82 honda cm450c

[cookiedough]

kid just bought a blue one 19K miles in good shape overall for 600 bucks for a putzing around town bike to sit outside his apt. while in college.  Newer tires/chain with small windshield and paint decent shape, etc. for the year of course.  Really not much out there for 500-800 bucks all there in decent running condition or so he hopes?  He sent me a pic while 4 hours away and told him ya know it is missing the chrome chain cover right?   

anyone ever have one good or bad things on it?  I did a little research and is a 6 speed much to my surprise and he said driving it home 100 miles doing 60-65 mph is only 3500 rpms though pretty decent lower rpms in 6th gear considering redline is 9000 rpms, not so sure I would want to do 9000 rpms on a 450cc small cycle anyways? Even gets 60 mpg with a 3.5 gallon gas tank dare I say Honda Valkyrie long distance mileage equals in terms of running out of gas?   

Also,  sight unseen not much info on it I found online being near 40 years old.  I think I found is 2.6 quarts of oil but where is the oil filter located at?  Is a paper filter one with metal on top/bottom open not a real spin on oil filter.  Anyone have one to see where the oil filter goes?  There has to be a cover plate right where oil filter goes into?  LIke said, never seen it before was just a tad bit before my time buying a 1984 honda used back in 1988. 

any info on cycle and oil filter location much appreciated!     He just bought synthetic cycle oil 10w-40 and oil filter to do an oil change but not so sure synthetic oil is really needed since back in 1982 synthetic oil was not invented yet I do not think or for sure not used probably just honda GN4 cycle oil was used and good enough?  I guess 6 bucks qt. for honda GN4 conventional oil vs. 10 bucks qt. for synthetic cycle oil not a huge deal needing 3 qts. is all.

Weird a 19 year old kid liking older cycles more than me age 50? 

[Jess from VA]

https://bikez.com/motorcycles/honda_cm_450_custom_1982.php



https://www.bikebandit.com/1982-honda-cm450c/o/m2133

https://www.mediafire.com/folder/fqab0of56ot0f/'82%2C_'83%2C_%26_'85_CB_%26_CM450_Service_Manual

https://www.repairmanual.com/product/official-honda-cb450-cm450-1982-1983-1985-1985-factory-service-manual-61mc003/

https://www.arepairmanual.com/downloads/198219831985-honda-cbcm450s-motorcycle-service-repair-workshop-manual/

https://www.repairmanual.com/product/official-1982-honda-cm450e-owner-manual-31mc200/

[cookiedough]

that is exactly what the bike looks like although not that mint of condition same color and everything except guy added a tinted small windshield in front for bugs.  I like the looks of it old school...

thanks for links will check them out.

[scooperhsd]

My first motorcycle was a CB400A - same motor (but 50 cc smaller). Oil filter should be  in a metal cover . I rode that 200 miles back and forth to home in college.

[h13man]

https://www.partzilla.com/catalog/honda/motorcycle/1982/cm450e-a/lower-crankcase

[0leman]

I had the CB450, bought new in '71.  Put on raised pipes (looked like a SL450) and changed to trial tires.   Road it to work in Minnesota  for 4 month during the summer.  Then moved to OR.  Road it to work year round, even in the snow.   (little crazy back then)  When I moved to WY in '79 after only two months there, a young lady in a jacked up Van broad sided the poor bike.   Totaled it.   Did enjoy riding it for those 8 years.   Lots of shorts trips to work and such.  Only about 15K on her when she went.   

[3fan4life]

I love old Honda's.

Those old 450's and 400's are great starter bikes.

My son's first bike was a 450 Nighthawk.

He loved it and rode it everywhere.

[scooperhsd]

Yeah - my first bike (new bike as well) was a 1978 CB400A It had 20,000 miles or more on it when I gave it to my dad when I got my 1976 CB750F. The electric starter gave out on it, but it still started easily with the kickstarter.

