Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

~ W Z W ...J U > U THE HONDA 450 30 000 MILES LATER By John D. Ulrich You have often seen the letter. A Harley rider writes his favorite bike magazine and proclaims that J apenese Hrice Bumers~1 self destruct after a few thousand miles, while Harley's last and last. Well, Harleys may last a long time, but so do Hondas! After over 30,000 miles piled up in 18 months, my Honda 450 stills draws admiring glances and the inevitable question, HIs it new?" "The Honda 450 caused quite a stir when it was released. It is a veritable mechanical marvel, with double overhead cams and torsion bar valve springs. By the time I was ready to leave my BSA 441 single behind for something a tick smoother, the CB450 had been refined into one of the slickest motorcycles ever, complete with the revolutionary Honda disc up front. The control layout was superb, the electrics worked, it was freeway fast and stopped like a rocket in reverse. It had a lot to offer for the money, and 1 bough t it. The first thing I learned about the 450 was that it felt nice and solid in the rain, because it rained on the ride home. The second thing I learned was that if the chrome is not protected with wax, rain brings out little pockmarks which indicate the beginning of rust underneath. After a little chrome polish and wax the bike proved its stormworthiness in the wettest California wirfter in years, as well as in 250 miles of rain across Wyoming seven months later. Now, with over 30,000 ~es on the clock, not a trace of rust mars the bike. The paint looks showroom fresh, with the exception of the clear lacquer on the engine side cases and cam covers, which oxidized from the engine heat. The 450 handles well within the limits of its size and weigh t. Hitting 450 th 30,000 miles under its wheels the 450 and its master 90 for a ride. pounds with gas and oil, the bike is no lightweight. The centerstand grounds There are many moving parts in the carburetor setting. and jets. Left the very easily in left turns until the rubber 450 head that rely on pressure way they come, the carbs perform well bumper between the stand body and the lubrication, so it is best to let the engine up to 12,000 feet, as a cruise through swing arm is cut in half, allowing the warm up throughly before running it Colorado proved. But re-jet to obtain a stand to tuck up out of the way. hard. All that machinery makes another brown plug color, and sputtering and It takes a lot of clutch work and at demand, also. You better know what gasping over 3,000 feet will occur. The least 3,000 rpm to move the bike from a you are doing before you mess around only atte1l tion the carbs need is an stop. However, if you do not mind with this bike. This is especially true of occasional synchronization. replacing rear tires every 2,000-3,000 setting the valves, which use a very small If, after this is done, the bike will not miles you can play sLopligh t Grand Prix, leaving most cars and smaller bikes far behind. The clutch is up to the job it has, as long as it is adjusted according to the owner's manual. It finally started to grab after 22,000 miles, and when th'at happens, you better heed ifs call for replacement. I' put off replacing the clutch and ended up with a handful of broken sprocket studs. The Honda cruises best at 65-75 mph, although I once ran 130 miles at 85 mph with no ill effects. Above 75 mph it gets too hard to hold on to the flat bars, any less than 65 and it takes fourth gear to climb big hills easily. The valve train makes a lot of noise, but if you can stand it, the bike can. A slight freeway speed uneveness in the front end was cured by putting Tire Balancing Fluid in the front tire. The TBF has proven its worth in smoothing out the front end for 25,000, miles and con tinued to work even after a new front tire was installed at 22,000 miles on the odometer. The stock chain stretched too much too fast, and a Japanese replacemen t chain killed itself and the rear sprocket on a 4800 mile ten-day jaunt to Illinois and back. This was contributed to by the use of spray chain lube, which dried out completely after about 135 non-stop freeway miles, the limit of the gas tank capacity. Replacing the sprocket, switching .to Renold chain and pure, uncut STP cured this problem area. The STP poured on the chain will withstand up to 250 freeway miles unattended without drying out. It also cuts chain and sprocket wear considerably. Using 20 Wt. fork oil and setting the a:ar shocks on the highest position Man and machine: time to fix the valve guide oil seal. added to high speed handling. At its {.00I2-in. and requtre'the idle dow~, turning both carb cables in best, the 450 is most suited to freeways adjuster shaft index marks to be an equal amount and removing the slack and city streets. Romping through the pointing out from the engine center at the twist grip adjuster will end the winding roads of the Hollywood Hills, when the adjustment is made. The guage trouble. the 450 is blown off by lighter bikes in seems cigarette paper thin, and is The third area best left alone by the the really tight sections. But if the race difficul t to insert un til the adjustmen t is novice 450 owner is the hydraulic disc is with a large multi, the Honda comes slacked off by rotating the adjuster brake system. However, if the fluid out ahead. shafts in toward the engine center. The reservoir leaks, the cure is quite simple. The 450 always started easily 'guage should be held in place and the Just remove the cap and gasket. top up throughout the 30,000 miles. The adjustment rrlade and locked so that the the fluid if necessary, dry off the sealing electric starter usually fired the engine guage will just slide ouL Attempts to edge of the reservoir body and the on the firs t try, even when cold. The in.sert the guage before loosening the bottom gasket lip. Now lubricate with kick starter is also easy to use, although adjustment will usually result in the brake fluid the top gasket lip and the it was never needed. Using the choke is guage being bent beyond use. inside of the cap. Assemble carefully a split.second-on deal; when the engine Another area of the bike best left and ugh ten on ly rrrmly _ If C'Me is taken fires, off goes the choke or out goes the alone by the inexperienced is the the leak will stop. In 30,000 miles, the fire! clearance brake has required fluid top up twice and the pads show no appreciable wear. The 450 provided in-town transportation during the week and an escape on weekends and vacations. It traveled in 112 degree Nevada desert heat and freezing Wyoming rain. It held together with no problems on a 4800 mile cruise to Illinois, and on a 3600 mile jaunt a month later to Yellowstone Park and back through Colorado. It served without complaint in Death Valley and over Loveland Pass, and proved itself in the compan y of larger bikes that literally fell apart on the road. It handled an 18 hour run from Durango, Colorado to La Mirada, California (about 900 miles) that left its companion blown to bits in Riverside. It did all that was asked of it, and did it withoU t problem. However, by the time 15,000 miles had rolled around, it turned out that the cylinder head, which holds the technological wonders of the 450, also holds the weak point of the Honda 450. It is quite simply this: lousy valve guide seals. It burned oil. Not as much as the Britishers it traveled with, hut still half to one quart per 500 miles or less. I lived with it until 20,000 miles came around, then pulled the engine in one hour, 10 minutes and went to work installing new seals. The engine is very easy to work on if you know what you 'are doing: I suggest that any owner wishing to tackle such a job get an official Honda 450 shop manual and supl'lemen t. Since the engine was out, I yielded to the desire for a little faster 450 and bought a .050 bore job and pistons/rings. I was on the road one day and $50 later. After carefully breaking . in the engine, the power boost was considerable and all seemed fine. Then, almost exactly 4,000 miles later, while traveling at 95 mph, the sweet Honda turned into a smoke belching monster that would not tum over 6,000 rpm. It laid out smoke like a crop duster at anything over 5,000 rpm. AIter a slow ride home I replaced a completely broken valve guide seal and could again smile at the Honda. The next day it was on the road, and has not missed a beat in the 6,000 miles since-. Other casualties include a high beam at 18,000, air cleaners at 23,000, rear brake linings at 26,000, and fork seals at 27,000. If I had it to do allover again, the CB450 would still.be my choice. It has served well for 30,000 miles, and proven itself as a reliable tourer, and also as basic transportation around town. Note: Honda has recently come out with a new design for the 450 valve guide seals, = h mJY or may not cu:: ~. ~~~T

• Cover