CL450 / CB450 fork tubes

sleazy

sleazy

"everyone has a plan…"
howdy howdy howdy-

first post on this here forum, so be kind. i heard this is THE place to ask questions like this as you guys have basically done everything, every which way. here goes-


i have a '71 CL450. need fork tubes. bad. like really bad.

i can find CB450 fork tubes all over the place -but the CB450 is a straight fork tube, whereas the CL450 fork tube does this weird "neck-down" at the top triple clamp...

so- what i'm thinking about doing is- getting CB450 (straight) fork tubes and a CB450 top triple clamp. -problem solved! (right?)

are CB450 and CL450 fork tubes the same on the bottom? will a CB450 fork tube/upper work with my (drum brake hardware attached) CL450 fork lowers?

and will -essentially- an upper triple clap with a larger fork hole be the piece that makes all this come together?

many many thanks in advance for any and all help.


here's the (BEFORE) pic of the project:


http://i1131.photobucket.com/albums/m545/schmuzzy88/003-3.jpg
 
I believe the answers to your questions are YES and YES, though I am not positive. I know exactly what you are talking about with the taper.

I have a '72 CL450 and for this year they switched the forks tubes to be the same as the CB450 (straight). So you could actually get a CB450 upper tree, or a CL450 '72 and later upper tree. You should measure your fork tubes down at the lower tree. They should be 35mm (I will verify this when I get home tonight). If they are not, you will need a new lower tree as well.

Also, the CB450 lower fork tubes should work just fine with the drum brake stay. I believe they designed the fork lowers to work with either the drum or disk brake.

If you find some forks you are considering buying, you can post the pics here, or a link to the auction and we can probably tell if they will work.
 
I swapped it on mine because I wanted to lower it a little and you can't with the older cl top clamp and tubes.

The BIG question is are you wanting to keep the front drum or no? If you swap with a cb450, the triple trees put the forks out about another 1/2" or so and you will have to make spacers to make the drum front work. Otherwise switch to the hydraulic but I like the drum and I kept it and made it work.

I already did the swap you're talking about though and you can look at my thread or shoot me a pm and I can help you out ;D
 
Oh and 71 was the last year for the beveled tubes on the top. I think the 72 and 73 cl450's had the cb type tubes... For those I'm not sure if those would be a direct swap or not, they may be since they use the smaller headlight than the cb models.

Bad thing is you can find cb forks easily and almost all years are the exact same. CL forks are harder to find and 72-73's are worse yet.

You may need to change the headlight to the larger honda headlight also or may be able to get the smaller one work with aftermarket headlight ears. I wanted the larger headlight anyways so I swapped that too.

I don't remember all the things I changed on the front end but it did take some work for sure.

You can do it though. Go for it.
 
Hmmm, I didn't consider the forks not being in the same position. Guess you will need the bottom as well.


END OF LINE
 
thank you guys. i knew this was the right place. ask an esoteric question about fork tube ends on a 40+ yr old scooter and within an hour you start getting answers.

amazing.


yeah, had a question about the '1/2 inch' thing. are you referring to the offset of the top triple? (-in which case, you really cant make any spacers to do anything. the lower would also need to be replaced.)

and if that is or is not the case, how does fork offset have anything to do with whats going on below? disc/drum?

maybe stretch out the brake cable (or hose) a tiny bit, but that should be negligible.


this is the internet and context is often lost. -so i hope the above does not come off as argumentative, as specific questions sometimes do.

again, many many thanks in advance.
 
I think Mark was talking about the lateral distance between the forks. I vaguely remember him talking about it in his build thread. Best to read through that. Sounds like you will need both upper and lower trees.

Also, for future reference, there are some real 450 experts over at Hondatwins.net in case we don't have the answer.
 
thanks. yeah, i'll keep researching. just looked on eShmay and CB450 lowers are prevalent and relatively cheap.

so i pulled the trigger on a nice shiny billet upper and some good used fork tubes. can get the lower anytime as the project comes together.

finishing up an '87 gsxr restoration this weekend. then the CL makes its way onto the table.


i'm certain there will be more questions.


thanks again.
 
No offense taken at all... Keep questioning. ;)

The forks are about 1/2" wider where the wheel axle spacing is so the rim, spacers, speedo gearbox, are not going to fit on the width. You'll have to have some custom Wheel spacers for the axle machined...

If you're keeping the drum, you HAVE to keep your fender or have no fender or make your own fender. The cl450 fender has a spacer welded onto the one side only to accommodate the brake hub stay.

You will have to have a complete triple tree from the cb450 for this to work.

The honda twins guys are amazing. There is a ton of info there... As far as I know though I am the only one with a documented swap like you're doing.

Look at my build thread and most of your questions will be answered... If not, just ask. ;D
 
ahhh….. the 1/2" comment makes all the sense in the world now. thank you.

will start sourcing a wider/CB lower triple and will whip some spacers up on the lathe.


thanks for the heads-up on fender problems too.
 
Guess I got lucky with my '72 and everything is pretty much interchangeable. In fact, I have a CB fender mounted with the CL drum.

I didn't see it in the picture, did the bike come with the '71 CL exhaust?
 
no exorst. basically, just a frame, motor and hubs…. and a TITLE. which is ok. it was cheap and the project is to build a cafe racer for/with my son. pulling the engine this weekend and starting the long road.
 
lot of work done. motor out and mostly down. frame and swing arm trimmed up and awaiting rearsets. forks apart and ready for rebuild.

only problem is- CL450 lowers will not work with CB450 fork tubes.

here's the problem…

rDC0H5h.jpg


both the CB and CL measure 35mm in diameter up top, but the CL flairs to 39.5mm at the bottom, where the CB is a straight tube.


so... anyone want to buy a good set of CB450 fork tubes?

now i gotta hunt down a set of CL450 tubes… (anyone got a lead?)

or i have to find CB lowers and the necessary hub/disk/ caliper/bits and pieces for a complete front end change.


any help/thoughts/condolences to offer?
 
yup. nuthin's ever as easy as you think it should be.

found a set of CB lowers (drum mounting points) with lower triple. keeping the original drum/hub seemed the most cost effective way of solving this.

hopefully everything should go together now.
 
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