jennings does amazing work! The speedometer, tachometer, and odometer all work perfectly.The front and rear aluminum hubs were polished and installed with brand-new brake shoes. Both wheels have chromed axles and chromed hub linkage. New Duro tires were installed, they are the closest to a factory size and tread that I could find. They look great. The rear sprocket it is an OEM sprocket with a new DID chain. The carburetors are original to the bike they were ultrasonically cleaned and rebuilt.
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