CB450 project started "Brownie"

How about boiling the jets in lemon juice? Hopefully it'll loosen up the sludge enough to clear the jets. I had the same problem with my bike when I tried starting it. It would surge all the way up and I could keep it running at 2-3k rpm when playing with the throtlle. I recall BARELY being able to see through the pilot jets and I think I didn't clean them all the way through.

As stated above, check your float level and your pilot jets.
 
Thanks for the tips guys. I could see through the pilot jets after I had them sitting in the Berryman's, but I will pull them back out again to verify.

I'll give this stuff a try next week when I get back from Costa Rica!
 
Hey! Glad to see you're making progress, when we gonna be able to go out for a ride?

I spent the better part of last Sunday ironing out some bugs with my carbs, been running beautifully yesterday and today now :)

Stephen
 
Hey Crim, good to see you over here! I have some ironing to do myself, and I need to get the front brakes working (new master cylinder arrived while on vaca) and the wheels balanced, but things should be getting done pretty soon. I still have to get the bike registered and my motorcycle permit, but hopefully that's the easy part!
 
Heh, sweet. She idles 8)

Turns out, the pilot jets were clogged and I missed it the first time I went through the carbs. Also, I thought the emulsion tubes were the pilot jets, and didn't even think the jets had a hole in them. Now they sure do! No vac leaks that I can tell, but I'm having a hard time getting it to idle less than 1500-2000 rpm. I'm also not too sure how to sync these carbs without a vacuum nipple attached to each carb spacer. After a couple quick revs to ~6500 it will pop and backfire as well...

Turns out that the mufflers have some nice holes rusted in the bottom seam, and the right cylinder smokes a little. Actually they both smoke once it is shut off; there is some misty smoke or vapors coming out of the carbs after the engine is off. Any ideas?

-Parker
 
450 Carb Syncing Procedure

http://www.hondatwins.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=29&t=537

As I rebuild mine, I'm actually going to add some pressure ports to my intake boots so I can sync them the right way.
 
Got the carbs synced up, then the clutch wouldn't disengage to take it out for a ride. Turns out, I lost the ball bearing!

Fixed that.

Right cylinder coil is dead the next time I go to start it! ??? I'm also having this weird issue with the left side carb; The bowl won't fill unless I crack the bowl open, no matter how I have the float adjusted. I'm thinking that the float might be hung on the bowl itself?

Anyway, my new coils from MikesXS just got here today, so I'm off to the shop to fab up a bracket for those. I'll get some pictures while I'm down there.
 
I had a similar problem but in reverse. My float would get stuck open and the bowl would overflow. Turned out the float was hitting the bowl gasket. I trimmed it back a bit with an exacto knife and it worked great after that.

Also, be aware that as the tank starts to run out, the left carb will start to cut out first. I think because it is further away from the petcock.
 
Ok, so I got the new coils installed. Only got about half of the progress on film (you know how it is, excitement gets ahold of you!

How the bike stood before the tank came off again :-\

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New coils

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What I'll be making these brackets out of, some random Aluminum I found in the shop

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Old coil assembly-removed

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Bracket halfway there. Fitted to the OEM coil bracket
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The rest was in that "forgot to take pictures" stage. I'll tell you one thing, these new coils with shock the ever-loving piss out of you! I fixed the bowl filling issue with the left hand carb. It turns out that the adjuster tab on it was bent at an angle, and causing grief. It also turns out that the same carb is having issues with getting enough fuel at idle. It will backfire some unless the screw is all the way in (full idle rich right?) and even then it still backfires. The right cylinder is running amazingly!

Looks like the carb is coming off AGAIN for a good cleaning
 
Looks great! What tires did you get for it? They look good. I need some new grip for my '75 cb500t. I want something modern and sticky.
 
Re: CB450 project started "Brownie" Update 1/12!

Well I've been financially in a pinch since this summer, but I've started a new job and started some more work on the bike!

I decided that I was going to upgrade the front suspension soooooooo.....

CBR600 F4i shocks, axle, brakes, and bar. Adjustable, modern forks should improve the ride a bit.
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Here they are side by side with the originals.

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Got a smashing good deal on these so I set off taking the old front end apart. I just want to know how the hell Honda crammed all that wiring into the headlight housing!??!?! Cold, old wiring doesn't like to flex much so it took about 30 minutes just to get the headlight bucket off. Once I got everything apart I started measuring.

The lower stem on both the 450 and the CBR are 30mm.
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The problem occurs with the ball bearing size. The 450 has ~6mm balls while the CBR has 7mm balls.
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The head tube in the frame is too small to fit the CBR bearings by about 2mm
cimg0073.jpg



I *think* I'm just going to go ahead and convert the lower bearings to taper rollers, since all else will be the same. The upper presents a problem. I can either use the original 450 ball bearings or figure out something else. I'll get some more measurements tonight.


I left the bike sitting like so last night, just to get an idea of the new look. Also found out that the steering stop tab on the frame is too wide, and only allows about 30 degrees of steering angle, with a bias to the left. I don't think that the tank will need to be clearanced once that is fixed!

cimg0074p.jpg

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ringading said:
nice! i love the 450's. something about the tank. is that black/gold on the tank a decal or paint?
Click to expand...

The tank was painted brown with the black/gold being a decal. SOMEHOW, that decal mostly survived the acid dip!
 
Figured out that the lower bearing race for both the 450 and the CBR are the same installed height. This means that the taper-roller upgrade should go in perfectly and sit at the right height! The upper ball bearing race fits on the CBR stem perfectly, and would still work, but sits maybe 3-4mm higher on the stem. I'm not sure what this means yet for the taper-roller conversion.

cimg0080h.jpg


I moved on to the front wheel bearings since I'm going to retain the 450's front wheel.
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Started my super-scientific calculations to see if there was a bearing that would fit both the wheel and the CBR axle diameter (20mm)
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The OEM bearing measures 15x42x13 (mm)
and can be replaced with a #6004-2rs bearing measuring 20x42x12. I will have to machine a new spacer for between the bearings and collars for proper spacing, but it will work.



So what do you guys think? With the fender or without?
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I'm leaning towards keeping the fender, albeit slightly trimmed up front.
 
The fender does give it more of a vintage look. But if you decide to go without, make sure you at least have a fork brace.

Good build so far!
 
Agreed on needing a brace at minimum, however personally I think you should have the/a fender on it. Looks neat without but unless you're riding on perfectly clean dry pavement expect to be sodden quickly.
Were it mine and seeing the amount of work you've done thus far, I'd use the stock brace from the fender with a nice ribbed aluminum fender riveted onto it.

Great info in this thread by the way! Love the bearing references!
 
By fork brace do you mean the main bracket on the fender? it doesn't seem like much of a brace at all...

I kinda want to go for the Cafe look with a subtle modern touch. I'l probably be changing the color of the forks to a more raw aluminum color than the current Olive-ish gold.

On another note, does anyone have any ideas on where to find fork seal guards like this for modern bikes? I don't like how the CBR ones just kinda sit up there...
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Those plastic shields are there to keep debris from hitting the tubes above the seal. Your only real choice would be to go to a 4x4 shop and get some shock boots that you can modify to work as fork boots. I don't know of any motorcycle specific fork boots big enough for the CBR forks.

Yes, that front fender bracket acts as a brace also. Believe it or not, it'll make a very noticable difference, even with your much improved forks. Worth doing.....
 
Your using the vernier wrong, the 'gap' at top of jaws is clearance if your checking plate (or anything else) with a burr on it.
Could probably use stock Honda bearings out of 450 on 600 stem and keep costs down

PJ
 
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