CB450 Hooligan/Tracker/Adventure Bike AKA "Lucille"

Using automotive type oil will cause the clutch to slip, they don't like the additives that make the oil slippery, wonder why? I've gone to diesel truck oil now mainly because its cheap and has more zinc which is good for air-cooled engines. Rotella 15w-40 is what I run year round.

Now the 1,2 gear thing. That's a common problem with 450 engines, they will all suffer from it eventually. Most of the issue has to do with the shift drum stop parts wearing out, simple easy fixes if you can find the parts. The rarer issues come from the older engines that had soft shift forks, which would bend with repeated use which then causes wear on internal trany parts.

Both can happen any time in the bikes life, just depends on how much shifting you do.

Instead of typing it out, I'll just link a recent discussion on Honda Twins about this exact issue. Its fixable and if you are lucky the engine doesn't have to come out either.

http://www.hondatwins.net/forums/55-engine-discussion/29852-infamous-2nd-gear-popout.html

And if you haven't spent any time looking at the Twins forums, you will not find a larger amount of 450 information and expert advice anywhere.

You are the man!! I'm just going to get a new transmission and replace the whole thing because the way she's acting I'll probably end up replacing just about everything on the original.

I'm glad I'm not the only one and that this is a common issue... Means that the bike is still good and other have successfully fixed it.

I got it running on both cylinders perfectly and damn this thing pulls like a train in second gear!

She mostly pops out in first gear though as I'm letting out the clutch and accelerating. Happens at around 3500rpm mostly and at that point I just shift up into second. The rest of the gears shift smooth just first gear is a nightmare!

I'm still getting mikunis and the rest of my stuff soon though because she could definitely use a diet and little more get up and go.

Where can I get some good sprockets for the 450?? I need a bit of a taller ratio for long trips.

Alright well I've her running great! Fixed the trans (tig welded and reground/reshaped the star thing) and did another full tune up on her... I like to tinker what can I say haha

Also I've gotten new tires tubes, trued the wheels, painted the wheels with VHT wrinkle coat, and tossed in that coil I picked up forever ago. I have red cloth spark plug wires coming soon which will look the tits especially when I get my new battery box made up. I also have an antigravity battery in her now.

Soon to come.. New fenders, tail light, solo seat with 2" springs, and matching pillion pad.

Ohhh yeah I slid the pipes off... Everyone hates me and I'm okay with that! 450s are the loudest bike ever haha this thing drowns out my buddy's shovelhead!

Only had the up the pilot jet 1 size... Top end is still great. 108mph baby 8)

I'm still looking for a different gearing setup.. I need lower cruising rpms BAD

put some mufflers onnit idiot
it wont run right with pipes that short anyhow and you wont have to gear it up "cause the noise scares you
but mostly only complete fucking asshole fags run straight pipes,dont be that guy
you should have known
maybe a car will just pull out in front of you, that would be interesting to hear how you avoid that with no front brake :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGyKBFCd_u4

and if you don't like "the look" of mufflers at least put some baffles in those pipes...

your neighbours must think you're an asshole

How did I know you'd chime in on the pipes xb33 haha it's not the noise it's the fact that I don't think cruising long distances at 7000rpm is a great idea.

As for the front brake I'm trying to find an old drum brake off of the cl models.

I might toss some shorty mufflers on it soon but those won't quiet it down much more or less they'll just change the tone...

Feels like she's running fine to me and it's not like I'm going to be taking this bike onto a track at any point of its life. Plugs look good, pulls hard all the way to redline... I don't see the issue

Ohh yeah and my neighbors actually love my bike! Tons of people all around me ride but most have Harley's or sport bikes and guess what.... They are all loud as hell

Lower cruising gearing can be had just by changing out sprockets. Either go UP ONE tooth on the front or DOWN 2 on the rear. I run 17's up front in both my bikes, 450 runs 75-80 no issues at around 5500-6500.

