I bought a 1970 CL450 recently and I've never been able to get it into gear. I figured it was a clutch adjustment issue and focused on getting it running first. Now that it's running the shifting issue is the next big thing. Motorcycles are pretty new to me so it took a lot of messing around but I think I've narrowed down the problem. First of all, the clutch was not engaging, which seemed weird to me. It seems like more people have problems with their clutch not disengaging. I could shift through every gear without the clutch pulled, and that's with no tension on the clutch cable. So today I opened up the right side crankcase cover to take a look at the clutch. Turns out their is no friction between the clutch pressure plate and the friction plates. No friction is not even a good way to describe it, there is about an 1/8" of play. Clutch plates worn down? I checked and they are 1.38 to 1.40 inches in thickness, manual says 1.35 to 1.41 so that sounds fine. One of the plates missing? Nope, 7 discs and 7 plates. Clutch pressure plate looks fine but I can't even get it to make contact with the discs. Anybody have any idea what's going on here? Is there something I'm missing?
1970 Honda CL450 clutch issue
- Thread starter mikefroth
- Start date
Well I took the clutch assembly off the bike and I think I might have resolved the issue. Apparently the pressure plate needs to be oriented in a specific way in order for the teeth to line up. The pressure plate was hitting the center clutch basket rather than sliding over it and causing a gap preventing the clutch from engaging. I'll throw it all back on tomorrow and see if I can get it adjusted properly.
