Friday Forum Foraging: Save This Rebel 450!
One owner's plea to save his motorcycle from himself.
Apparently a cult classic among enthusiasts (I had no idea), you can help save this 1987 Honda Rebel 450 from the unfathomable fate of... its current owner. Found on our sister site, the Honda Rebel Forum, This person is tempted to chop the bike up and do irreversible harm to it in the name of customization, but he's relying on you to save this otherwise mostly-in-tact Rebel 450 and keep it in its current state. The modest $2000 he's asking would then go towards buying something else. Presumably something he or she won't feel so bad chopping up.
Interested? Then head over to the Honda Rebel Forum to contact the seller. As usual, we've posted his ad listing below.
Clean title! 16,390 on the clock. If it doesn’t sell I am going to chop the fender, the pipes, and swap to pod filters and modify the frame. Has dents on the right side of the tank,missing a rubber peg grip, and the clutch lever was snapped at some point in its life. Fresh valve cover gasket, fresh ngk long trip plugs, fresh brakes (both ends) tank cleaned, reverted back to a new oem style petcock (because the 250 mod is dumb 🫡) fresh Honda pro 20w50 oil, chain cleaned,lubed and adjusted, new front tire, new mirrors and LED upgrade all around! I’d rather not butcher one of these since they seem to be enjoyed by the real Honda cruiser heads. Help me get to my next bike, and treat yourself to a low mileage example of an awesome bike! Cheers friends! 🍻
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Troy's been riding motorcycles and writing about them since 2006, getting his start at Rider Magazine. From there, he moved to Sport Rider Magazine before finally landing at Motorcycle.com in 2011. A lifelong gearhead who didn't fully immerse himself in motorcycles until his teenage years, Troy's interests have always been in technology, performance, and going fast. Naturally, racing was the perfect avenue to combine all three. Troy has been racing nearly as long as he's been riding and has competed at the AMA national level. He's also won multiple club races throughout the country, culminating in a Utah Sport Bike Association championship in 2011. He has been invited as a guest instructor for the Yamaha Champions Riding School, and when he's not out riding, he's either wrenching on bikes or watching MotoGP.
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I have the same bike on my collection with 1 owner and 17 k miles, I recomend you to clean and seal the gas tank and rebuild the carburator, this bikes are one of the cane that was produced on 86 and 87 with 450 c.c. some parts still available on internet or even from Japan. With 53° rake and 5.3 inches of trail, it handles very easy and safe.
If you need to replace the gas tank, Ebay has a $69 usd brand new painted with 2 colors, blue and black/silver very close to the OEM.
Chop it up how? Like a cafe' style or an actual chopper? Please, no choppers. When I was looking to upgrade from my KZ250 after putting 38,000 miles on it, I test rode a then-new Rebel 450. I liked the bike but the foot pegs were too far forward, hurt my tail bone. After I rode a KZ440, that was what I ended up with. Foot pegs under the seat, much more comfortable for the long rides I had in mind. Some told me it wasn't a "touring" bike, but with a small wind screen and some of those Pony Express saddle bags, I rode all over the west and Canada.