VOLUME ISSUE JUNE , P131
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on the part of the manufacturer.
The centerstand, which was
the same item used on the CL's
street-going CB cousin, was the
wrong choice for the Scrambler.
Lean the CL, even just a little, and
the stand would kiss the ground
in a manner that would be dan
-
gerous. This is especially absurd,
because there is no reason for
it to be that way. It has a CB450
centerstand that is built to clear
low pipes. If a stand was made
that would stay out of the way,
the CL450 could be leaned until
the handlebars ground."
Such ignominy would make
the Honda Scrambler the wrong
vessel with which to impress
a member of the opposite sex,
which, in the eyes of the 1973
Cycle News staff, certainly meant
females. The macho writer of the
feature made it clear that pulling
into the local burger joint (from the
photos, apparently, a McDonald's)
would be announced with a loud
grinding noise, as centerstand
meets concrete. Even if the sweet
lass can overlook the low ground
clearance, there awaits "another
uncertain absurdity. At the burger
palace, you might want to drop a
lady friend on the back, right? Well,
she'll like it a lot except for only
being able to hook the edge of her
heel on the left peg and then hav
-
ing her leg overheated at the same
time. The high pipes disqualify
anything like two-up touring."
Those high-heeled lady friends
will also be disappointed to learn
that, despite a dual-leading shoe
up front, the CL450 is outfitted
with a subpar set of stoppers.
The Honda's brakes would shud
-
der and fade, and they required
at least a three- (maybe four,
but certainly more than two)
finger effort to slow the bike.
An adequate rear brake and
the predictable engine braking
would help, but the shrewdest of
these damsels was likely to start
requiring a state-of-the-art disc
brake from any gentleman caller.
What else could be wrong with
the Scrambler? Did it use oil?
Sure did—about a quart every 500
miles. As mentioned, one blinker
took a nosedive, though the bulb
continued to light up, informing
the pavement that the rider was
about to turn left. The bike ran
erratically at times; then, for no
apparent reason, it would straight
-
en up and fly right, though not too
fast, which was probably a good
thing considering the documented
difficulty of stopping.
Nothing great and nothing so
horribly wrong, the Honda Scram
-
bler would've made a fine mount
for the late Senator Roman Hrus-
ka from Nebraska. Though he is
remembered for little beyond his
plug for mediocrity, in the 1980s,
the state's meat animal research
center that bears his name was
responsible for advancing the
science of pork processing, the
fruits of which brought us the Mc
-
Donald's McRib. An unremarkable
sandwich, available at the banal
burger palace, where only average
partners can fall in love with each
other while sharing the seat of a
Honda CL450. What's wrong with
mediocrity? At the end of the day,
maybe nothing at all!
CN
At least it looked cool.
We said the
CL450 was
simply a less
sophisticated
CB450 with up-
pipes. But it was
good enough
to ride to
McDonald's on.
We said the
CL450 was
simply a less
sophisticated
CB450 with up-
pipes. But it was
good enough
to ride to
McDonald's on.
