Did Honda a SL 450 Motorcycle?

Answer 1

Honda SL450? Trying to recollect years- was riding late 60s. Honda America in California and Chicago dealers had AMA class C Honda 450 they were calling SL450- this was dealer kit equipped CL/CB based sport racer hot rod street bike- the AMA class rules for 'production' based racer required I think Minimum 200 of model to be built and the model had to be available for public purchase. The first ones were the 4 speed based models- the Class C had a 4speed restriction for awhile. Pipes were similar to SL350, carbs were a bit different than CB450, Intake cam was a bit more duration- later model CB450 had increased cam as stock- frame kit lighter. These were meant to race against Suzuki 500 Titans (like mine), Triumph 500 Datonas, and the flathead Harley KRs which were still technically available to public even after OHV Sportsters had been introduced. Friend had CB450 and dealer said he could get the SL parts for extra few hundred dollars. Display model was couple hundred more than CB or CL but it was available for sale and dealer said had sold a dozen or so for street use besides the 2 he was sponsoring/ racing, seat was a large solo, small fork mount fairing, a few pounds lighter and 10 miles faster than CB450. The Cafe racer styling was just starting in some places and this SL was popular base. In England it was called something like a 'clubman?' Later CB500 twin had some of the equipment first used on the SL450- like cam and carbs- and was also sometimes outfitted with high rear clearance exhaust first used on SL450, also popular street and track racer in production class.