[keninaz]

I found this locally for sale.
I have to have this bike.
The guy is coming over in 30 minutes.

 

[keninaz]

Forgot, it's an '86

 

[keninaz]

Bought the bike. It's as stock as I remember them with 7200 miles showing.
The gas tank has the old factory stickers still on it that I will attempt to remove but the bike rides like brand new.

 

[Tobacco Road]

I like a thread where the OP is the only one on it.

 

[Critter]

An 86 with 7200 miles and it runs great? Either you are the luckiest man on the planet or a lot of work has recently been done to it.

 

[keninaz]

Yes, no leaks at all and it does run great. I bought it from a guy that bought it for himself and he did a little work on it and replaced the tires. But it runs like new.
The only problem I see is a little rust here and there but I can clean that up. I also will have the original seat redone as it has a couple of small rips. What the hell, after 34 years you cannot expect the leather to last that long.
I have had lots of bikes over my lifetime and just always liked the power, weight and looks of the Rebel 450.
This one popped on Craigslist and I bought it right away.
The guy has to move out of his rental due to a divorce sale of the rental he was in and needed money.
He told me that he really regretted having to sell this bike.
I paid him $2400 for it and I figure if I keep it in nice shape it won't devalue.
I have had over 20 bikes in my time. Just keep changing on a whim.

 

[johnnyvee]

Interesting model, the CMX450 was only made for two years. 38 HP at around 9000 from the SOHC 447cc, 360degree twin engine. Not what we think of as a cruiser type engine, with it's short stroke, high revving design, but styled as a cruiser. The specs say the fork rake angle is 58 degrees, but there is no way that number is correct, probably some tech writer wrote it wrong once and the scribes have faithfully copied the error for the last 30+ years.

Looks like a fun bike to ride, and I'll bet it is pretty scarce. Thankfully it was complete and in good shape as purchased.

 

[keninaz]

Without researching, it seems to me that a friend bought a brand new 450 scrambler in the mid 1960s, maybe late 60s?
He loved the bike.
Quick research showed a 1971 CB450 almost like mine from 1971.

1971 HONDA CB450 VINTAGE MOTORCYCLE POSTER PRINT 20x36 9MIL PAPER | eBay

Very nice, printed on glossy photo paper (over 9 mil thick). of cleared pmt.

www.ebay.com

 

[johnnyvee]

Quick research showed a 1971 CB450 almost like mine from 1971.

If you look a bit closer you'll see that the CB450 was quite a different design than your newly aquired CMX450 Rebel.

Your CMX is a 447cc twin with 75 x 50.6 bore and stroke, making 38 hp at 8000 rpm and driving a 6 speed gearbox. It was only made in 1986 and 1987. I'm thinking that its Single Overhead Cam engine has more in common with the CB400T Hawk and offspring of that model, than with the bike you posted a picture of.

The CB450, which was made from 1965 until 1974, was very advanced when it was introduced, making a claimed 43 hp at 8500 rpm from 444 ccs. It is a Dual Overhead Cam engine with 70 x 57.8 bore and stroke. Early models had 4 speed gearboxes and later ones, 5 speed. The Honda CB450 was a serious wakeup call to the British motorcycle industry in 1965, and could basically run with the 650s.

Honda made a lot of different models in the 350 to 500 range over the years. If you are looking for potential parts interchange sources for your Rebel 450, I'd focus on the SOHC models. This chart might be helpful: Template:Honda motorcycles (1980s) - Wikipedia

 

[Unkle Krusty]

The real difference with the CB450 was how the valves were closed. The SOHC bikes were never high horsepower for their size. Rather they were good all round about town bike. The Kawasaki and Suzuki 450, and my XS400 Yamaha make more power. To do that they rev quite high.
UK

 

[johnnyvee]

The real difference with the CB450 was how the valves were closed.

The torsion rod springs? Cool stuff!

 

[Unkle Krusty]

The torsion rod springs? Cool stuff!

Yus. I have one in my tool box. UK

 

[keninaz]

I always liked the middle weight bikes. Lighter and handled much better for local riding like I do.
For a time, seemed that all manufacturers were only making up to some 250cc and then much bigger bikes.
Now I see that they have returned to the middle weight classes.
I thought about a new Rebel 500 but I thought they were over priced.

 

[johnnyvee]

The small and middle weight bikes don't get much sales volume love here in the US, other than the dirt riders. City hipsters seem to prefer scooters. In UK the 250s are propped up by their legal status as learner bikes. Elsewhere, legal lines are drawn at 400 ccs, which supports models below that capacity. In the US, there's none of that, and a lot of folks are convinced they need a liter of engine, or more, to ride to the bar on a Saturday night, let alone venture out on the expressway.

But, the rest of the world is a different story. In asia, and India, the vast majority of bikes on the road are well below 250 ccs. Those folks are, on average, physically smaller, but they also value something that slips easily through congested streets and gets 100+ mpg. A 500 cc machine is considered a big, loud demonstration of flagrant machismo. Royal Enfield even named one of their models that. The 350 version had a whopping 18 hp. Royal Enfield Machismo-350 Specifications, Features, Mileage, Weight, Tyre Size

 

[keninaz]

Loved small Bikes. My first was a 1959 Triumph Cub. 200cc twin if I remember right. I was 15 when I bought it. A little later while in the Army at Fort Huachuca, AZ, I bought my first new bike, a 1967 Honda 305 Scrambler. They were so
popular on base that there must have been over a 1000 of them on base. In Tucson if I remember right you could buy the Honda for just under some $700 and the GIs loved them.

 

[keninaz]

An 86 with 7200 miles and it runs great? Either you are the luckiest man on the planet or a lot of work has recently been done to it.

