69 Honda CL450 Scrambler Restoration
- Thread starter jchek779
- Start date
jchek779
Leave the gun. Take the cannoli.
Ya, I know better than to leave the key on. I was working on the bike and took a break for about an hour.
I have some new coils on the way to get the bike running again. I still haven't figured out the charging issues yet. Everything seems to check out OK except the voltage regulator.
I have some new coils on the way to get the bike running again. I still haven't figured out the charging issues yet. Everything seems to check out OK except the voltage regulator.
Just joined after reading this entire project string. Very interesting, I always learn something from other restorers. I picked up a ratty original Honda 68 CL450 barn leaner in February, 2012 and almost have the nos and good used parts collected to begin mine. Had the frame glass bead blasted and went with Dupli-Color primer and gloss black. I won't hijack your post but just wanted to weigh in to say boo.
jchek779
Leave the gun. Take the cannoli.
I got some new coils put on the bike and I'm finishing up a bar swap. I had an extra set of Renthal 971 mx bars that I gave a polishing. I also grabbed a set of L and R controls off eBay so that I didn't have to risk ruining the originals when trying to pull the wires back through the bars. The only problem I'm having is the R control kill switch is all chewed up (like a dog chewed on it). I tried to pry it off, but it didn't want to let go.
Does anyone know what the proper procedure is for removing the red kill swtich knob? Does anyone have any ideas on what I can use to replace it with?
Does anyone know what the proper procedure is for removing the red kill swtich knob? Does anyone have any ideas on what I can use to replace it with?
frogman
'74 CB360, '71 CB450, '75 CB550SS
Knob has spring clip on the inside of the housing that comes off. The knob is spring loaded so it may go flying once you pull that clip.
A long time ago I rebuild a hard rubber steering wheel on the recommendation that a rubber bumper repair kit from napa would fill the cracks up nicely. Turned out fine. I would bet you can either JB weld the knob or use that stuff and then reprofile it and paint it and put it back in.
A long time ago I rebuild a hard rubber steering wheel on the recommendation that a rubber bumper repair kit from napa would fill the cracks up nicely. Turned out fine. I would bet you can either JB weld the knob or use that stuff and then reprofile it and paint it and put it back in.
Redliner
Over 1,000 Posts
Start by ohm'ing your coils. The resistance could possibly tell you if you have a bad one right off.
I'm assuming you're using those stock TEC coils. Measure across the two primary leads. Should get about 3-4Ω generally. More importantly, you should get more than about 8kΩ when connecting to either primary lead and the high tension lead. Remove the spark boot for that test and unplug the coil leads from everything else.
I hate those damn things. Better to replace with basically anything else. Here's my Hitachi "XS" mount for a CB500t. Same bike basically. It's made from a set of brackets from Home Depot. Less than $3 and 20 minutes.
I'm assuming you're using those stock TEC coils. Measure across the two primary leads. Should get about 3-4Ω generally. More importantly, you should get more than about 8kΩ when connecting to either primary lead and the high tension lead. Remove the spark boot for that test and unplug the coil leads from everything else.
I hate those damn things. Better to replace with basically anything else. Here's my Hitachi "XS" mount for a CB500t. Same bike basically. It's made from a set of brackets from Home Depot. Less than $3 and 20 minutes.
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frogman
'74 CB360, '71 CB450, '75 CB550SS
Weak spark=new coils+bad battery.
Weak spark=new coils+good battery+bad connections
Weak spark=new coils+good battery+bad plug wire/caps
Weak spark=new coils+good battery+bad plugs
Or mix in any of the BADS with the GOODS. Unplugging the condenser will not really show much more than more spark at the points but you can do it to see if the spark gets better.
What coils did you get?
Weak spark=new coils+good battery+bad connections
Weak spark=new coils+good battery+bad plug wire/caps
Weak spark=new coils+good battery+bad plugs
Or mix in any of the BADS with the GOODS. Unplugging the condenser will not really show much more than more spark at the points but you can do it to see if the spark gets better.
What coils did you get?
jchek779
Leave the gun. Take the cannoli.
I have the 4-5ohm coils from DCC that mount like the pic above from Redliner. New coils, new condensor, new plug caps/cables during my rebuild. When I was troubleshooting, I did notice that the points seemed to be arcing a bit more wild than what I was accostomed to seeing, which is why I thought the condensor was damaged when I left the key on.
