1971 CL350 "The forgotten one"

MotorbikeBruno

Over 1,000 Posts
Well, I thought I'd put this one on the restoration section since that's where it's fitting at the moment. No plans to cafe' this one. Just bring her back from the dead and get her to a new home.

The story with this machine comes from a mix of what's on the bike now and what the previous owner said about it. From the looks and sounds of it, she has been sitting since 1976 or so. I picked it up in the "old" part of town near my work for just under $200. He said he rode it very hard back in the day and it was time for someone to either part her out or put her back on the road. He said he stopped riding it because it was making funny noises. Well, at least he stopped riding it then right? ::)
I found it in the corner of his garage in the back and he said it's been there for as long as he could remember. He got the bike on trade for cleaning up some guys yard in the 70's. Anyways, I got her back to my garage, cleaned the carbs, set timing and she fired right up! I didn't notice anything to obvious other than the cam chain was rattling pretty good. A quick check of the tensioner wheels showed they were toast. No teeth on the one and rubber bits missing on both of them. I knew it was time for a teardown at that point. I'll let the pictures do the talking I suppose for the rest of the story. Still looking for a reasonably priced seat for her, or, JUST THE FOAM from a seat as mine has been eaten by squirrels or mice or something else. PM me if you have one you are willing to part with. I'm located at Zip code 55432, Fridley MN.

Still thinking about the paint too. Haven't gotten that far yet.
 
How she came home
 

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Carb clean, new manifold boots, replaced points (after that picture) and set timing.
 

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Engine out, chain rollers toast. And assuming low oiling or overheating because that one piston was beat up. I replaced BOTH pistons of course. Honed cylinder and it was still well within spec without any scratches left.
 

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Next up. Remedy those issues. New rollers. Went with the machined set from the ebay guy ($116 I think for the pair) And new pistons from Scrambler Cycle in Wisconsin. Shout out to Kevin as he was great to communicate with! http://scramblercycle.highwire.com/

Lapped some corrosion off the valve seats, cleaned up a little carbon and stoned the surfaces. Also verified that the springs were in there the correct way. New cam chain too. Because you might as well when you are in there!! Cheap insurance!
 

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Engine back in, cleaning up some more things. New chain, check out the HM tool used for chain tightening! The hole was stripped out of the tensioner, so I welded a new nut on the inside and she works like a charm again :)
 

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Last post for now, as this is how she currently sits. Pipes were sitting on it with the one pipe up in the air. I welded a short straight section and I think it cleans up the look of the pipes quite a bit.

I put the last picture in there for a slight PSA for people new to this engine. The oil "filter" cover actually has a specific way it goes on. You COULD just line up the 3 screw points and fit it on there, but that would be very bad. There's an oil galley that runs through it and has an "intake" and "exhaust" point if you will. Make sure the larger cutout faces UP and you'll be all set!

Still looking for a seat or just the sat foam, so if you guys took one off a project let me know! I'd rather pay you than some random on ebay.
 

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luke_holloway said:
Great work! I'm currently building/restoring a 1972 CL350. What did you go with for air filters?
I went with the UNI filter set. You can get them at any of the big boys. I think I got mine at Dennis Kirk A quick search pulled up this link:
http://www.motoparthub.com/NU_4001_UNI_FILTER_Oem_Replacement_Filters_Uni_Fil_Cl_cb350_550?src=Google&gclid=CjwKEAiA4dPCBRCM4dqhlv2R1R8SJABom9pHCrBUImKVm69DnAsqpNBSigYUj1Bq5XtoJpqQ8eCroRoCovHw_wcB

I just chose these because I was going to have to do some jetting changes already due to the exhaust, and it didn't come with air filters. This kit retains the stock sidecover bar that goes through to hold the bottom of the covers on.
 
Re: 1971 CL350 "The forgotten one"

Awesome, good to know. My current setup is going to require a lot of jetting (which I want to avoid). I look forward to following the project!
 
Re: 1971 CL350 "The forgotten one"

luke_holloway said:
Awesome, good to know. My current setup is going to require a lot of jetting (which I want to avoid). I look forward to following the project!

Thanks and no problem! I'm waiting on some funds for the paint. (luckily I know painter friends) and still unsure of the paint scheme/color.
 
I pulled this CL175 out of a barn.
 

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Re: 1971 CL350 "The forgotten one"

I've got a seat from a 73 CL350 that has a little less damage than yours. But still not prestine


Sent from my iPhone using DO THE TON
 
Re: 1971 CL350 "The forgotten one"

Landon_cl350 said:
I've got a seat from a 73 CL350 that has a little less damage than yours. But still not prestine


Sent from my iPhone using DO THE TON

Realistically I'm just after a seat that will fit the bike and the foam isn't torn to hell. The CB350 seats are shorter than the CL350 seats from what I gather (due to tank change) So you can put a CB350 seat+tank on and it will fit. Or you can put a CL350 seat+tank , but you cannot swap them. I'm fine with recovering the seat with an aftermarket seat cover. I just can't do that with the seat that I have, due to mice destroying it. (added first picture again for effect) ;)
 

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