[retro]

2000 Honda Foreman 450 ES

A friend I don't see very often pulled up my driveway with this bike on his trailer a few weeks ago. Said it doesn't charge the battery anymore... "I think the stator might have burned out a couple years ago, think you can fix it?" "Sure" I said, as long as you aren't in any hurry to get it back right away? No problem he says... "It hasn't been running at all for about a year now. I'd like to have an ATV again, but the new ones are so expensive... maybe you can fix this one up? Keep it as long as you like, it ain't doin' me any good anymore."

I responded, "I'll get back in touch with ya in a couple weeks after I find time to check it out. Lets drop it back here..."

The stator tested good. The battery, once the mud was rubbed off of it, looks to me like the original OEM Yuasa. The battery voltage measured just 0.265 volts and one cell is so dead shorted it pegs my battery charger. The regulator/rectifier is probably junk and the connector terminals were found green with corrosion inside. The Solenoid sticks as soon as the starter button is pushed. The starter motor runs, but does not crank the motor over. When I asked him about that, he said it has been that way for years... use the recoil starter to crank it instead.

Uhh... no... I had already spent an hour appraising the bike. It is junk. Its done. Used up. I was thinking to myself it might be worth 100 bucks for parts to someone, but it wasn't worth anything to me. It might be far too late to save it...?

So I asked him how much he was willing to spend on it? I mentioned that it might be made a roller again for about $1400 in parts and supplies... give or take... depends on what else I find wrong with it that I cannot see yet? Its gotta be torn down 1st I told him... there'll be more that needs fixing. He said go for it then. "I'll drop some money off".

So, $1400 (+-) is the opening ante. That figure will definitely be increased a bit as eyeballs get inside it.

The goal is to restore this bike to as close to perfect mechanical/electrical/functional conditions as is possible. AND to carry it out the other end of this project looking as close as possible in its appearance, as a brand new bike....!

All within a very constrained, very challenging budget.

This Foreman has worked very hard and has never been loved, as you are all about to see. If this game can be won, it might find much better care... for a while anyway.

My 1st thought was that I am about to put lipstick on a pig!

 

[retro]

Then I remembered that Fairies wear boots. So this Foreman may become quite attractive in lipstick! Oh ya gotta, ya gotta believe me.... All right now!

 

[retro]

It's stats:
7,143 miles
991.5 hours

Everything is busted or torn up. Nothing works. Every bearing is flopping around like a fish on the bank. Oh, and its got a big (hitch receiver type) luggage rack clamped onto the rear rack. I think he wants that rack put back on there. The little dollar ninety eight china winch is goin' bye, bye though.

Lotsa parts are already ordered and the teardown is underway. This will be a frame up resto. The motor will be taken down for fixin' & refreshing too. New wheels and tires. Some of the plastics will be replaced. The remaining useable parts will all be fixed.

Foremans wear lipstick. Ya gotta believe me...

 

[fishfiles]

Wow, Excellent video !!! a Gothic Fiery with boots on the tank would be cool ..... I like Gothic

show me your wish list , I might be able to send you a Christmas gift or two

 

[fishfiles]

A pig with lip stick , call it War Pig

 

[retro]

I got that one too fishfiles! I bought the Paranoid album (on vinyl) way back in my early high school years and in the late 90s I copied/converted all of my music collection to MP3 and then later on, some of it was encoded in (lossless) FLAC. I got tens of gigabytes of old music stored on SD cards for my (Rockbox firmware converted) MP3/Flac player.

I want to build a boomer amp/woofer/speakers setup from scratch like you got on your ATVs, someday. Hollar if you are ever looking for anything special... I might have it and can post up on my website for download!

 

[fishfiles]

u-tube has every song you could ever want , they also have a fee MP3 convertor , it is very quick to down and up load a song ----------- my latest project has a sound system like the one below , I shopped around and got it for $110 , it is insane loud and clear and doesn't take up as much room on the bike


https://www.ebay.com/itm/BOSS-AUDIO...=item41f0c044f0:g:cWcAAOSwCFNbYNXi:rk:34:pf:0

u-tube convertor

YouTube to MP3 Free Converter

 

[fishfiles]

Retro , I have a 450 engine with the top off that is sitting for parts , would guess the stator is good , it's yours if you need it

 

[LedFTed]

retro; i wish i could remember how far away ya are, but $120.oo dont sound to bad, before ya start fixing it.. fenders dont look that awful bad, plus if the display works?? ??:smile
on the side, how did the front end stay on the ground, if anyone was ever sitting on the back of the that luggage rack?

