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1970 Honda CL450 Scrambler

10K views 20 replies 8 participants last post by  jkv357 
#1 ·
Just starting on the next project - a 1970 CL450 Scrambler. Another bike I've owned for about 25 years that has been sitting in a garage here and there.

Before any clean-up -





Looks like the chrome will polish-up pretty well -



Gonna need tires and a few additional parts. The tank is varnished inside, but not rusted. Compression is good. 16,000 mi, After a good bath the carbs will need to come off and be ultrasonic cleaned and rebuilt. New seat cover, paint, and decals among other things.
 
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#2 ·
memories of my blue cb450 [with dunstall megaphones].. with torsion bar valve control [needs good oil supply].. beautiful engine casting imo, with quality chrome responding well to goddards glo and that touch of fanaticism [which you have already achieved].. torsion bar torque after almost 50yrs could be a factor, ie, if you intend to ride this one...
 
#6 · (Edited)
OMG!! I bought one just like this one in the 80's, for about 600 bucks. It was a 1970 model but stamped manufactured in '69. In about the same condition too. I rebuilt the carbs, replaced other small parts like the rectifier and exhaust gaskets, new tires, battery and it ran like new! I ended up trading it for a new '91 Honda 750 Nighhawk lol. Thanks for the memories!
 
#7 ·
Here are some of the photos that were lost to the Photofuckit debacle -

Before anything -





After a good wash -






Update 7/21/17 -

Cleaned and rebuilt the carbs, new plugs, set the points - and it fired right up!

Last time it ran was probably 20 years ago.

Electric starer was spinning, but not engaging so I kicked it over. Took about 4 or 5 kicks to fire up. Ran really well - idled smoothly and no smoke at all.

My 17 year old son was helping me. Last time it ran he wasn't even a twinkle...
 
#11 ·
I'm glad that's the case! Good luck with the project, and please don't forget to update us on your progress.

Though they're not scramblers, I've seen a few CB500/CB750 Four from the 70's listed on my local Craigslist that I'm so tempted to pick up for a weekend project. The only thing keeping me is their high asking prices, since a lot of people are picking these up and turning them into cafe racers at the moment. I'd much prefer to keep everything as original as possible... There's just a nostalgic elegance to these bikes in the way they're originally designed that it'd be a shame to convert them into a cafe racer, especially if done poorly.
 
#12 · (Edited)
In 1970 that was a BIG bike. I too lusted after this model from reading about it in my motorcycle mags. But I was only in 7th grade at the time. Could only dream...
Got one in the 80's (post above) and cleaned it up like yours. It ran perfectly for the time machine it was. I love your pipes and can't believe how good the seat looks.
Don't make my mistake and sell it anytime soon. Or if you do, please let me know!
Added: btw, I thought it was so cool that this 1970 model had electric start! I had replaced the kickstarter cause it was broke and thought I would need it, but the bike never failed to crank with the button after putting in a bit of work and parts.
 
#19 ·
Polished-up the rear backing plate -





Not mirror-shine, but pretty sure that's about the right level - but it's hard to know. The bikes in the Honda ads probably had more shine, but those most likely were "photo bikes" and not production models.

Trying not to over-restore it. Won't be a museum piece when done, but it should be decent.

Working on the wheels now. Some rust on the chrome rim and corrosion on the spokes to deal with. Going to try light blasting with plastic media on the inner area of the hub to clean it up. You really can't get in there with anything else.
 
#20 · (Edited)
Got the front rim and hub polished-up to an acceptable level -



Used some plastic media to blast-clean the area of the hub between the spokes, as you really can't get in there. Worked ok. A lot better than it was. Spent quite a bit of time with 0000 steel wool and Mothers Mag polish to get a decent shine on the chrome rim. Ended-up using a 3" 3000-grit sanding pad with polish to cut through some light corrosion on the hub, which worked better than steel wool and was a bit softer on the aluminum.

I used the Eastwood Afterblast and steel wool on the inside of the rim, which was quite rusted in spots. Will put the WD-40 Specialist Corrosion Inhibitor on before mounting the tires.

On to the rear wheel. I'll have to remember to get a "before" shot of it. It's not great, but should be fine after some cleaning and polishing. Hopefully.
 
#21 ·
Rear wheel isn't great -









Some gouges in the side of the rim in one spot when some !#$%^& changed the tire with a screwdriver and a chisel (or similar inappropriate tool).

Got new bearings and seals on order. Will need a sprocket as well.

Surprising how older Hondas had some overly-complicated designs. The rear hub and sprocket mounting includes studs/nuts, a snap ring, and some kind of threaded cover (under the black rubber cover) you have to remove to get to the bearings. My '64 Dream has some overly-complicated designs as well. I tend to think of the old stuff as "simple", but not always...
 
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