Kikker at the BMF

Here is a picture from the Kikker 5150's UK debut at the BMF Show in Peterborough last month (May 2009). Workshop Chops took along four assembled machines as the company launched its dealership in the UK. It is the only importer of the little bobber which guarantees to get it on the road legally.
See the first Kikker 5150 UK road test HERE
See Workshop Chops website HERE
See more pics from the Workshop Chops album HERE
Added May 15, 2011, the BMF Show 2011 preview of new UK competitor to the Kikker, Tha Heist, 250cc bobber HERE

Lady rider revealed

A few months ago I posted a vid of my lady riding my CB450 DX just a day or so before she passed her test. (She did and she now rides a CBR600 after a brief flirtation with a Yamaha XJ600)
Well the video on Youtube of her riding the 450DX has attracted a few hits and a couple of people asked to see more of her because the quality was a bit poor.

Why it's Kikker time

Good to see so many people falling in love with the Hardknock Kikker 5150. Hits on this site and my other blog (suzibking.blogspot.com) have gone through the roof over the past 24 hours.
I can only assume that's because Gaz and the lads from Workshop Chops in Nottingham were at the BMF Show in Peterborough this weekend.
Neat bike, good bunch of lads, see my Hardknock Kikker 5150 review, the first UK published road test of a 200cc Kikker by right clicking HERE. Or see the next post.

First UK test of Hardknock Kikker 5150 200cc

Pic from Ancientcycles.com in the US. Workshop Chops test bike pictured at the end

Forget everything you've read or thought, the Hardknock Kikker is a unique motorcycle that manages to encapsulate the tradition of US bobbers, but has its own style and offers a riding experience like no other.

Writing this has taken me a few weeks but I can tell by the number of hits this site is taking that there is a huge interest in the Kikker.

So here is the first 'road test' in the UK of the 200cc Hardknock Kikker 5150.

From 20-year-old workhorse to 21st Century design icon

What I bought next Click HERE

Sold for just £385, a genuine good deal

So, she's sold. Last night 8pm. The buyer has yet to pick her up but at £385, it is a bargain.
What was interesting was the number of people who were watching - 62 - and yet only three chucked in a bid.
When you consider I bought her for £325 and have spent all the bits you can see here on the blog, the fella who bought her has a true bargain.

CB450 DX... she's for sale

You know how she was when I started and this is what she is now.

It was never my intention when I started this Blog but I've put the bike for sale back on eBay.

My girlfriend's passed her test and what was perfectly adequate to keep up with her while she ran around on a GS125 on L plates is now not enough as she's rapidly progressed from passing her test, to an XJ600 and now a CBR600.

If you are interested in buying, by all means take a look on eBay, search 'CB450 DX' or click the link below.

Those of you who have been regular visitors will know she's been pretty well cared for and if nothing else, this site should act as a decent resource for finding bits and places to go for anyone looking to keep one of these undervalued machines on the road. If you look for a picture on Google of a CB450 DX, the pics on this site are in the top dozen and searches for information bring this site up regularly.

How to get a workshop manual for CB450 DX

I've noticed some visitors here are finding it when searching for a "Honda CB450 DX workshop manual" on Google.

I needed a manual too when I first picked the bike up in January. There isn't one BUT, as I've suggested in an earlier post, David Silver Spares will help.

The original reason for this site was to get some more details out there on the web for people picking up this unloved (in the UK at least) bike for the first time.

What links the CB450 DX with a Formula 1 legend?

A few posts ago I mentioned that the Brazilians got a special edition Nelson Piquet version of the CB450DX.
Intrigued, I went searching - the internet's not all about porn you know - and I found this on a Brazilian biker site where they were raving as usual about the CB and I repeat here, exactly, the fella's post (translated by Google, so it loses something of course).

Why has the heavyweight Horse embraced the Kikker 5150

Since writing this piece back in March, I've ridden the first 200cc Kikker in the UK. See my full review by right clicking HERE


Just a quick word on the Kikker 5150. There's a US mag, The Horse, which genuinely steers away from all that is negative about the wannabe Harley boys and focuses on the essence of the chop.