 

[alloutdoors]

I look forward to seeing the progress along the way. Curious, however, you doing the work outside as one of the pictures looks like snow on the ground with it on a block of wood?

 

[LedFTed]

i too, am curious, as i have to do the same thing, work outside with bad weather. i was thinking of buying a used tent, maybe army surplus, for example.
i looked up army surplus tents just recently. its a joke price wise. ya could build a small work spot, at some of their prices. main thing is to block, wind. then a tin stove, or some other means of heat.

 

[Goober]

Wow Retro now that’s a project!

What’s worse? Rebuilding a quad that was sunkt or one with a rusted glaze?

$1400? SheezaLouisa. If he buys the fender guards, wheels and tires and seat you might have enough to get her running back

Do you have a media blaster?
Over on the three-wheeler site a guy was describing bead blasting a carb. Unfortunately that thread is gone but he said he used glass bead to clean the carb bodies, not sand, because sand is too abrasive.

 

[Goober]

Oooh I found it
Http://www.3wheelerworld.com/archive/index.php/t-161746.html

“Wonderboy asked me if I would outline what I do to prep the carb for bead blasting so here are illustrations of what I do. I stuff the venturi and slide hole with blue paper towel. I also stuff the float valve hole, choke valve hole, and pilot screw hole with wads of paper towel. This is to protect the seats from being hit directly with the glass bead. No matter how hard you try, glass bead is going to find its way in to the carb so don't worry too much about it.

Now, I'm going to say in big bold letters here.... DO NOT BLAST YOUR CARB IN THIS MANNER WITH SAND!!!! DO NOT USE SAND. The properties of sand are completely different than glass bead. Sand has irregular edges, is very aggressive, and hard to control. Glass bead on the other hand is round balls of glass, the size is very consistent, and easy to control. DO NOT USE HARBOR FREIGHT GLASS BEAD!!! that stuff is junk. Its full of debris, and it has LEAD in it. Find a local dealer that sells US made glass bead. I found a #12 glass bead work great in these small syphon type cabinets. I have an inexpensive benchtop blast cabinet. I removed the cheap ass florescent light that came in it and installed 4 120v under cabinet puck lights. I put a regulator on it with a water separator and have a small vacuum plumbed in to it. I bought an assortment of inexpensive wire baskets from Office Max to put parts in to. This setup works very well. I have the pressure set at 60psi. Anything over that is just destroying the glass bead faster with no added benefit. I dump about 80lbs of glass in it as you can see. I run my rubber parts through it. It takes 25 years+ of dirt and grime off and makes the rubber parts look almost new. Far better than a toothbrush and Dawn dish soap.”

 

[Trailfreak]

Retro, you know when you asked me what is my next project? I didn’t mentioned it, but if there is one project I would like to do and that I’ve been thinking about for a while now, would be a 450ES project like the one you got there.

I think they area great machines, they are not too big, they are powerful, perfect to plow snow, not bad for trail riding, not know to have many issues, solid and reliable machines. I’ve always wanted one. The problem around where I live is you don’t see any for $500 on Craigslist. Most that need work are around $1700. There’s one on Craigslist now but they want that much. My friend bought a 2002 450ES for $2200 and it needed a little work, new shift motor, angle sensor and rectifier. Lots of low miles/hours 450’s on Craigslist for between $2500-$3500. Would I be better off just buying a $3000 low use machine than buying a $1700 one and rebuild it for another $150o if not more money? I don’t need to buy another machine unless I can do a restoration project to learn more and for fun.

Looking forward to watching this project move along. Lots to learn I’m sure, for many of us.

Many great projects folks have on here.

 

[Macarena Man]

. . . . I’ve been thinking about . . . a 450ES project like the one you got there.

I think they area great machines, they are not too big, they are powerful, perfect to plow snow, not bad for trail riding, not know to have many issues, solid and reliable machines. I’ve always wanted one.
The problem around where I live is you don’t see any for $500. on Craigslist. Most that need work are around $1700. There’s one on Craigslist now but they want that much. My friend bought a 2002 450ES for $2200. and it needed a little work, new shift motor, angle sensor and rectifier. Lots of low miles/hours 450’s on Craigslist for between $2500.-$3500.
Would I be better off just buying a $3000. low use machine than buying a $1700. one and rebuild it for another $1500. if not more money? I don’t need to buy another machine unless I can do a restoration project to learn more and for fun.

