I just got off of the phone with the owner's son, who made all of the repairs and maintained the bike. At first I was talking to the granddaugher, who made the claims that multiple family members had worked on the bike. The son clarified that she was referring to a 360 Benelli that was tossed around the family, and that he wouldn't dare touch it since it had been through so many hands.
This is going to be a difficult repair list to compile. Bear with me on the order of events and how they took place. This granted me a lot of closure and knowledge on the history of the bike.
According to the son:
-His father acquired the bike in 1977 from his Uncle who had it momentarily.
-The last known healthy running year for the bike was 1986. It rode many miles to Canada back and forth in its previous years. (They live in Michigan).
-The son, in a period of desperation, tried to get the bike to idle and putt around the backyard in 2020 for his Dad to sit on and enjoy right before his Dad passed.
-When the Uncle received the bike in 1976, it had the '72 and after fork setup on it.
Repairs/History:
Color/Cosmetics
-The bike was originally Candy Topaz Orange, as I noticed seeing under one of the side covers. The Uncle painted the bike sky blue and it was definitely not Strato Blue Metallic according to the son. This can be seen from chips under the fuel tank.
-The Dad did not like the color, so the son grabbed what was on the shelf in his garage. The color is a paint combo of Crimson Red, Brandy Wine, and a hint of black paint.
-He has no idea why the engine crankcase covers are black. They weren't that color when he sold it a few years ago.
-The front and rear fender both had a crack on them near the ends, so they chopped off 2in of the fenders on both the front and rear.
Front of bike
-The CB front fender came on the bike when his Uncle got it.
-He warned me that I'm missing the gauge brackets under the gauges, and thats why they are so far apart.
-One of his family members tipped over the bike and cracked the triple tree, so his friend offered to replace it with one from a CB750.
-The front headlight bucket is from a 73-74 CB350.
-The bucket was missing the high beam indicator and there was a hole, so he covered it up with fiberglass.
-I didnt really get this, but he said the front fork ears are made from two sets of CB350 fork ears, so they end up being 2in longer than original. They will most likely fall apart when I take them off.
-Steering bearings are original, he regreased them.
-Odometer and tach gauges were replaced because of damage. They suspected the front end was previously in a wreck when the Uncle received the bike.
-The right throttle side controls are from a CB350
Wheels
-They have never been touched or opened up. Bearings and drum brakes will need attention.
Exhaust/Muffler
-The baffle(s) broke loose, so they cut open the mufflers and tried to secure the baffles with the three screws in the top, then welded it back together.
Tires
-The back tire came off of a Harley Sportster
Chain
-An o-ring chain was put on the bike since a nephew of his was going to use the bike for off-roading, but then changed his mind.
Clutch/Transmission
-The son couldn't figure out for his life why the transmission was acting up, spent weeks on it, so they pulled a transmission from another CL450 motor and it fixed everything.
-He installed new transmission bearings.
-He Installed new clutch plates
-Even though he read the FSM a lot, he couldn't understand the clutch cable setup. He did it the "Harley way" and it rode fine.
His definition - Unscrew the cable adjuster nut all the way. Go to the clutch lever adjustment. Turn it left and then barely turn it right until it touches. Tighten cable nut.
Rear brake light
-When they received the bike from the Uncle, the bike didn't have rear turn signals, so the father drilled holes in the rear bracket to mount turn signals through there.
Engine
-He says he came home one day, and for whatever unknown reason, the engine was completely disassembled and in pieces in the garage. He never got a straight answer of why his father did this.
-His father momentarily had a different CL450 engine in the bike while the other one was in pieces.
-The son said that he got fed up and wanted to rebuild the original engine. He installed new OEM pistons and rings to OEM spec.
-The original engine went back into the bike.
He then asked me about the wiring and if I noticed anything, while laughing. He apologized for the hacked wiring. He couldn’t acquire a glass fuse so he rigged up a blade fuse. He also apologized for the cracked cam bearing on the points side. He grabbed one from his spare parts bin. He said the bike hadn't ran in 20+ years and he at least wanted it to idle so he could see his Dad sit on it one last time before he passed. That's also why there is an upside down clutch lever for the brake lever. He said he had to make things do for the time he had.
He says somewhere there is a basket of parts he would like to send to me that came off of the bike. And he is very excited to see the bike's progression for his father's memory.
Oh and here's the killer part. He could never get the bike to idle correctly and that's why he sold it. He said he cussed for months and years. I asked him if he knew he had two different carbs on there with two different fuel mixture screws(14H & 723A). He was dumbfounded and said that explains everything.
I cranked the bike up over the phone and he was speechless, said he never dreamed of it sounding that good.
He was generally mad at the story I was told. Explaining that it was just someone trying to sell me something, or the story got twisted. He was flabbergasted that his previous Michigan bike made it all the way down to Memphis TN. Sounds like I’ll need to edit my #1 post on this thread
4into1.com
www.facebook.com
