‘68 Honda CL450 - First Build

I’m a fan of Mikunis. I’ll look to see if I have a 32 in the garage but I think all I have are a few 34 bodies.

Electric start is a nice thing to have especially when you’re tuning a new bike :)

Looking forward to the continued progress on this.

Thanks for looking! My son wants to do electric start so he can start it. I might have to give in on that one.



Sent from my iPhone
’68 Honda CL450
 
Picked up an old seat off eBay. Tore it down and pieces together the old foam and reshaped it. Covered with some carpet padding. I know it’s probably not the “right” way, but it works for me! Now to find some brown leather or something to make a cover.
IMG_3841.JPG
IMG_3945.JPG



Sent from my iPhone
’68 Honda CL450
 
Great project! Its fun Working on stuff with the kids! Safety alert!! Another pro safety gear guy....my doc was not pleased with the crap in my body from different chemicals over the years...nitrile gloves and air filtration rated for the chemicals in use.
 
Last edited:
The rebond padding is the way to go. I do most shaping with an electric carving knife an finish off with 80 grit on a grinder.
 
James really wanted to get some wheels on, so we got after it this weekend and made some good progress. We will have to go back and take wheels
back off when we get new brake shoes for the rear and tires, but it was nice to see it look like a bike again!
IMG_3968.JPG
IMG_3969.JPG



Sent from my iPhone
’68 Honda CL450
 
So I tracked down the long threaded rod that goes through the bottom mount on the frame and engine that I was missing. Now I have the issue that the hole in the frame is ~10mm diameter and the bolt is ~12mm! Did they go to a larger size in later models? I had a hard enough time finding this rod at a reasonable price that finding another, and potentially having the same issue, does not sound great. Would it be out of the question to carefully widen the holes in the frame to allow the larger rod? I'm not sure if the engine hole is 10mm or 12mm, I need to pull the engine out of the frame to see. Best I can tell this is not a structural point, but just another mount for the engine, but I'm also not an expert or an engineer! Thanks for any guidance.
 
Nice progress. can't help with the rod but you can get off cuts of leather on Ebay cheap in a large enough size for a bike seat.
 
I had the opposite problem on an old GoldWing. A longer bottom through-bolt is needed to add engine guards. They had used 10mm in the 12 mm holes. I found a piece of thin-wall tubing to shim the bolt for a snug fit. For yours, a piece of 3/8" All-thread rod from the hardware or home improvement store would not be ideal, but better that nothing and fairly inexpensive. Cut to the length you need, and paint the ends well as the mild steel will rapidly rust.
 
I wouldn't use the all-thread as it will play havoc with the allow lower engine case - especially since this looks like you're kicking this bike only... that lower bolt should be there
 
Did you rivet the metal together for the battery tray or did you weld it? Curious because I am looking to make something similar for one of my bikes. Your 450 is looking great so far!
 
The tray is just pressure fit in right now. We will weld it together, very carefully since it is so thin, then tack it to the frame.
 
You are correct, we upgraded carbs to Mikuni VM32s.


Sent from my iPhone using DO THE TON
 
Ran into an issue with the carbs. The boots aren’t long enough to get the choke levers to clear the bolts on the engine covers. Looking into adding some more gaskets and finding lower profile bolts.
Image1653490936.251914.jpg



Sent from my iPhone
’68 Honda CL450
 
Looking for input. I’m trying to workout where to install electronics so I can determine battery cable lengths. Thinking about putting the solenoid either vertically next to the regulator/rectifier, or horizontally on the opposite side of the battery. Battery terminals on the same side as the solenoid? The box is my mock battery. I could also maybe move the regulator/rectifier on top of frame behind the battery box if necessary. Open to any recommendations!
Image1655047801.381975.jpg



Sent from my iPhone
’68 Honda CL450
 
Back
Top Bottom