Faults:

Nothing... it runs and starts, and needs the usual bike maintenance expected of any bike.

The only notable problem was that the starter switch headlight off thing was a bit sticky when I first got it. It is a little switch that turns off the headlight when starting, and I would start up and no headlight. At the time... all it needed was a little knock to engage/disengage the micro switch. Since then I've lubed the electronics and it works fine.

The bike is surprisingly reliable with no glitches of any sort. Yes... I've done the required work to keep it operating properly... but the thing just goes with no surprises.

This model is a bit older, but any parts are available. It's simple to work on and easy on the wallet.

The riding position is quite relaxed. I am 5'11" and I can get by OK. but if you are smaller it would help.

General Comments:

It's a nice bike. As long as you ride within its limits and don't expect to go too fast or far, it's perfect. The ideal ride for this bike is around town... to work... do errands... go shopping. The riding position is cruiser style... which means interstate travel is going to get tiresome. Some folks add a screen which might help a bit with this, but generally the bike is best at lower speeds. It tracks good in corners and the E model does fine with the drum brake. But... with that said... drum brakes don't operate at their best when wet. The bike does OK, and if you are an experienced rider... no problem. But the brake does get grabby when wet... a surprise if you are not used to it.

The gearing is a bit tall for hilly terrain, so I opted for the 17/35 combo vs 17/34 stock. It just allows the motor to spin a bit more and take the burden off the hills. Downside: a bit of a loss of MPG. The upside to this is that 6th (overdrive) is a bit more useful from the +48mph side. 4th gear is now more suitable for the uphill climbs at about 38-40mph.

This bike is a great utility rider... light and reasonably fast. I would not ride double on this bike; with the short wheelbase it throws off the balance greatly. Ridden solo... it has all the fun a bike should have.

It is a nice style of ride... but if you want something sporty then buy that kind of bike. This is a basic motorcycle meant to be ridden in grandad fashion.

Faults:

Original seat was torn, had it recovered.

Battery side cover was missing, found one at a junkyard, repainted tank and side covers all black.

Chain was unreliable, replaced with new.

Windshield brackets to turn signal arms failed, both sides broke, made replacement aluminum brackets from slightly thicker plate.

No center stand, added one from junkyard off of a Honda 500.

Headlamp was dented and dim, replaced with new.

Instrument panel bulb burned out, replaced with new.

General Comments:

Very reliable, clean running bike.

Needs to be warmed up in cooler weather.

Shakes dangerously at highway speeds over 70.

100 mile range on 2.3 gallon tank limits trip length before refueling.

Not a speedster off a standing start, and not a lot of passing power on highway, however very smooth through gears, and sixth gear is a real bonus.

Faults:

Well since I bought the bike I have totally rebuilt, chopped, rewired and added many new parts to the bike.

As far as having something go wrong, my main problem was carburetors. I had to finally take to repair shop and have them re-jetted, tuned, synced, and dyno-ed. But other than that, I haven't had to replace any parts.

General Comments:

I chopped up my Honda CM450E totally! I chopped off the rear portion of the frame, added taillights inside cutoff portion of rear frame. Removed rear shocks and replaced with custom made struts, so it's a hard tail now. Made a custom springer seat, which is actually quite comfortable even with the hardtail. Redid all the wiring completely, and removed anything unnecessary from the bike, ie. side skirts, battery tray, electrical tray, and made a custom wire box/holder under seat. Made a custom battery box under seat. Added a new chrome hi-watt headlight. Pretty much made my bike fully custom, one of a kind bike. It's old school.

Now that it is FINALLY done, I mean fully running. This bike is extremely fast for a 450. That being said though, I have a stage 3 jet kit in carbs, custom straight pipe exhaust, and custom air filter/ air pods. So my bike is differently modded, and was dyno-ed to around 60HP!! Stock is around 45HP.

Braking is not so great, but it's drum, what do you expect?

Handling is very good since bike is so small.

I am a very experienced rider, and stand 6' tall, 165 lbs, so not a small guy, but I can easily ride this bike, and it's actually quite fun to ride.

Now all this being said, I never rode the bike when it was stock, so I have nothing to compare to as far as recommendations. But, I do know, with some minor modifications, the Honda CM450E is a very quick, response easy to handle bike.