Why you have to love the Kikker 5150

Click Here for first UK road rest of the Hardknock Kikker 5150 200cc

Yes I know this is a site for the CB450DX, but you need to see this too.
As I plug away sanding the new tank before the flat tracker paintjob on the DX, my head has been turned over the past few weeks.

Is this a case of more is less?

Laugh? I nearly fell off my chair. This is curious, but as ever beauty is in the eye of the beholder etc etc.
But then, when you look closely, you can see there's a bit of work in it. Surely this can not be a proper production model,even if the Brazilians managed to palm off the old jigs to Indonesia or something...
Anyway, anyone who can translate for me and help me under stand what this is about would be extremely welcome.

Why the CB450 DX makes one South American want a real Superdream

Ok, you few regular readers already know that the Honda CB450 DX-K, as it was known in the UK, was built in Brazil.
But while it wasn't that popular here, it's interesting to see what our Brazilian pals think. And this excellent piece by 26-year-old Chico Rasia, from Curitiba in Brazil is worth a read and gives an insight into a biker's dreams on the other side of the globe.
He confirms the CB450 was built in Brazil for a decade from 1984 (as the military dictatorship stepped aside).
He writes: "So Brazilians got to know the CB450DX, with triple disc brakes, the CB450 Luxury Sport.
"There was even a CB450 Nelson Piquet, in honour of the famous F1 driver. The CB450 remained in production until 1994."
Right click here tell him we sent you.

My lady passes her test...

So after a quick ride on the CB450 DX last weekend, three days direct access training - Folkestone's Channel Rider Training and that nice bloke Nigel - aboard an ER5, my favourite biker lady passed her test.... first time too. She obviously didn't put her foot down during the U-turn when she took the test.
And that means her 1981 Suzuki GS125 is for sale. Should sell easily enough, it's clean and tidy and £350... same price we paid for it on eBay last November (actually we sold it today for £330, friend of a friend... and the engine number did NOT match we discovered. Now I'm not too worried but out of the three eBay bikes we've bought in the past six months, two have different engines. So do check, ask the seller on eBay, or wherever).
Anyway, the vid's on here just in case anyone wondered how she got on after the piece I'd written below. Oh yes above is another crappy phone video, but it's longer. I've put a couple on Youtube so people interested in DXs can find their way here (clever eh?)

A bit of CB450 DX history

Top: CB450S '87
Middle CB900F '83
Bottom CB450 DX-K

Righto, it's come to my attention that we've digressed a little from the original purpose of this site which was to help you IF you were considering the purchase of this unglamorous machine.
Well here's what I've gleaned over the past couple of months and if nothing else it'll make a better Wiikipedia entry than exists presently. Yes, I know, I could bother to write it myself but if anyone wants to copy and paste any of the info here, that's fine by me.

Inspired by a tiny single cylinder Honda...

So here's a pic of the FTR223, which I'm using as a basis for the paint job for the CB450DX. My lady has just suggested I go buy one and save the CB from a fate worse than restoration... she might have a point.
The picture is nicked from here, and if you're looking lads, brilliant site and thanks for the inspiration

Flat tracker turned old school chop

Below I'd mentioned the Honda FTR223 which I really like, but in Japan the kids are not necessarily keen on the machine as it leaves the factory and you can see from the picture, the simple frame and engine layout lends itself well to junking all the unnecessary bits. Clean, simple lines never go out of style, right?

Right Click HERE for some of the cool stuff our Japanese pals get up to with small capacity machinery.

Honda's tiny flat tracker

So, I like way Honda knocked out the little FTR223, main pic ,and intend to copy the paint for the tank.

For anyone interested in the Honda FTR223, they were imported into the UK for a couple of years after 2000. The only one I can find for sale in the whole of the UK costs £1,495 and has been there for at least three months at BAT MOTORCYCLES (there was a January sale reduction so I'm sure they'll haggle)

Cheap bits to paint...

