1970 CL350 Project

Nice! This tank is rocked on a lot of bikes and looks good on everyone of them. Definitely a good buy. No advice on the shocks as I'm still sporting the stock shocks. A couple of modern cafe/racing shocks on ebay for like 180 or so. They look a little to new school for me. I just keep my eye out for a clean set of 750 shocks because my friend rocks those on his 350 and loves them. cant wait to see this thing rolling. so now that you're home get your ass in gear SUMMER IS HERE!
 
Do not buy ebay shocks. Ever.

Also, I really don't get how you can rock cb750 shocks on a cb350. It should make it ride like a hardtail.

If you want to go cheap, get some redwings, they are better than the 40 year old crap you have on there. ~$100

If you want to spend a bit more, grab either some hagons or some progressives. ~$200

I personally ended up with some Ikons which have on the go adjustable preload and dampening. They feel really good to me. ~$350

And obviously you can spend quite a bit more.. Ikon has ones that have the screw and locknut style preload settings so you can really dial them in. These are fully aluminum so they are a good deal lighter. ~$450

Then you can go up to Ohlins and YSS and whatnot for something like $700 and up.
 
I don't see why tire width would make a difference, and anywhere near stock shock length and you should have no problem with tire height. Even so, I don't really get why you would want to run a bigger tire in the rear, you're sacrificing performance and it just looks kinda silly on these bikes in almost all cases.

Also your height doesn't really matter either, but your weight does. When you order from progressive I think they have a soft/med/hard spring to chose from, redwings just come as they are, and hagons and everything more expensive will spring the shock to your weight.
 
well again opinion is relavent. the 120 did throw me off at first like we discussed but it simply just looks BADASS now. just left a vintage car/bike show the other day and everyone verified this. i did say however the larger rear with the smaller front tends to keep me more upright than id like in the corners. and the 750 shocks dont ride anything like a hard tail. having ridden his bike that is experience.. not opinion.. but that dude did throw out some great options. the 750 still has a good travel for the bumby city rodes but the helpful added stiffness when your doing 75+ down the highway. if for nothing else they are a quick and cheap find. not trying to step on toes but cant be "corrected" with mis-information. these just my opinions. whats the plan with this tank color. ive seen them moutned different ways to our little 350's so that part should be easy if not accessable from other DTT threads.
 
CBdublin said:
well again opinion is relavent. the 120 did throw me off at first like we discussed but it simply just looks BADASS now. just left a vintage car/bike show the other day and everyone verified this. i did say however the larger rear with the smaller front tends to keep me more upright than id like in the corners. and the 750 shocks dont ride anything like a hard tail. having ridden his bike that is experience.. not opinion.. but that dude did throw out some great options. the 750 still has a good travel for the bumby city rodes but the helpful added stiffness when your doing 75+ down the highway. if for nothing else they are a quick and cheap find. not trying to step on toes but cant be "corrected" with mis-information. these just my opinions. whats the plan with this tank color. ive seen them moutned different ways to our little 350's so that part should be easy if not accessable from other DTT threads.
Click to expand...

Ya, I mean wider rears can look good, just not on these bikes-- especially when the aim is something cafe'ish.. but ofc thats an opinion. I guess there are people who think barb wire bands around the bicep are BADASS, but I digress... Anyways, like you said, if your opinion is that its not a sacrifice to style, it still is factually a sacrifice in the performance department. If you're fine with that, then cool.

As for the cb750 shock, I just don't know what to say. Maybe its not that bad, but it seems like it would be pretty stiff unless you're a really big guy. Getting shocks built to your spec is not that expensive, not sure why you'd wanna go with a one size fits all solution here?
 
since this is not my thread i will yield my comments to the above non sense. mainly for the comparison to people with barb wire tats... even in a disagreement, not cool ;) agree to disagree.
 
So I primed my frame and swingarm today and I am starting to get pretty excited about the project.Even though its just primer it felt like I am getting somewhere. I made the main parts order for the bike about 3 days ago so hopefully in two weeks I will have my bike back in a rolling chasis. I ordered my tires yesterday so my goal is to have my wheels painted and ready to mount by the this coming weekend. Major progress :)



In the mail..
Fork Seals
Wheel Bearings
Steering Bearings
35mm Clip-ons
Rear Shocks









A fine brew + a primed frame and swinger = the good life.
5701201831_83ee36e0a1_z.jpg
 
Looks good so far. Cool tank :) Have you decided on a color scheme? I just got some parts back from the paint dudes today (frame, seat, headlight etc.) and its like christmas morning after 2 months of waiting.
 
ffjmoore said:
35mm clipons? so your not running the stock front forks? CL350 has 33mm i believe.
Click to expand...
You are correct sir. I assumed since those were the standard clips I would just add them to the shopping cart. Turns out I may just put a shim in each one and call it a day. Good idea, bad idea? I am painting the forks with epoxy paint to have a a little different look than most, but obviously not 2mm worth of paint.
 
You can do what ever you want but clipons come in various sizes for a reason. If it were me hanging on to those when i need to slam on the brakes i would want the right size ones so i know they would clamp on tight and not shift.
 
Alright worked my a** off on the wheels last night and ready to spray them. Looks like tomorrow will be the day cause its straight sunshine. I'm using VHT flat black epoxy (probably around 3 coats).

Right now i'm headed to Ace Hardware to get some random nuts and bolts that need to be replaced. Hopefully my bike will be a roller by mid next week!!

I'm thinking of replacing the fork seals and wheel bearings tonight, but both of those tasks seem like a pain.

2 Questions...

How do I smack the wheel bearings out? Maybe some heat?

andd..

In order to get out the fork seals do I have to take out the bottom allen on each fork lower?
 
Do you have a manual? That will tell you how to do it. If those 2 small projects sound like a pain, you picked the wrong bike to ride. Might want to get a brand new bike that doesnt need work. ;D
 
i feel you jeff. ive done a little tweaking to every part of the bike except the forks. its a lot easier to tackle something when you're getting performance AND aesthetic benefits. mine arent perfect but if i was worried about safety i wouldnt be screaming down the highway on a 42 year old bike ;) but ive kept mine riding the whole rebuild so youre smart to go ahead and do it while its broken down. cant wait to see the roller.
 
The wheel bearings require a special tool, or for you to make the tool.. at least for the rear. I didn't realize this, and so I just ended up leaving my old bearings in there.. they are in good shape and smooth, so it didn't seem worth it to pay a shop. And even then, I had a hard time finding a shop that had the tool.

The fork seals.. I replaced them as I rebuilt/cleaned out my forks, so I did take them all the way apart, but I cant remember if you necessarily have to completely disassemble them.
 
ffjmoore I am building the bike to learn these things. I'm 22 and can't afford a nice running bike, and I don't like many bikes on the road today.
 
I'd like to point out that pretty much every task seems really daunting.. until you just do it. If you don't already have a Haynes and Clymers (I suggest getting both.. there is a lot of overlap, but there are unique tidbits in each) then get them. Then just dive into the various projects and ask questions if you get stumped. I was so scared to work on the carbs; I feel like everyone made it out to be this really hard thing to do, with tiny tiny little parts. The parts are fairly small, but most things just press into place and are straight forward. Once you've actually got the thing taken apart, its a lot less intimidating.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

DTT Light or Dark

  • DTT Light
    • www.jadusmotorcycleparts.com
    www.lostapostle.ca/
    www.sparckmoto.com

    Spread the Love

    Back
    Top Bottom