GearJammer
01-20-2006, 12:34 PM
Am REALLY glad to have scored this 450 & the price was definitely right @$800 (running). My thoughts at the time were that I could theoretically ride it until it gave up the ghost & have gotten every penny out of the original purchase & then some. Since then, have cleaned it up & addressed a few minor mechanical issues & am even happier with the buy.
The one concern is the future availability of parts for this model. Some items are already disontinued & as time goes on, I'd guess that that situation will only get worse. Even still, if I could find another running 450 at $1000 or under, I'd probably go for it. Alternate gas tanks could be installed if necessary. Spare parts found at the right price could be bought & stashed, parts bikes are another option if found at a bargain price. Essentially, am wondering if an investment in used 450 parts/parts bikes is the way to go (within reason of course) ?
On the subject of stock gas tanks for the 450, as far as I can tell, what's out there is all that's going to be out there. Once the original stock tanks have been used up, that'll be it except for the use of alternate tanks. The petcocks themselves: Not sure if those are specific to the 450 Rebel or not, or maybe the same petcock is used on various Honda gas tanks, I dunno. But the price of over $100 for a new petcock seems a bit much & I'm not sure of the availability for individual replacement parts for the petcocks to keep them in service. Don't see why an alternate, gravity feed type of petcock couldn't be adapted to the stock tank & just cap off the vent port on the cylinder, just as an option to consider. Some research might be called for. There may be some universal petcock with the right thread to simply install on the gas tank straight across. Or one might have to use an adapter that would thread into the original gas tank threads & then accept a smaller diameter petcock thread into the adapter. Have seen economy brand, universal type petcocks being offerred for much less (some at around $20) than the OEM price. It's really just a matter of whether or not these could be adapted to the stock tank.
The one concern is the future availability of parts for this model. Some items are already disontinued & as time goes on, I'd guess that that situation will only get worse. Even still, if I could find another running 450 at $1000 or under, I'd probably go for it. Alternate gas tanks could be installed if necessary. Spare parts found at the right price could be bought & stashed, parts bikes are another option if found at a bargain price. Essentially, am wondering if an investment in used 450 parts/parts bikes is the way to go (within reason of course) ?
On the subject of stock gas tanks for the 450, as far as I can tell, what's out there is all that's going to be out there. Once the original stock tanks have been used up, that'll be it except for the use of alternate tanks. The petcocks themselves: Not sure if those are specific to the 450 Rebel or not, or maybe the same petcock is used on various Honda gas tanks, I dunno. But the price of over $100 for a new petcock seems a bit much & I'm not sure of the availability for individual replacement parts for the petcocks to keep them in service. Don't see why an alternate, gravity feed type of petcock couldn't be adapted to the stock tank & just cap off the vent port on the cylinder, just as an option to consider. Some research might be called for. There may be some universal petcock with the right thread to simply install on the gas tank straight across. Or one might have to use an adapter that would thread into the original gas tank threads & then accept a smaller diameter petcock thread into the adapter. Have seen economy brand, universal type petcocks being offerred for much less (some at around $20) than the OEM price. It's really just a matter of whether or not these could be adapted to the stock tank.