Ebay again for a second hand mudguard and, more importantly, a second hand petrol tank.
Both were cheap: the plastic mudguard (inset top right of picture) was under three quid and the tank was £17.50 which included the fuel tap and the sender for the petrol gauge.
For less than 40 quid, including post it gives me the chance to have a crack at painting without being forced to take the bike of the road. It is worth noting that all the paintwork looks in the pictures far superior to its actual condition.
My plan now is to spray the bike in the style of Honda's cute FTR22 (see above), I like the FTR's style but I'm not sure the performance would be enough to survive.
And on the CB450 the white paint with the red and blue along with a set of lower, wider bars, we'll have the look I think.
The Japanese love the little FTR223 and in fact the few that were grey imports into the UK make strong money – Bat Motorcycles had a '94 which they valued at £1,500 earlier this year.

Another short clip

Lookin' good. My missus, on the eve of taking her direct access takes the old CB for a little jaunt without her helmet or L plates... (yep shot on a phone again, so it's rubbish quality)

Turn your CB450 into cash... chop it

When this came up on eBay I was - as you can see in the article below - well, sceptical about its value.
I honestly thought the seller would be lucky to score three hundred quid.
But it sold for £720 and had a staggering 1,873 views...
Well done crazy custom rat bloke from Bristol.
Now where's my hacksaw...?

Warming up then...

Short film shot on mobile... you'd never guess.

All up about £500 so far

Cleaned up

Did some new pics today and went for a 40 mile run this afternoon. All coming together quite well. Not too happy with the way the Motad downpipes are colouring up but you can see the CB450 DX is cleaning up OK. As always, pictures make bikes look better than they are (so make allowance when buying on the net, especially on eBay). Adjusted the clutch cable today and I'm still not too happy with the reach on the front brake lever. There's more feel than when I bought the bike a month ago though... probably just because it's being used

Now there's an idea...

Be warned kids, this is what can happen with a copy of BSH, a couple of drinks inside you and not too much cash. Surely this is a mistake of similar proportion to that made by the designer of the Honda Spacy.

Two more pics of the bargain Brazilian

Yours for £350.... no price quoted for delivery. Click here for original ad

Here's one the Brazilians made later and it's only £350

Ok, ignore the tassles and see this CB450 '94. It was for sale in Brazil found on the net for 1,200 Brazilian Real... that's cheap. It's about £350. Ok the ad was October 2007, but you get the idea.
It's pretty obvious they don't use salt on the roads. It's clean and tidy and the best part is, the Brazilians seem to look after them too. The seat has been cut down, it's a tall 32 ins as standard, the horn has been moved to make way for the tool roll... all in all a nice job

Fitted: Motad 2 into 1, quieter and tidier

The Motad 2 into 1 tidies up the front and the pipes are turning a lovely coppery gold colour after 40-odd miles. The sound is typical Honda actually and as I get older I appreciate silencers more - see below for the evil racket it made when I bought it. I spent five years with a Harley and there is nothing like the sound of unbaffled pipes on the 45 degree V twin.

New Motad, shocks and rear tyre

The Motad exhaust was easy, (£140 Busters)three pieces, less than an hour to strip the old and fit. The Oxon shocks (£29.99 ebay) which vary in price up to £60 are Chinese made, the chrome's decent enough and they seem to work ok. And of course the 4.60x18 Avon Distanzia tyre (£40 ebay again). More often found on the rear of big dual purpose bikes, it looks nice. The old CB feels stable and quick enough and gave no cause for concern on a 30 -mile ride a A-road at the weekend.

REVIEW: Day One, the eBay 'bargain'

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.

What do you mean you don't want a CB450DX?

I am not the sort of bloke who does web pages for fun, but in this case there is a need to help you with the 20 year old Honda CB450DX.
If you want a cheap, fun, easy to maintain, bike which will carry a passenger and cruise at 80 on the motorway all for under £400, then there ain't a lot out there.
And if you do decide the bastard offspring of the old CB400N (yes the much maligned Superdream) turned out in a Brazilian jungle and imported into Britain between 1989 and 92 is for you, then you are gonna have a difficult job finding out what you need to know.

Ebay, £325 with MoT but home cooked exhaust has to go

Dog as bought end of Jan 09... we have plans