[Gryphon Rider]

My first bike was an '81 CM400T.  It had a five speed, but a sixth gear would have been awesome when not riding into the wind or up a hill.  In fifth gear, MPH times 100 = RPM, e.g. 60 MPH = 6000 RPM.  mine had a 10,000 RPM redline, IIRC, and I took it to redline often, just to accelerate at a decent rate.  I bought it in 1990, the year I got my MC licence, and rode it from Calgary to Indiana and back that year.  A long day at 6000-7000 RPM left my hands buzzing at the end of the day.  Mine started with the original drive chain, which I lubed every other gas stop, and and adjusted twice a day on that trip.  I replaced it with an o-ring style chain, which wore less quickly.

The oil filter is accessed by removing a bolt (not really a regular bolt) holding the square, finned, aluminum cover at the bottom of the engine, No. 4 in the diagram.



The early '70's 450 twin engines are totally different than the early to mid '80's 450 twin engines, which were like the 400 twins of the late '70s to early '80s but with a larger bore.

[cookiedough]

thanks all for the links especially partzilla.com on the oil filter area never thought of partzilla been on it a few times should have known....    he got valvoline full synthetic 10w40 cycle oil vs. regular dyno oil since was 10 vs. 7 bucks per qt. figured only 9 more bucks why not will probably last him this year and all of next year driving it before needing another oil change.  He said it sputters a tad bit when first starting in the morning not running until prior day but I think they all do from the 80s with pull out/in choke when cold but once warmed up purs like a kitten.  So far he says he enjoys tooling around town on it feels so much lighter than his frj1300 where that bike is so quick he really does not have to shift gears too much super fast unlike the honda 450 shifting gears often which he likes doing winding out the gears where he cannot do that on the fjr1300 without getting super HUGE speeding tickets. 

even better news is by adding this old cycle to my stable since insurance under me much cheaper rates,  it lowers my insurance rate by 40 bucks lower per year since the fjr1300 goes down 100 bucks per year being the biggie drop since is fastest and newest and most expensive to replace parts on considered a sport touring cycle.  Ever notice how cheap our Valks are for insurance?  NO JOKE, same exact coverage the old 1982 honda 450 costs 1 buck more per year than my 2001 VAlk I/S with the highest besides the fjr1300 being my suzuki burgmann 650 scooter.    Progressive insurance NEVER made any sense.  You add another cycle and price drops also?      maybe if I add another cycle my rates keep going down and down?     but if I did I would be divorced guaranteed am done buying toys or in the poor dog house for sure with the misses...   I personally really think she would kill me or divorce me if I came home with anything another engine...

[The emperor has no clothes]

The early '70's 450 twin engines are totally different than the early to mid '80's 450 twin engines, which were like the 400 twins of the late '70s to early '80s but with a larger bore.

I didn't know that. I always assumed they were all based on the same engine. My wife bought me a '79 CM400A at a garage sale once. It was in really good shape, with a couple add ons. But man, that Auto transmission was a dog ! It was fine around town, but it could barely get out of its way on the Hiway. I went thru a couple CDI boxes and gave up on it.

[Jess from VA]

I got an '82 CM 250 to teach my wife to ride on.  It was low mile but had sat for years and took some cleaning and tuning.  

She said... why do I have to have an old beater like this?  We can afford better.

I said... because you're going to drop it and ding it, and we're not going to care about it at all.  She did, and we didn't.

Paid $800, and sold it for $800 14 months later.

It didn't look this good.  Only thing was, that fat seat was too tall, so I taught her left foot down only.

[scooperhsd]

Yeah, the 400A's were a bit of a dog. It worked slightly better if you started in "1" and then upshifted to "2" at an appropriate speed.

[cookiedough]

I got an '82 CM 250 to teach my wife to ride on.  It was low mile but had sat for years and took some cleaning and tuning.  

She said... why do I have to have an old beater like this?  We can afford better.

I said... because you're going to drop it and ding it, and we're not going to care about it at all.  She did, and we didn't.

Paid $800, and sold it for $800 14 months later.

It didn't look this good.  Only thing was, that fat seat was too tall, so I taught her left foot down only.

your wife must be pretty short under 5 feet to not be able to touch flat footed on a 250?

