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'72 CL 450 - Putting the motor back in

949 views 2 replies 3 participants last post by  dgallagher 
#1 ·
Today I'd like to put the motor back in to my CL450. I have the service manual (thanks to HondaTwins members for that) and it says put the motor in from the left side in. It doesn't say much more than that other than how to fit the ground cable on (do I need to sand off the powdercoat where the ground cable goes?)

So, any step-by-step advice on how to get this done? I've got the motor mounts down to bare metal and ready to go. New stainless hardware all around except for the long bolts on the bottom which are hard to find stainless for.

I should also probably mention that I installed the drive sprocket yesterday, but there was no reference for doing that in either the service manual or the fiche. Is there any special consideration for that or is it pretty straightforward like it seemed to be?

Should I put the chain on before putting the motor back in? Do I need to fit the brake pedal at the same time as putting the motor back in? Side stand (I'm not going to run the center stand)?

Geez, I'm such a noob.:grin:
 
#2 · (Edited)
I put my CB motor back in from the right, but the brake pedal is different; probably the reason they say from the left. If you want the ground cable to ground the frame (you do), then, yes, clean the area that the terminal on the cable contacts. You want a clean, metal-to-metal path from the cable to the main part of the frame, through any coated plates between the cable and the center frame tube. So, the top surface of the boss the hanger bolt passes through should be bare, the back of the plate where it presses against that should be bare, and the area on the plate where the cable attaches should be bare.

As you've probably noticed, the engine is heavy; putting it in single-handed can be a real grunt. A helper to get the bolt holes aligned can be a blessing, if not absolutely necessary. I had mine on the center stand to install it; not sure I'd try it on the side stand, especially since the stand is held by the engine hanger bolt. Can't you remove the center stand after the engine is in? Or, use something to brace the frame upright; something that won't allow it to move around. Are the wheels on? You will want something to rest the engine on, under and between the frame tubes, BTW, so you can get the upper hangers in place, and get the bolts through the bottom. I installed the front mounting plates last, then torqued everything down.

I don't think I'd want to deal with the hassle of the chain while mounting the engine; it would just complicate getting everything in place. The last thing was to mount the chain and align the rear axle to the swing arm pivot center. Oh, and the drive sprocket should be just that easy - slide it onto the spline, add the locking plate, put the bolts in.
 
#3 ·
I put it in from left side, bike on center stand, I also use tie down straps around front frame stering tube and rear frame crossbar up to hooks in my garage rafters to ensure the bike can not tip over. Place your floor jack between frame tubes, put a shop rag on it to keep from scratching engine, put the engine in place and on the floor jack, you can use the jack to maneuver engine up or down forward or aft to place bolts. I always attach batt cable to starter and route under engine before I install the engine. This worked well for me as I was always doing it by myself, Hope this helps.?
 
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