'68 CL450 Scramblin' Man

platkeyboy

Been Around the Block
Well, I'm back. I picked this bike up last spring and managed to update a few things on it before the riding season ended last fall. The last good riding day of the year, I decided to ride it like it had modern suspension and brakes, and the subsequent front end wash-out (those drums are neither strong nor progressive) made a few more chores for me. Just when I thought that I was getting a bit more mature in my old age... Ah, who am I kidding? I wouldn't be posting on a site called "dotheton" if I was that grown-up. ;)

This is what it looked like before I dented the tank, bent the bars, broke a signal lens, and parked it for the winter. It's not wearing the side covers in these pics, but they look good--match the tank.

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And, yeah, I know the Honda wings are on backwards. I didn't put them on that way, and I don't plan on changing them anytime soon. I have bigger fish to fry. Last year, I replaced the neck bearings with an Allballs kit, installed a new battery, new plugs, large K&N filters, rebuilt the carbs, set the points, and replaced the voltage regulator with a later model unit. More to come.
 
I'm going to get the tank fixed and a new set of bars and signals, but I need some advice on carbs. I'm not a big fan of the stockers, and a friend of mine recommended going with Mikuni round slides. Is anyone running Mikunis on his (or her) 450? If so, what diameter and what jetting? I'm sticking with the stock exhaust, because I like that thigh-frying style, but I do have the aforementioned K&N filters. Filter area is much larger than pods, with a rubber boot that is roughly 3-4 times longer than pods. I've dealt with pods in the past, and I thought that the longer mounting boots would help to smooth/shape the intake charge. It's an inexact science for me at this point. I'll look around in the archives here when I get a chance, but with 65+hrs of work each week and a wife and two kids vying for my attention, I thought I'd ask here as well and hopefully speed up the research.
 
It looks like Power Barn makes a VM32/VM34 kit, but it's pretty dang expensive. Looks like it's time to start saving...
 
It's been a while since I've had anything worthy of an update, but here are a few nuggets:
Bought the Powerbarn Mikuni setup:


And replaced the stock (bent) handlebar with one from a vintage Husqvarna dirtbike:


I still need a few things, but it's good to get working on it again. I'm also parting out my parts bike, a 73 CB450. I'll start throwing some things up in the buy/sell section soon.
 
I dig the superbike bars. Dammit , it's a scrambler.
 
brewtown, I think I have all the parts I need--thanks though.

Rich, I've never really thought of a 30-year-old Husqvarna as a superbike, but they were super for a while there, haha.

On another note, if you order a carb kit from Powerbarn, opt for the pre-made throttle cable. Making it yourself is a bit of a pain.
 
The Mikunis really woke up this bike, and everything in the kit worked pretty well, but as I said, the cable assembly is a bit tricky until you learn the exact right way to cut through the cable, the exact amount of force to use when crimping the ferrules, etc. Once the bike was running though, it didn't take long to realize that the high/hanging idle issue from last summer had carried over.

At this point, I have to mention that this issue has seemingly more varying diagnoses online than just about anything I've encountered on a motorcycle. Float level, synching, tired mechanical advance springs, valve adjustments, worn out rubber/plastic carb pieces, kinked fuel lines (causing lean condition), and mixture screws are all offered as possibilities. The thing is, if the 45-year-old stock carbs are set aside in favor of a brand-new set of properly synched Mikunis, many of those reasons go out the window. The thing I kept coming back to was the mechanical advance. When dealing with the issue last summer, we decided to cut a coil off of one of the springs, and that seemed to do the trick...for a while.
When the issue returned after sitting through the winter, I figured I would trim the other spring down to tighten things up again, and if that changed things, then look online for a new set of springs. Well, it did make a difference, temporarily. I'm thinking the more I cut off, the faster they're fatiguing. However the second part of the plan didn't really work out. It turns out that it's easier to play Pick Up Sticks with your butt cheeks than to find new mechanical advance parts for the bike.

Long story--short ending: PAMCO electronic ignition with e-advance is on the way. I bit the bullet. I'm sick of chasing ghosts.
 
Kick ass man. I've heard nothing but good things about the 450 Pamco unit and just picked one up for my eventual 450 project.
 
VonYinzer said:
Kick ass man. I've heard nothing but good things about the 450 Pamco unit and just picked one up for my eventual 450 project.

I ordered mine about 3 days before you posted that... and I'm starting to get nervous that it might not get here in time to have it ready by July 27th. Did you get yours yet? What's the average turn-around time for a PAMCO order? I sent a friendly email inquiry to Pete, but no response so far.
 


Anyone know a good stripper? Yeah, I'm really inviting the most thoughtful answers with that one...

This thing is driving me bonkers. Installed the PAMCO setup and the bike seems to be getting good spark, at the correct time. We realized though that it was down on power and seemed to be starving for fuel...
It turns out that brand-new Mikunis don't work very well when they're forced to eat a diet of gas mixed with 10-year-old gas tank liner. Whatever is lining this tank has turned to a varnish that has coated the insides of the fuel lines, filters, and carbs. I'm starting to think that our crappy ethanol-laced fuel really accelerates the deterioration of such things.

Anyway, I want this thing running ASAP, which means dumping the most caustic stripping solution possible into the tank (yeah I know it could get on the paint and ruin it). Anyone know of a good type to buy? Preferably something known to the state of California to cause birth defects...that's always a good indicator.
 
MEK will clean out your tank. It will also eat skin and destroy your lungs.
 
Good to know. That was among the $25-a-gallon items I saw at Lowe's, but alas, I chose heavy duty liquid paint stripper. It loosened/took out 85-90% of the liner, which was encouraging, but close doesn't count, as "they" say. I'm using a new OEM-style petcock, which is both poorly located and hilarious in how over-complicated its design is. I've already had to pull it and my brand new carbs and clean them because of the varnish coming out of the tank. This tank is going to drive me to drink.
 
Ha!

If it's just varnish and not leftover red kote then you can clean the tank with a couple evenings of vinegar - if you still have liner in there then it's time for the big guns.
 
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