Viability of a putting a modern sportbike front end on a CL350

Tremelune

Been Around the Block
Before I dig too deep into stearing stem and fork measurements, I was wondering if anyone around here has already had success with swapping a modern front end onto a CB/CL350...I have a '71 with shot forks, shit brakes, and a dead headlight...I was hoping to take care of it all in one fell swoop, and hopefully not make the bike any heavier.

I'm familiar with front-end swaps, and I would probably wind up swapping the stems and bolting things back up...I'm just wondering if anyone has done a conversion on this particular bike and knows about any gotchas to look out for...

Prime candidates for a front-end would be a 2003 SV650, any CBR, or really, whatever complete front-end I can find on Craigslist...I'm trying to be informed and realistic before I buy anything. I have a paltry garage, and no machining capabilities. If one front-end is better than another, I'd love to know (and why). It would probably cost me a couple hundred to do, not including several hundred for the front end parts. Doing a CB550 swap (for example) wouldn't be worth it, however simple. I'm just trying to weigh my options against rebuilding the forks, doing something with the breaks, and replacing the headlight with any ol' modern halogen.

The best leads I have are what these dudes have done:

http://www.dotheton.com/forum/index.php?topic=6710.60

http://www.dotheton.com/forum/index.php?topic=13493.10

I'd love to hear some tales before my own reality sets in and I decide to just deal with the bumps and keep my eyes open...
 
What is this magical sportbike of which you speak?

With regard to swapping out the bearings, there are some bearing sizes that simply don't exist, or are very uncommon. There are certain front-end/frame combinations that would fall into this category (concrete example: A GSXR front on an XR frame). I suppose I should spec out a few likely candidates and see what's out there. I'm still hoping for first-hand knowledge with this bike...

I have this weird desire for inverted forks, even though I know the front-end of a CBR F2 would already be overkill...
 
If you want the performance and handling of a modern sportbike, buy and ride one. Why do this to a vintage CL350?
 
I gotta say +1. It's just a 350 man. If you're like me and don't do much in-town riding, you'll get bored pretty quick.
 
It weighs 350 pounds wet, has a comfy seat for two, looks cool, and nobody's gonna steal it. It's also currently cheap and cheap to maintain, but that could change depending on what kind of modifications I incur...

I would've bought another new Bonneville, but their kinda heavy, kinda wide, and not great for sneaking through traffic.
 
All I do is in-town riding...Brooklyn, Manhattan...This thing rarely sees 50mph.

I've thought about this. The only real competition this thing has to fill the role is a CH80 (which I can't take on the BQE and gets spooky over bridges).
 
I thought about the 550 swap, but I'd still wind up with mediocre (disc) breaks, limited tire selection, and (most likely, depending on where they came from), worn forks. It would probably be a small difference in money for the swap vs the excellent breaks, excellent tire selection, and much better forks of many front-ends from the last decade.
 
I think you just need to service your brake components better. With a fully rebuilt single disc on my 550, I could lock the front. The only issue was brake fade, and you won't have a problem with that in city riding. Now with a dual disc swap and GSXR master, I'm very confident in my brakes.
 
Yup... Do a 35mm fork swap (cb500/550/750) with duals. Buy a couple modernish calipers and make adapter plates. Update the master and run stainless lines. Golden.
 
It can be done, my '69 has a '98 R1 front on it currently. Drive the bottom wedge out of the cb/cl350 tree with a long punch, then press out the stem from the lower triple. On the R1, remove bottom circ-clip, press out stem. Press the 350 stem into the r1 lower and you're good to go. Just measure your initial stem length before removing and duplicate with the new tree.

IMG_8684.jpg

IMG_8686.jpg
 
I don't get it. USD forks from a modern liter bike with dual 4-pot calipers are beyond overkill for an old 350.
 
The USD bit was just for looks--They're stiffer, heavier, costlier, and well passed overkill to be worth it for me. They might be a little wide for the tank, too. They sure look mean, though.
 
When I installed those I wasn't doing if for the added braking ;) I put these on almost 7 years ago when I was in college with more time and money than brains and wanted a "look". I've since decide to leave them on purely for the fact that I sold the trees and the original wheels. Soon it'll be getting a single sided swinger as well, again just for the looks to match the front end for a complete retro-modern cafe/tracker look.
 
Tremelune said:
The USD bit was just for looks--They're stiffer, heavier, costlier, and well passed overkill to be worth it for me. They might be a little wide for the tank, too. They sure look mean, though.

Go for it.
Big tits are overkill but everyone still likes to look at them ;)
 
I did the USD modern fork swap several years ago.......very easy to do.....just swap the stems.
This bike is a 1969 CB350 with 1998 GSXR750 inverted forks.
Tankside2-150.jpg

During mock up:
cb350rr-right150.jpg
 
BTW I haven't weighed them to confirm, but the GSXR forks I got for my SR500 are pretty darn light - I'd be surprised if they're heavier than the stock forks. Really really surprised.
 
Add two discs, two callipers, wider wheel, bigger tyre and much beefier triple clamps and I think the modern front end will be much heavier. Still very cool though! 8) 8)
 
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