Looking forward to watching this project move along. Lots to learn I’m sure, for many of us.

Many great projects folks have on here.

As TF mentions above . . .
The 450S/ES machines also go for a high dollar here on the west coast Canada.
They are a well designed machine, and definitely a 'utility' quad.
Bought my first '99 450S for $2800. Low kms/hrs. Now has 10,000kms/6000mi. Completely predictable/trouble free.
Second '99 450ES is a ultra low kms/hrs. machine. But, I did pay a higher price !
They just don't last very long on Craig's or Kijiji . . . other folks have recognized the quality of design and toughness of these quads.
I too will be following the threads on these great machines. :grin

 

[retro]

Retro , I have a 450 engine with the top off that is sitting for parts , would guess the stator is good , it's yours if you need it

Thanks fishfiles! I tested the stator and its good... everything else on the bike is junk tho. The battery looks like the original Yuasa (dead shorted) thats probably why the regulator/rectifier fried. I bought a used rectifier from PSN, along with a big box full of other needed used parts. I'm sure I'll be hitting PSN up for more once I get it completely apart.

Get this: I got 3 Pivot Works bearing/seal kits on the way... complete front wheel bearing kit, rear wheel bearing kit and a steering stem bearing kit... all 3 kits for only $69.11 shipped! Lifetime guaranteed! I'm learnin' from you guys... Thanks for the tip!

 

[retro]

retro; i wish i could remember how far away ya are, but $120.oo dont sound to bad, before ya start fixing it.. fenders dont look that awful bad, plus if the display works?? ??:smile
on the side, how did the front end stay on the ground, if anyone was ever sitting on the back of the that luggage rack?

I'm in the NW'ern UP of MI. The fenders & plastics conditions exceed my acceptance standards by a ton... so they'll each be massaged back to shiny new condition, and a couple of the plastics will be replaced.

Ya, I wonder about that rear addon rack too... might need to fab up a wheelie bar for it.

 

[retro]

I look forward to seeing the progress along the way. Curious, however, you doing the work outside as one of the pictures looks like snow on the ground with it on a block of wood?

Yep, outdoors in the snow and propped up on two maple stumps and a jack stand! On pallets! LOL

I do all of my resto work at my deer camp cause no one bothers me way out here. I am way more productive when I can escape out here in the boonies. The only downside to that is, I gotta work outdoors during teardown and reassembly. Parts get stored in the shed until I am ready to fondle them, then I bring them indoors where its warm, one at a time, to clean & perform a rehab on each of them. It looks tougher than it really is... I'm accustomed to working like that... so I've gotten pretty good at it.

My camp is offgrid, solar powered. I have an old portable welder & generator (you can see it running in the background in one of the pics above), an air compressor, power tools, everything I need is out here.

I'm tickled that y'all are here too.

 

[retro]

i too, am curious, as i have to do the same thing, work outside with bad weather. i was thinking of buying a used tent, maybe army surplus, for example.
i looked up army surplus tents just recently. its a joke price wise. ya could build a small work spot, at some of their prices. main thing is to block, wind. then a tin stove, or some other means of heat.

Nah... just don't teardown or reassemble during a blizzard! Its toasty warm indoors. I have a bench and a table setup in one room with vices, gazillion tools, cleaning station, sinks, etc.... I use an empty room to hang up parts in after painting and I have cut-sheets of plywood that I lay down on the floor to protect it while I work. I have sheds outdoors full of tools & equipment and parts. No wifey... so there is never anyone cussing out here 'cept me... no worries!

 

[retro]

Hi Goober,

I don't have a media blaster yet, but its been on my list for a quite a while. I'm looking for something very old and big... I like old, reliable stuff that can be fixed up but bought for cheap.

That said, I clean carbs the old fashioned way using Berrymans, compressed air (my air is outdoors tho) and brushes, pretty much like you've been doing.

There's some great threads on 3 Wheeler World I read that site too, occasionally. ThumperTalk is another good site for old-school HowTos.

I'm not gonna sand blast or media blast anything on this bike. Lotsa vinegar and sweat tho... the wheels are getting replaced with new OEMs so that bails me out of the worst of the rust. The frame is gonna be shined up with acid (armstrong method, lots of sweating goin' on) then repainted.