Yes, when I got the title that was issued to the current owner almost two years ago it only showed 5890 miles at that time. So I have to assume that the 7127 miles it showed when I bought it was the real deal.

 

[johnnyvee]

If anybody is wanting to join in on the Honda CMX450 Rebel owners group, one has showed up on the Chicago area Craigslist, a red 1987. Looks pretty cherry. The asking price, $2700

Honda 450 Rebel - motorcycles/scooters - by owner - vehicle...

This bike was refurbished by Fred's Rebels. Looks and runs great. Many new parts including chain,...

chicago.craigslist.org

 

[keninaz]

Interesting with low mileage like my bike.
But I wonder why with such low miles it needed refurbishment?
Maybe it was just a cleanup?
I gave $2300 for mine, but since I reupholstered the seat and put new tires on it too.

 

[highplainsthumper]

The small and middle weight bikes don't get much sales volume love here in the US, other than the dirt riders. City hipsters seem to prefer scooters. In UK the 250s are propped up by their legal status as learner bikes. Elsewhere, legal lines are drawn at 400 ccs, which supports models below that capacity. In the US, there's none of that, and a lot of folks are convinced they need a liter of engine, or more, to ride to the bar on a Saturday night, let alone venture out on the expressway.

Here in US we have a lot of high speed roads even in the larger cities and with greater land mass greater distances to travel, not much different than Russia. To maintain a minimal speed of 65 mph (107 kmh) with passing power has made the 600 cc's and above more popular. For a while my ride was a 1987 Suzuki LS650 Savage, rode that all over New Mexico into Arizona, Texas and Colorado. It's kind of crazy, but I'd show up at a motorcycle rally 8 hours from home, and people would call me a real biker to ride such a tiny thing. Then I'd remind them that in the 1960's and 1970's, a 650 was a big bike.

Only downside besides the uncomfortable seat was higher rev's needed to keep at high way speeds. I was turning 5,200 rpm at 75 mph, red line 6,500 (I installed a Drag Specialties Harley dual fire electronic tach - worked like a charm, engine ignition fires every crank revolution). Plus, one had to be vigilant checking oil on these pure air cooled's because at higher summer temperatures 90F (32C) and above, engine would naturally use more oil because it ran hotter than water cooled's.

Getting back to the Honda 450's, in college in the late 1970's, I really eyed the Honda CM400E, but being a college student I could only afford a used 1971 CB100 that I bought from a motorcycle wrecking yard (breakers) for $300. It smoked a little, but I wore out 3 sets of tires on in for the next 2 years I rode the streets of Oahu Island (where Honolulu is). It was the simplicity plus power of the CM400E that I found attractive. It was one of the last of the UJM's (universal Japanese motorcycle).

The Savage was a throwback to the 1970's, why I liked it so much, wore out a couple sets of tires on it too before I moved up to a 2001 Kawaski ZG1200 Voyager XII.

But, the rest of the world is a different story. In asia, and India, the vast majority of bikes on the road are well below 250 ccs. Those folks are, on average, physically smaller, but they also value something that slips easily through congested streets and gets 100+ mpg. A 500 cc machine is considered a big, loud demonstration of flagrant machismo. Royal Enfield even named one of their models that. The 350 version had a whopping 18 hp. Royal Enfield Machismo-350 Specifications, Features, Mileage, Weight, Tyre Size

I spent several years in Okinawa in the mid 2000's, my employer allowed me to ship my Savage there with my limited household goods. I could go anywhere fast there in 3rd gear. Most of the speeds on the island were nominally 40 mph or less (65 kmh). The bike was an overkill. There, even a little 250 or 125 would be at home traveling the streets. Ditto in Philippines. Much of other parts of the world don't have the high speeds on most roads that we have here in US. Therefore, a smaller CC bike does just fine.

Reason why the 400 cc's and smaller are popular in Japan is because the registration fees and driver license requirements are greater for riding larger bikes. 400 is the breaking point.

 

[johnnyvee]

Interesting with low mileage like my bike.
But I wonder why with such low miles it needed refurbishment?

I find quite a few 2nd hand machines being offered up here in the Chicago area with low miles (< 10K) and often much less. I think this is true for a few reasons:
1) Short riding season A hard core rider can stretch their season from March through December, but most folks have MUCH shorter seasons. Once the snow, ice and especially the salt are on the roads, almost nobody tries to ride. A late May to early October riding season is probably much more common. Even then there are many rainy days, and folks will take their alternative transportation option.
2) These are, by and large, toys. Because riding is so difficult, if not impossible, for a few months of the year, just about everyone has an alternate vehicle, car, truck, wife's car, etc. Many bikes get to spend all the nasty days, inside a garage. Some come out only on the most perfect days. Folks here are, on average, reasonably well off, and can afford nice toys. I have met many motorcyclists who own as many as 2 DOZEN different bikes. With a short riding season, and multiple rides to choose from, those bikes can't possibly see much use. One man I met hires a guy to maintain, and RIDE his collection for him. What a plumb job!

In the case of this particular red CMX450 on craigslist, the owner has aged out, and health forces the sale. He may have paid to have the bike restored out of nostalgia, rather than for any practical reason. Also, bikes stored in damp garages and basements will decay just due to humidity, which gets very high in the summertime.

The interesting thing is that the local market doesn't seem to bear higher prices due to low mileage. A used bike is a used bike and enough people want NEW bikes, and can afford them, that there are some outstanding 2nd hand deals to be found here. In fact, from what I've seen, the same bike, in the same condition, with substantially LOWER miles, will be priced cheaper here in Chicago, than it will out on the West Coast. I've been joking with my brother, who lives in San Diego, that we could run a little side business where I transport bikes out there and he sells them.