Henry Bell is another home builder from Do The Ton who has taken the bull by the horns to build his own dream ride, and this is his second machine, "Ginger", built from a 1970 Honda CL450. Here's how she arrived... And here's where the vision began... My name is Henry Bell, I live in Denver, Colorado U.S.A. Been building bikes for the past 3 years and have learned more than I could have ever imagined. Started with a standard cafe conversion on a 1976 CJ360, dropped her down to below 300lbs, did the exhaust and intake and got her to hit the ton and then some. Then I decided it was time for more speed, and some off-road capabilities. Having heard wonders about the Honda 450 platform, it was an easy choice. I picked up the 1970 Honda CL450 with 20,000 miles on it in the middle of winter. Trucked it to my garage and went to town. Rebuilt the head, restored stock compression, swapped-in some Mikuni VM32 carbs, opened up the exhaust and shaved countless pounds off of her, and now she screams. I've probably put about 300+ hours into the build and it took me just over 9 months to get her running proper. Everything on the bike has been customized or altered in some way to increase performance and enhance the riding experience.

I installed a steering damper from a GSXR, which provided significant stability at speeds, Hagon shocks in the rear for better suspension, rebuilt the front forks, custom Italian leather seat, the whole 9 yards--and all in my garage.

The torsion bars of the 450 took some getting used to, as they certainly aren't as transparent as valve springs, but the process of learning a new motor was priceless.

I called the bike "Ginger" because I, myself, am a ginger, and the bike embodies all that is me. She is a kick ass around town ride that is faster than expected (spent the weekend keeping up or passing the fellow riders at the DGRide, and they all have new Triumphs). When I get bored riding on the road, she is completely dialed-in for dual-sport rides and handles well in the dirt/sand as well. Passion compelled me to create something that would maintain the classic style of a vintage Honda, but at the same time provide the performance and aggressive handling for both on and off the road. I hope to keep her in the stable for the kids to one day take over.

Henry and Chums at the Distinguished Gentleman's Ride 2012. Well done, Sirs!

Gentleman and his Lady (...we assume it was warmer than it was in London)

Ready for the open road...

Follow the original build thread on Do The Ton, HERE, and read more about Henry's CJ360 soon...