Some questions from a newbie

Z

zacandrews1

New Member
Hello there! This is my first post. I just had a few questions. Lets start from the begining. I have a 1974 cb450. It was givin to me as a gift. I want to turn it into a cafe racer. I pulled the engine and started to pull it apart. I found fuel in the crank case. I was just woundering if there is anything the i should check? I have the head and jugs off. should i go further and split the case and look inside? I was looking at one or the cams ( i think it was the exhaust ) and the rubber on the side of the gear is missing on one side. Is this bad? If i have to replace the cam then is there any preformance cam that would make a diffrence? sorry for all the questions.

Zac
 
I'm not an expert, but let's try to think of ways fuel can get beyond where it belongs. I'm thinking: really bad piston rings, valves, and probably carbs that are in really rough shape.

Is there any reason in particular you pulled the jugs? If not, I'd get new gaskets and button it back up. If you grease both sides of a gasket, follow the proper tightening sequence and torque, you'll get a gasket that won't leak and is reusable.

Once it's back together, I'd check compression (you can borrow them at auto parts stores). If it turns out ok, then great. If it's low, you'll be in the market for rings and probably pistons (probably not easy or cheap to find).


Then I'd get the valves within spec. Of course the carbs probably need to be cleaned out too.

And definitely change the oil. I'd change it again after a couple hundred miles.
 
A cam will be a significant change to your 450 in regards to power and the feel of the bike.

Megacycle makes a pretty mild (but still "improved") cam that you can use without any other modifications to your engine, but if you want any significant increase in lift and duration you're going to be looking at a lot of work on a 450. You'll have to switch out the torsion bars for standard springs and probably look at modifying your pistons or picking up a racing/custom set. Of course the extra duration comes at the expense of low-range operation and so you'll want to boost the compression a bit. You stock timing may no longer suffice and so you'll want to adjust that, too.

This last year I ended up going down that path on my 360. It all started with me saying to myself, "Since I have to replace my cam, I wonder if there are any aftermarket options?". $1200 later my engine was a whole new type of animal. Expect closer to $2000 on your 450 if you want to go down that road.
 
I pulled it apart cause it was making a snapping noise sometimes and it sounded like a valve. I pulled it apart and found that the valves looked okay and the ringsd looked okay. I found that the oil rings on the left piston are stuck so i think that i will let it sit in mystery oil for a while. but for the most part everything looks okay. I just found the cam is missing the rubber on one side. I dont kjnow if this means the cam is bad or what. thanks for you input.

Zac
 
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