I threw a new set of plugs in the bike last night and it fired up. It idled for a little bit and then quit. I got it to refire briefly but it didn't want to run. I'm leaning towards a fuel issue in that I think my fuel lines from the petcock to the float bowl are kinked to the point that they are restricting flow. When I had the tank off, I trimmed the overall length of both lines trying to prevent the slight kink where they bend to go on the petcock. I'm using some 7/32" thin wall vinyl fuel tubing from Moose Off-Road. I've tried a number of different routings but they still seem to kink. Can one of you guys post a pic of fuel line routing from petcock to float bowl?
I threw a new set of plugs in the bike last night and it fired up. It idled for a little bit and then quit. I got it to refire briefly but it didn't want to run. I'm leaning towards a fuel issue in that I think my fuel lines from the petcock to the float bowl are kinked to the point that they are restricting flow. When I had the tank off, I trimmed the overall length of both lines trying to prevent the slight kink where they bend to go on the petcock. I'm using some 7/32" thin wall vinyl fuel tubing from Moose Off-Road. I've tried a number of different routings but they still seem to kink. Can one of you guys post a pic of fuel line routing from petcock to float bowl?
Redliner
Over 1,000 Posts
Pull your bowls off. Are they full? With that model, when you pull the bowl off, first a bit should spill over the edge, then the level should be equal to or just above the ledge inside the bottom of the bowl.
Then, pull the hoses off of the petcock and turn it to on. How quickly does it flow? You want a solid stream, not an old-man midnight-drizzle. You'd want to catch it in a container to reuse, of course
Then, pull the hoses off of the petcock and turn it to on. How quickly does it flow? You want a solid stream, not an old-man midnight-drizzle. You'd want to catch it in a container to reuse, of course
jchek779
Leave the gun. Take the cannoli.
I've had the tank off a few times while working on the ignition parts. I've found that for the rt carb to get fuel, there needs to be a good bit of gas in the tank. I only had a little in the tank because I kept putting it on/taking it off and found that With the bike on the center stand, the rt carb wasn't getting enough fuel. I rebuilt the petcock when I finished the bike. I'll probably pull the petcock junk catch bowl and take a look to see whats in there. I'll also re-route the hoses per Frogman's picture.
Unfortunately, I"m not going to get to work on the bike until next week.
Unfortunately, I"m not going to get to work on the bike until next week.
jchek779
Leave the gun. Take the cannoli.
It was a fuel issue...as in with the bike on the center stand, the petcock just wasn't getting enough gas. I put some petrol in the tank and all was good in the hood. I ended up riding for about 10 miles with no issues.
I had left my charger on from last Tuesday through Sunday. I didn't measure the battery voltage before my ride, but after the 10 miles, the battery voltage was at 13.15VDC with the bike off. I feel that is a bit high for a bike not running. I didn't do any checks with the bike running.
I had left my charger on from last Tuesday through Sunday. I didn't measure the battery voltage before my ride, but after the 10 miles, the battery voltage was at 13.15VDC with the bike off. I feel that is a bit high for a bike not running. I didn't do any checks with the bike running.
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hooligan998
Been Around the Block
Very sweet 450. Excellent job you did there. Good info in this thread too.
jchek779
Leave the gun. Take the cannoli.
I refurbished the chewed up kill switch knob that came with my second set of controls. I did the write up under the cafe help folder and wanted to share this with those of you subscribed to this thread.
http://www.dotheton.com/forum/index.php?topic=55464.new#new
http://www.dotheton.com/forum/index.php?topic=55464.new#new
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jchek779
Leave the gun. Take the cannoli.
So here is a sneak peak into my next project - I just picked this up on a drive from NC to NY for the holidays.
74 Yamaha RD250 with 4400 miles and a clean title. I'm not sure what direction I'm going to take this, but it won't be restoration. I bought this bike to exercise some creativity and improve my fabrication capabilities.
74 Yamaha RD250 with 4400 miles and a clean title. I'm not sure what direction I'm going to take this, but it won't be restoration. I bought this bike to exercise some creativity and improve my fabrication capabilities.
