1973 Honda 450

Murphy

I don't know if this is where I should post this or not.

One of my clients gave me his 1973 Honda 450 that he had sitting in his garage for a few years. He said he replaced the carborator and could get it to run but never keep running.

Now it has been sitting for a while and I don't think the bike is worth enough for me to pay someone to get it working.

I plan on draining the tank today. What else should I do to try and get this thing going?

Sorry for the vagueness of my question but I know nothing about cars, or bikes, etc. I am a remodeling contractor. So maybe I can trade advice with some one.

THANKS
Murph

SecretSquirrel

Hi Murphy! I've been riding bikes some 33 years and have had a couple of those "stored away" bikes.

Here's what I think you'll get into. The battery is probably trashed so you'll need a new one from the get go. They don't last hardly two years. Don't jump start the bike from a car unless you have absolutely no other choice. Draining the gas and putting in fresh is definitely a good idea. I would drop the oil also (yes before getting it started) and put in some fresh with a new filter and after you run the engine a bit and get it circulated then change it again with a new filter. Examine the brake lines for wear and tear and after you get her running you'll want to bleed the hydraulics and put in fresh fluid. Hydrualic fluid does go stale after a few years. Check the brake pads and so forth. I think that bike has a wet clutch and bleed that as well if it does. Check the tires for dry rot and make sure all that is in good order. Change the air filter. Install new spark plugs gapped properly.

Now lets talk about those carbs. You can *try* to start and run the bike before busting into them. Sometimes... and I mean sometimes, the fresh flow of gas will loosen and clean things up a bit, but this takes a little time. If you can't seem to overcome the engine running roughly, then more times than not your jets will need a good cleaning because the gas has shellaced in there and the needles are frozen in place. That bike is a two cylinder but you mentioned "carburetor" in the singular tense. Here's a little snippet I found on adjusting your carbs.

http://www.osg.se/sweb/cb450/index.asp

After making sure the carbs are clean and if it still doesn't run smoothly, then it's time to check the valve timing. This is something a DIY'er can do if you can find a service manual and follow the instructions. I'm hoping that if you've gotten that far then your problems will be resolved.


I got you a couple of weekends worth or work layed out. I hope you get her running smoothly.

We want pics!!!

Addtional Note: The attached hyperlink doesn't get you to the correct page... not sure why as I've triple checked it. Anyway, once you get to the web site you can rummage around until you find the correct article.

PS: Definitely check that air filter. I've seen mice find a way into there to nest.

Murphy

Thanks so much I have started today and I will post some pictures this week some time. Hopefully the last one posted will be of me riding the bike. Thanks soo much again.
Murph

oldgoat

You might also check under the seat at the wiring. My Dad had a 350 Honda sitting in his shop for quite awhile and when he lifted the seat up he found that the mice had made a nest and chewed on the wires.
I wonder if puting some StaBil fuel treatment in the gas would do any good with the carb?

Jeekinz

Stabil doesn't clean the carb out, just stabilizes the fuel for a few months.

qwertypoiuytrewq

hi

i hope some one can help me i'v just bought a honda cb450 at auction and i am trying to find out about the bike so i can make a start restoring it. The problem i have is the frame serial number is cb4501014031 and the engine number is cb450E-4015012. this is confusing cause the years are far apart from each other. can any one tell me what year or model this bike is.
thanks