‘69 CL450 Resto-mod
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It really depends on what they look like once the tires are off. Hopefully you can clean up the rust under the rim strip and paint the center area to slow the process for the future
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Did you lay the frame over the engine, or do it the hard way?
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Smart man, it's the best way to do it. I made an animated gif of mine going that way
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If you plan to put the bike back together as original, they will be covered - which is why Honda didn't chrome them all the way up to begin with. You could clean and paint them so they won't rust quickly again in the future and then reassemble, but if you plan to change the headlight mounting arrangement they'll be exposed and ugly... I painted the upper tubes hammer silver on my 450 build and they are exposed. Chrome was out of the question where I live, only one game in town and he is slow, cantankerous and really expensive.
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That's what I should have done instead of chrome
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First, do you have the FSM? If not, get one here. Is the bolt in the bottom of the fork a JIS screw, or an allen bolt? If it's a screw, put it back in and tighten it before you take the fork apart. I believe your forks come apart by removing the snap ring above the fork seal and then using the lower fork leg as a slide hammer, knocking the seal out of the lower
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Yes, working against the spring can make the slide hammer method challenging, but if you had taken out the screw you might have found something more challenging when you put things back together - the screw holds a piece in the bottom of the lower fork that works with the damper tube inside the upper fork tube when assembled and it's hard to get back in proper position once removed. You can also look up exploded views of the parts at places like cmsnl.com or Partzilla.com
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I just did this...
Meaning I just loosened the JIS screw on the bottom because I though you needed to - but you don't. It has nothing to do with fork disassembly on the CL (external spring) fork.
To get it tightened back down, I cut a piece of heavy duct tape and placed it over the bottom end of the fork tube and punched a hole in the center. When you slide the tube back into the lower the tape will hold the conical piece firm enough to tighten the screw back down. It needs to be snug or it will leak. I tested mine by filling with water overnight, and it was fine.
To remove the conical piece completely, and replace the crush washer, a member here used a 12pt socket on a long extension held tight down on the conical piece for removal and installation.
Once the large snap ring is removed you can remove the tube. You are unseating the seal as you remove the tube - that's where the resistance comes from. There's nothing else holding the tube in the lower.
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