Ten months to go.

With only 10 months till the trek to the Bonneville salt flats, I guess I had butt get my but in gear if I'm going to get this bike race ready. Here's a video of the bike being dismembered and put into boxes just to bring you up to speed.

 

So, after a few months went by, I kept reminding myself what needed to be done. Rebuild the bike into something worthy of a land speed record. It's worth mentioning that at this very moment another bike is being build by my father, brother in-law and myself out in Okotoks to compete in a different class. A 1978 GC1000 is being turned into a recumbent stream liner to try and get to over 200 mph. But that's a whole other ball of wax which I'll get into later.

I've started on the engine so far. Seems like a good starting point. Now, with an engine displacement that makes most men (and some women) laugh, I need to get this little engine to perform in a way that no other 450cc engine has. What to do, what to do. The answer ended up being simple. Turbo. No other CB450 out there has one. At least none that I could find. If you know of one I'd love to hear from you. 

I intend to lower the stock compression ration of 9.3:1 down to around 6/7:1 and change the pistons. Every web site I visit tells me that the best way to turn your stock pistons into shrapnel is to add a turbo. Something to do with the castings.

I'll leave you with a few picks to show you where I'm at so far on the build.

So, here's a brief overview of the history of the Double Shot. The bike I found in the alley way is so far from what came off the assembly line I'm not even sure what to call it other than the name I've given it. The bike started as a 1978 CB400T but after the original engine was found to be beyond repair, I bought an engine from a 1984 CB450. The engine mounts between the two were identical so the switch was a piece of cake. Even the stock wiring harness fit. People ask me what year the bike is and I always reply,"What part?" Even the tank is from a different bike.

Many years later and after an interesting ride down to Bonneville Utah, my dad and I came up with the notion of returning with a bike that we could actually race during either Speed Week or BUB down on the flats. Truth be told, the jury is still out on that, but well get to that later. So far we've purchased a 78 GS1000 to race for the scary speeds, and I"ve torn the CB450 down to the nuts and bolts to try to race for the "I told you it could be done" speeds.

The purpose of this blog is to record the events that take place from now till race day in August/September 2013. If your interested in learning the back story of the build of the CB450, check out Do the Ton. Then if you haven't seen it already, check out our documentary on YouTube called Bums to Bonneville

Stay tuned.

It all started with a trip to my Grandmothers house about about 8 years ago. It was under a tarp in the alley down the lane from her apartment. This is the story of how a 100 dollar bike turned into a Bonneville contender.