At long last I had the 450 working, insured, UK registered and ready to go for its first test ride.
By this stage I had got used to the unfamiliar sound that the engine made – aweird hissing noise which I eventually realised was merely the sound of the camshafts and rockers in operation. Probably what threw me was that the exhaust was much quieter than on any of my other bikes and quiet noises were drowned out.
I had noticed that the clutch adjustment did not seem to work as I had expected and pretty soon it was apparent that the clutch was slipping quite badly. I did carry on for aIt took a few minutes’ work to discover the source – not the primary drive cover as I had expected, but the clutch push-rod oil seal which had been pushed out of its housing Well, it was 50 years old and even a Honda seal cannot last forever.