[cookiedough]

The early '70's 450 twin engines are totally different than the early to mid '80's 450 twin engines, which were like the 400 twins of the late '70s to early '80s but with a larger bore.

I didn't know that. I always assumed they were all based on the same engine. My wife bought me a '79 CM400A at a garage sale once. It was in really good shape, with a couple add ons. But man, that Auto transmission was a dog ! It was fine around town, but it could barely get out of its way on the Hiway. I went thru a couple CDI boxes and gave up on it.

meathead,  your wife must be a gem, real keeper for sure going to garage sales and waala,  she comes home with a motorcycle for the husband.  What a doll!   Like that will EVER happen at my house..

[Jess from VA]

Your wife must be pretty short under 5 feet to not be able to touch flat footed on a 250?

Actually, that 250 is several inches higher to the seat than the later Rebels.

And at 5' 5-6", it was a reach for a brand new rider.

Her later Honda 600VLX, (lowered) 800 Vulcan and 1100 Yami custom all had lower seats than that 250.  

[gordonv]

My 1st legal bike I learned on the street how to ride. 82' CM250, before they named them the Rebel in 83'



Notice the rear shocks, they had swing out extensions that lowered the bike a couple of inches.

Then the next year, I moved up to the CM400T



and that went so good to get a bike that fit my size, I then bought the Shadow ACE Tourer, and 2 years later (3), I went to my first Valkyrie IS.

[The emperor has no clothes]

My 1st legal bike I learned on the street how to ride. 82' CM250, before they named them the Rebel in 83'



Notice the rear shocks, they had swing out extensions that lowered the bike a couple of inches.

Then the next year, I moved up to the CM400T

Were those stock ? I don't remember those.

[gordonv]

No. I bought the bike from the original owner, who was vertically challenged, and needed to do something to make the bike easier to ride, which was lowering it.

By swinging the bottom mounting point out, it lowered the bike about 2".

It only had 3K miles on it when I bought it in 2007 for $600. New tires, front fork seals/oil, fresh gas and new battery, and it fired right up in 30 sec.

I sold it with 5K a year later, for $1700. Was a good market for beginner bikes. I'd like to get something like a 450 Rebel or 500 Shadow, just to roll around town for a coffee when I want, for just a little money.

[Ramie]

 Only thing was, that fat seat was too tall, so I taught her left foot down only.

That's the way I learned to ride when I was a kid because I couldn't reach the ground with booth feet.  I still do it out of habit. 

[Jess from VA]

 Only thing was, that fat seat was too tall, so I taught her left foot down only.

That's the way I learned to ride when I was a kid because I couldn't reach the ground with booth feet.  I still do it out of habit.  

It's the way I was taught (though I didn't take MSF until age 31 in USAF), and it's the way I've taught a number of guys and a few gals.  

There are times when both feet down are a good idea (bad pavement, high cross winds), but most of the time left foot down (with slight lean left, and right foot on the brake pedal) is a better practice.  And if you hold the bike on a steep hill with the front brake (only), it makes throttling up to depart tricky.

But the big apples and oranges on one or two feet down at stops is rider height.  If you are tall, both feet down is a natural and easy reach all the time.  But if you are short or medium, working for both feet down all the time often results in wobbles and instability (and can be hard on the gonads).  

[cookiedough]

so far the kid is happy with it and for only 600 bucks I think he done good overall considering if spending 600 bucks on any cycle nowadays you going to have issues more than likely especially for an early 1980s cycle some near 40 years old.  He says it sputters a little due to carbs am sure when not warmed up, but most carb bikes do from that era a little until fully warmed up.  9500 redline is pretty impressive since not many cruisers that offer that high a number.  I told him the only cycle under 500cc for a cruiser back then would be my #1 pick is a mid 1980s honda V30 magna even though it is still chain drive vs. the 700, 750, and 1100 cc magnas were all shaft driven.  It has also a 11500 redline and 6 speeds as well but tad bit bigger and faster than the cm450c and the few I have seen used for sale want over 1 grand pushing 1500 bucks.

https://www.cyclechaos.com/wiki/Honda_VF500C