Pipes, with the look you have you might look at getting some Dunstall replica style mufflers with an UP kick. Shorties on headers look like shit IMHO, like your just to lazy to figure out something else. Dunstalls are loud as hell but will get back your performance.

Kinda like these

http://www.dimecitycycles.com/vintage-cafe-racer-caferacer-bobber-brat-chopper-custom-motorcycle-exhaust-parts-dunstall-reverse-cone-motorcycle-muffler-80-84051.html

with these

http://www.dimecitycycles.com/vintage-cafe-racer-caferacer-bobber-brat-chopper-custom-motorcycle-exhaust-parts-chrome-upswept-exhaust-muffler-adaptors-80-03255.html

Makes it look like this

I'm originally a chopper kinda guy.. I was thinking either cocktail shakers or the slash cut shorties and I went with the slash cuts. I've built 3 of these old Hondas so far but this is my first 450 and I swear I'll die with this bike hah I love it. I've had 2 cb550s and a cb750.

Check out my sketch on page 1. I'm pretty much sticking to that design brief. I have a pile of sketches I've down of this bike in all different styles and this is the one that really gets me excited.

Though I have a slight issue.... Riding in the rain she spits and sputters and eventually dies or only runs on one side. She'll run as long as I barely open up the throttle. Isn't there some kind of gortex covering can put over my pods to keep water out and the air in?

AHHAAAA I found em! Outerwears pre filter.. Anyone have any experience with em?

http://www.outerwearsracing.com/proddetail.asp?prod=55444&cat=12822

Also that's what I meant was changing out sprockets thanks but where can I find some larger or smaller ones for this bike? I've been thinking about getting a rear wheel off of a disk brake cb750 for more gearing options and better stopping power.

Sprockets can be had just about anywhere, ebay or maybe even dime city i haven't looked since I bought mine.

I'm pretty sure the gearing on this bike isn't stock because she screams down the road going 75-80. How much of a difference did the 17 make? I don't know why nothing came up when I searched ebay before but I just found some hahaha 8)

I like the power this bike has off of the line but I need lower rpms at cruising speed

450's had a couple of gearing sets I believe fronts should be 16 tooth and the rears are either 34 or 36. I just bought a 16 for testing an idea out on my 360 from ebay, they swap out so I may try it on the 450 as well.

Screaming down the road is a relative thought, they are built to rev, they can do over 10k RPM from the factory if you have them in proper tune. 7k is not much considering that.

The 17 on mine drops RPMs about a 1000 once you are in 5th. Its kinda interesting to ride now because if I'm in the hills she stays in 4th posted limit is 65 and it just doesn't like that at 4800 in 5th. 75-80 on the interstate is no issue, it wants to cruise at that 6-7000 rpm, that's the sweet spot where they make the most power. My 450 is my road bike, I wanted to get as much distance and fuel mileage out of it that I can.

Mine is definitely my adventure bike. As long as it still have some down low torque for light off road riding that sound great. All of the riding I do is on pretty flat land here in NC some hills but never enough to have to down shift I don't think.

Gonna order the 17t and a new chain asap cause this chain is seriously on its way out haha

I have always wanted a 450. I just love this engine design and the responsiveness of it. When stripped down she is so easy to flick into corners ever on dual sport trials tires and she's a blast rippin out of a stop light!

Re: CB450 Hooligan/Tracker/Adventure Bike AKA "Lucille"

Hey guys so my tranny is finally starting to bite the dust. Found a few cl450 transmissions on eBay and I'm going to rebuild the top end while the motor is apart.

My question is have any of you used the wiseco high compression pistons? Stock bore maybe 1 over with the raised compression to 10.5/1....

Re: CB450 Hooligan/Tracker/Adventure Bike AKA "Lucille"

http://www.enjoygram.com/m/814598657043206807_493341155

Here's a little video of her recent state haha

Re: CB450 Hooligan/Tracker/Adventure Bike AKA "Lucille"

Why didn't you rev it??!!

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