Purchased for $400 in non running condition with 1500 miles on the odometer is this little beauty a Honda CB450 Cafe Racer called ‘Lucky 13’ – fitting we think when you see what it was before Joe got his hands on it, and what it is now!
It all began with a mission to build something clean, which can be ridden to work or turn up to Bike/Car shows. Joe Archambault, like many others started this project with a few things in mind, it’s safe to say that once the build began he got a little carried away!
Joe enlisted his brother Tim and friend Tony to help him with this build, now the boys were ready to get their hands dirty! The stock 1972 Honda CB450 was stripped down to the frame and completely dismantled.
After 25 years of glory this engine was clearly ready to be overhauled, Joe opened it apart and what he was greeted with inside didn’t look very appealing. The head went to the machine shop for a good clean and the carbs were also cleaned and rebuilt. The engine was painted in Harley-Davidson texture black and fitted with a 2 in 2 exhaust. The 1972 Honda CB450 engine went though a serious rebuild, way too many details to go into now.
The tail section of the frame was chopped off and welded and an aluminum sheet was also chopped down to make a seat pan. Not so ‘Lucky’ was Joe with the seat, he purchased a great looking one from eBay that was unfortunately too big. Using the original foam Joe ended up trimming it and getting an upholstery shop to recover it with suede. The ‘Lucky 13’ rolls on 2.15×19 and 2.75×18 rims, wrapped in Conti go tires.
Featuring a superb paint job using Volvo paint flint grey metallic and giving the bike a vintage feel is a nice Honda decal placed on the tank. Joe also built a battery box using some scrap metal from a previous project, and the front and rear fenders were also hand fabricated and painted by Joe.
Joe sourced the parts for this build from various places, headlights are off eBay, Ducati Monster grips and dust covers from Dime City Cycles. We think the photos speak for themselves but if you want to know more about this build check it out on ‘Do the Ton‘
