1968 CL450 K0 - light recomission

[JamesH]

I purchased this bike back in 2017 and it’s sat at the back of the workshop awaiting its turn.

My next 750 restoration is going to be the CB750P2 Police bike, so whilst the engine for that is being finished up I thought it was about time the CL had its turn.

When I got the bike back in 2017 I serviced it thoroughly and had it MOT’d and then ‘other projects’ got in the way and it was drained of fluids, cylinders fogged and put into hibernation.

The paint set was sent over to Menno with the plan to recommission the bike for the 2018 season.

Here we are in 2021 and it’s now time to sort it..

This is a very early CL (vin is the 67xx range) and was a complete and original (albeit quite cosmetically tired) when it came to me.

So the plan for this was to completely strip and clean, but not over restore or do a full nut and bolt restoration, as this didn’t seem to stack up financially or imho do the bike justice.

I started the strip-down back in August 2021 and stupidly didn’t take that many photos initially, so there are some big gaps in the process…

Here a photo of the bike back in 2017 just prior to its export to the UK..(it’s a Kansas bike originally) .

[JamesH]

Start of the strip down.

The bike was damaged in transit by the shipper and the front LH turn signal was knocked, deforming/denting the fork ear (bloody annoying).

Overall though the bike is very very original.

I wasn’t planning to document / share this build, but seeing hows it’s come together in the past few weeks (and given some of the striking similarities to the early 750) I thought I might as well share here.

[JamesH]

The anatomy of a CL450 seat.

The original seat on the bike was too nice to restore, so I’ve kept that to one side and managed to source a really solid replacement to restore.

Interesting internal construction…

Also note how the reverse side of the seat pan was unpainted from the factory!! No wonder these had a tendancy to rust out..

[JamesH]

Seat pan stripped by hand and rattle-can painted in the garden lol..tournedos out pretty well.

Original red foam was fine but need some reinforcement and ‘padding out’ - used 3mm seat scrim back foam.

Seat cover sourced with correct patterned top and piping.

[JamesH]

The original seat next to the budget-refurbished one.

I’m not 100% happy with the finish (the scrim reinforcement / padding is showing through as the seat vinyl is very thin) but it’ll do for now and if it really pisses me off I’ll strip and replace the entire foam later down the line…

[JamesH]

So I missed quite a few photo steps - but basically the whole bike was stripped down to the engine / frame.

Bronze swingarm bushes fitted (identical arrangement to the CB750), headstock bearings replaced, frame cleaned / touched up in places, wheels cleaned, engine deep-cleaned.

All of the chrome parts were hand-polished and nothing was re-zinced, just cleaned / de-rusted.

Engine covers were removed and polished. Fork lowers, brake plates and top triple tree also being polished.

This is the result after hours and hours of cleaning and re-assembly (chipping away at it).

Menno’s repainted side-covers refitted..

This was the point I realised it was going to look waaay better than I had anticipated..

[Bryanj]

James you put the rest of us to shame, as usual. You really can go off people you know!

[JamesH]

James you put the rest of us to shame, as usual. You really can go off people you know!

Hardly Bryan, but thanks for the compliment..

[JamesH]

This is the current ‘state of play’ today, bringing the thread up to date.

Front end back on, fork lowers were polished.

New fork seals, original gaitors cleaned, top triple and clamps polished.

Fork ears repainted (managed to find a NOS LH ear from DSS in primer).

Seat test-fitted.

Need to make some minor wiring repairs and hope to have her buttoned-up and back up and running sometime next week.

[AshimotoK0]

Looks fantastic James and love the original 'crocodilely' seat top vinyl. I once had a really lovely SS125 seat with that pattern on the top and gold piping. I assumed it was either NOS or dealer take off but I later discovered ( ) that Leightons in Brum had done it .. I have seen their adverts in magazines but didn't realise they did Honda seats.

[Spitfire]

Superb work as usual.

Cheers

Dennis

[MrDavo]

Lovely bike! My mate describes my blue one as ‘still as pretty as a picture’.

You asked me about my pattern seat, although it is perfect shape wise, your original cover looks better with the more rugged fake crocodile finish. Mine has a cheap Chinese flasher relay - the part is shared with the CB750 sandcast, so only available at silly money.

The chrome has come up nice, I think it’s better quality than people give Honda credit for. I couldn’t find an early alternator cover either, they get beggared up by the gear lever every time you fall off.

I hope you get a chance to use this one, I ride mine all the time for local journeys as it’s great for buzzing through the traffic as well as the country lanes.

[JamesH]

Lovely bike! My mate describes my blue one as ‘still as pretty as a picture’.

You asked me about my pattern seat, although it is perfect shape wise, your original cover looks better with the more rugged fake crocodile finish. Mine has a cheap Chinese flasher relay - the part is shared with the CB750 sandcast, so only available at silly money.

The chrome has come up nice, I think it’s better quality than people give Honda credit for. I couldn’t find an early alternator cover either, they get beggared up by the gear lever every time you fall off.

I hope you get a chance to use this one, I ride mine all the time for local journeys as it’s great for buzzing through the traffic as well as the country lanes.

Thanks Dave. One of the reasons for not going full but and bolt on this one is exactly fro that reason - I want a bike that I’m not so massively invested in financially or scared to use. I’ll report back once I’ve been out on a maiden voyage.

Out of interest, what tyres do you run on yours?

[McCabe-Thiele (Ted)]

Wow James that's a lovely looking "clean not restoration" job you are doing - I have no idea why but the heat shields on the exhuast sytem look  Iconic for the period they just add something extra to the one sided system cosmetically as well as practically.

Neat & Tidy said Mr Neat Tidy & Neat said Mr Neat

[MrDavo]

I use Dunlop K70s, for the blocky off road look without the downsides of knobbly tyres on tarmac.

They are Indonesian made I think, I found them on eBay.

I rev the nuts off it, by the way, there isn’t a load of torque but it loves to buzz along. Unless I miss a gear though, I doubt I’ll ever see the 9,500 red line. The carbs took a lot of setting up before she would run right, very sensitive to float levels, but once it was right I could forget about it, tickover is metronomic now, at first it was all over the place.

Strobing the timing seems to require an alternator cover with a hole cut in it, as these are rare (even damaged) I’ve only timed it static, but without problems so far. Common with many other 450 owners, charging seems marginal but I’ve never been stranded. She started first kick when the battery was flat after a long sleep in the garage.