I originally wrote this for Reviewcentre.com which can be pretty useful. But the people there can't be bothered to put it up. And the two bits I've written in the past suffered at the hands of their 'editors' so while they continue to worry whether they can be seen to suggest anyone ventures over 70mph on the motorway, here were my intial thoughts on Dog after buying it at the end of January.
So you want to get onto two wheels cheaply. Then the CB450 DX-K built by our Brazillian chums has got to be a winner.
You need this review because there's just not enough stuff on the internet about the last Superdream.
It was over-priced when Honda launched it in '89 in the UK (it'd been around as the CB450N, check the history bit on this site) costing £2,499, while the Suzuki GS500E cost just £100 more, still an oldish engine but DOHC, all new chassis, styling and brakes. The Honda was aimed squarely at... well it's difficult to say, it was a lot of cash then and another few hundred bought the likes of XJ600s and despacher's favourite the GT550.
Remember the CB450 was brought in straight in from Brazil where they churned them out in a purpose-built jungle factory. Honda Brazil had been building them for the home market since 1986 and carried on after the bike was taken off the UK market in '92 to be replaced with the technically superior, learner favourite the CB500.
So why did I decide to invest my hard-earned in an out-dated Latin Superdream?
Well I'd got kinda disillusioned with biking if I'm honest. I've been at it off and on for nearly 30 years and am starting to find myself more likely to be reading Classic Motorcycle Mechanics than Bike.
Ass-in-the-air dressed as a Power Ranger has absolutely no interest to me, partly because I am by nature a bit of a thrasher and know I don't have the restraint to stop my licence disappearing in the flash of a speed camera. Also anyone wearing full race leathers on a sunny Sunday looks a dick head.
I've tried the Harley thing and while I admit the attention and noise are fun, with the exception of the easy-to-maintain Sportster, it's all ridiculously expensive.
After much debate last year I decided to try a big scooter. Bought one, tried it, bored, hate the image (but liked the weather protection) and six months later flogged the Burgman AN400 for £1,900, having picked it up from a dealer for £2,000. So everyone's a winner (Ebay's good for selling, be careful when buying though).
What next?
Well it's Credit Crunch time and with £1,900 burning a hole in my pocket I decided to buy cheap...very cheap.I wanted a simple to maintain middle-weight than could tour a bit. I've earned my touring stripes: took Sportster around the Nurburgring, also did Prague and back and took it to Malmo in Sweden and back both in a week. I've taken an RD350 to Perpignon, so I know you don't need a Goldwing or an RT100 to tour Europe, that's half the fun.
And there on the 'net I somehow found myself with top bid on a 1989 CB450DX.
Proper size bike, twin, proven lump.... come on, worth a punt surely?
I showed my 11-year-old lad the picture and he said 'A real motorbike like the Great Escape'. Yes, obviously I know he's wrong but even though he's seen me on a variety of machines during his decade and a bit, he thought it looked like a proper bike.
Good enough for me then.
120 miles away the nice seller (who had claimed on eBay it was bought to keep winter salt off his Harley and he hadn't ridden it) was actually something of an expert on them and had two more....as well as a lock up with around 30 bikes in various states of repair. Hmmm, the eBay story obviously wasn't quite true.
But I liked him and though the bike, with a set of loud, home-welded exhausts, could technically be described as a dog, it did have a full MoT.
So he agreed to knock 25 quid off my £350 bid and I was heading for home. With Green Flag recovery in my pocket (47 quid bargain) I felt pretty confident we'd make it home.
I found myself aboard a very loud (made my old Sportster look civilised) and pretty tall (tiptoes even though I'm 5ft 10in possibly made worse by the oversize front tyre) machine.
It has the heaviest throttle I have ever used and the front twin discs at least allowed me to understand what 'wooden' means. My puny grip is insufficient to pull the lever the required quarter of an inch. Hmm, that'll need work.
To make matters more interesting the left foot rest is bent forward meaning there was little space to fit my size eights under the lever. Madness but somehow I'm transported back to 1978 and my first forays onto the road on mates' machines.
