1972 honda 350

[beechfront]

a buddy of mine came across a 1971/72 (not sure) honda 350. has not run for 10 years. current owner says it needs new points which is why it was parked.


i'm sure the carbs will need to be completely gone through. how difficult is it to find parts for this bike?


owner only wants $30 for it. my friend wants to find a bike to teach his wife to ride on.

[sidecarKev]

Buy it. Lots of these bikes out there. Shouldn't be a problem to find parts.
Most of your parts needed can probably be found here
http://www.crc2onlinecatalog.com/ or at the dealer. Points are going to run you $6.95 each Cycle-ReCycle. Carb kits for these are fairly reasonable also. These bikes are pretty easy to work on and are quite a bit of fun to ride around on.

[Jerry]

I had one of these back in '93 - '95, parts were not hard to find as there were a lot of these sold and parts interchange through quite a few years. Mine had a Mac 2 into 1 as the stock pipes are notorious for rusting out.

Like all older bikes you can plan on spending $300 - $500 to get it back on the road and running *reliably*. You might want to check on how much similar bikes in running condition are selling for in your area, you may decide to put the $$ into a newer bike that needs less work.

Hondas tend to have higher seat height than some other bikes. Not ususally a problem for guys, but some gals find the height a problem. If the wife cannot sit on the bike with both feet touching the ground, look for a shorter bike, like a Yamaha XS 400 from the early '80s. Most beginning riders are not comfortable if they can't touch both feet down at stop signs and such.

Much as I like to tinker with old iron, picking up a 32 year old bike that hasn't had attention for 10 years may not be the most cost-effective way to go for a reliable training bike. However, 350 Hondas were decent beginner bikes, parts and accessories are out there, and you have the winter coming up to work on it.

[beechfront]

i told him to go ahead and get it. i looked online - points and carb kits can be had for about $50 total. so will go from there i guess.

my only concern is if i get this bike running for him i will not want to give it up

thanks for the advice.

[D. P. Larmee]

$30, what have you got to lose?

I found one of these in a neighbors garage a few years ago. Had obviously been sitting at least 20 years. New oil and gas and a little oil in each cylinder, and she started up on the second kick. 15,000 miles later she is still running flawlessly. She sounds like a weed wacker, but rides real nice. This one was free, but i'd say she was worth $30. There aren't many bikes that I would pass up for $30.

[Shuriken]

Are we talking CB/CL 350?

I bought one for $50, went through the carbs, installed an electronic (pointless) ignition, she runs like a top.

Tons of parts on ebay.

Ben

[Hepcat]

Hey Beechfront,

I've got about 10 CB/CL 350 twin parts bikes left at home (Phillips, NE) just 75 miles down the road...let me know if you need anything.

[Geezer]

Originally posted by Hepcat
Hey Beechfront,

I've got about 10 CB/CL 350 twin parts bikes left at home (Phillips, NE) just 75 miles down the road...let me know if you need anything.

Would you happen to have one of the shifter levers with the linkage and piviot?

Geezer

[Hepcat]

I'm pretty sure I do. I'm off at college right now, but I'll call Dad to check. I haven't looked at them in a while, when you say linkage and pivot, are you talking about the splined shaft that goes through the cover? How much of the assembly are you looking for? Spring too?

[beechfront]

hey thanks hepcat - will let you know for sure.



and when you get back from college be sure to let me know if you want to go for a ride sometime.

[Geezer]

Originally posted by Hepcat
I'm pretty sure I do. I'm off at college right now, but I'll call Dad to check. I haven't looked at them in a while, when you say linkage and pivot, are you talking about the splined shaft that goes through the cover? How much of the assembly are you looking for? Spring too?

Some of the CB350s had the shifter pivit from a bolt up near the foot peg and had linkage going to a spud that slipped over the splined shaft. This is what I'm looking for.

I make retifiers for these bikes and I'd be happy to trade you one for the shifter.

BTW, what college are you going to?

Geezer

[Hepcat]

Geezer, I don't think I have any of that style. I believe all my shifters were directly mounted on the shaft. I'll ask Dad to take a look though.

I'm attending the University of Hawaii at Hilo, it's on the Big Island of Hawaii. You can ride all the way around the island in about 4.5-5 hours depending on how much over the speed limit you drive. On this island, the highest speed limit is 55. For most of the roads, that's fine, but there are a few straightaways that beg for a little more speed.

Beech, I'll be sure to let you know when I get back...BTW, I met another guy with an XS11 in Lincoln. His wasn't running and I offered to help him out with it but he never found time to get together before I left. Oh well, there's always next summer...or maybe we'll manage it this winter. I pointed him to this site, but I'm not sure he ever logged on.

[Geezer]

Now worries, they turn up on fleabay from time to time.

I'm jealous. Riding weather is pretty much over for the year. I could use a couple months in paradise.


Geezer

[randy]

Jon,

Let me know how that TCI box worked out, OK?

Randy