Homeward bound then, Mildenhall to Kent is easy A11, M11,M25, M20. So no changing gear required.
My mate, driving MY car is following and we are both pissing ourselves laughing at the way locals turned their heads as I clumsily blatted down the road (and these folk are used to the roar of Uncle Sam's war planes jetting in and out). There is no delicacy in the throttle.
So....
This next bit is fiction for any off-duty cops who might be perusing this review:We filled up with fuel, a decent 17 litres, and thundered on.
She's no head turner in the original, but battered, maroon and grey, paint job that the Brazilians obviously thought was pretty trendy in the late eighties.
The 19-inch front makes cornering a stable affair which I like: a bit of counter steer, down she goes and stays there. The unrecognised 100/90 tyre is slightly oversize but has decent tread.
The rear wheel is fitted with a tyre that looks too small ( I later findout it is 3.25x18 rather than the 4.60x18 specified. I've just picked up a new Avon Distanzia normally found on BMW's and Triumph's dual purpose bikes - it's a road bias tyre because it looks the nuts).
The back shocks feel soft and as I've said the front brakes need the grip of King Kong but the rear huge disc is progressive and powerful so I'm feeling ok.
It is stable as I open her up on the A11. She reaches an indicated 82mph and cars move aside, most probably thinking a Mildenhall jet has overshot the runway and is coming in to land behind them.
She feels tight and stable and the twistgrip is so heavy I don't want to push her more... anyway it feels like I reached the stop..
After 28 miles I need a fag break and my mate dives out of the car laughing.
He loves the noise but is perplexed. 'What happend to a sensible 60 to 70?' he asks.
I explain that I took her a bit higher and he confirms that he was seeing a clear 100mph on the car clock.
Yes, we finally discover that for the first time in my life I have bought a bike that has an under-reading speedo. I just thought everyone in Suffolk drove like an old lady.
Love it, and in truth I'm pretty chuffed.
The rest of the journey was straightforward, easy, quick - though the rear right indicator packed up making pulling out on M-way challenging - and it really does cruise easily at above the legal limit, should you want to.
Now my law enforcing chums you can rejoin reality now.
Back home: she has a small weep from the tacho drive but nothing else. She's straight, a little surface rust, tank is ding free and the swingarm is solid (apparently a bit of a spot worth checking like the CX) and there is a huge part of me that wants to restore this rough old dog to her former glory.
To Do
But I know the right thing is to sort the pipes, twist grip, front brakes and replace the back tyre with something from at least the 1980s and just ride it into the ground.Stuff I've learned so far that you need to know:
Front tyre pressure 32 back 34psi.
Oil 10w/40 and it takes just 2.5 litres which need changing every 1,800 miles (three litres if you drain her completely).
Manual, dave silverman will flog you a brilliant photocopy of Honda's original for just under seven quid, there is no Haynes or Clymer. Get it, it has everything you could need to know, it arrived in the post today beautifully presented in a ring binder (and it's in Spanish or Portuguese too... I guess for our Brazilian biker pals who bought loads of 'em and they don't rust over there)
A new Motad 2 into 1 costs between 140 and 190 quid - thanks Buster's in Swansea for the cheap option though I'm still waiting for delivery,
Cables do need oiling something I've never bothered with seriously, and hopefully that'll sort the twistgrip.
Webmoto will do you all the service parts.
What more could you want?
The rest I'll let you know.
Anyone who reads this and has any suggestions, help advice, then add it, there is not enough on the web.
Anyone who wants to take the p***, get real, £300 quid biking deserves a place and this could be the way ahead. I'll let you know.
Have a look on Youtube for some of the CB450 DX-K clips, worth a look.
Oh yeah, couldn't stop myself getting a pair of new chrome Oxon shocks off eBay, 30 quid.... and some flatter bars.
See, I'm more passionate about this cheap but super simple 20-year-old machine than I have been about any bike in recent years.
This is going to cost me more I know it.
And it did right click HERE
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