My first build- 1972 Honda Cb350

About two years ago I bought a 1972 honda cb350 in a box from a guy in Canada. At the time I knew very little about mechanics other then what I have learned in engineering school.(alot of theory very little hands on). Since then Ive put it all together and have it running pretty well. I plan on doing something along the lines of brat. Ill post more picture of the honda in the morning. For now this will have to do. (the last three are the inspiration bikes)

I had a guy who paints show cars and he offered to paint my gas tank for 300 dollars. The gas tank I own is all ready stripped and I want him to bondo the badge wholes. I dont know much about painting so I dont know if this is a good deal. What do you guys think?

Get it mechanically sound before you spend that kind of money on paint IMO. Brakes, shocks, etc. Post some pics of what you've got.

Sounds about what I would charge for body work and a real spray job on a tank.

Ill add much better picture once I get home from work.

I didnt get around to taking any pictures of the bike as a friend from out of town was here, but i did manage to find a picture of all the things i have bought for the bike.

So I ran into a problem yesterday when i was starting the bike. The bike will ideal around 1200 rpms then it will either stall or shoot up to around 3000 rpms and sit there. I assume this is because of dirty carbs but I wanted to get a second opinion before I start cleaning them.

So I am trying to decide on a smaller battery so i can hide it under the seat. I was looking at buying two 6v 4.5amph batteries and combining them. Has anyone had problem with this kind of set up?

6v batteries are not compatible with 12v systems. You need a small 12v battery for a security system or something. Do a google search and see what other people are running. There are plenty of posts here about batteries

the honda rear wheel comes up higher than the frame so that flat seat wont work
besides unless you are a midget with short legs putting a lower seat on a tiny bike like a cb350 is dumb anyway, i assume you are doing it for some kind of LOOk and stance like you have seen in pitchurs on yer iphone
wouldn't you rather have a bike that performs at least as good as it was intended ?

BCC said:

So I ran into a problem yesterday when i was starting the bike. The bike will ideal around 1200 rpms then it will either stall or shoot up to around 3000 rpms and sit there. I assume this is because of dirty carbs but I wanted to get a second opinion before I start cleaning them.

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Check to make sure your carbs are fitted snug and that there are no cracks in your carb boots. Get the bike running and spray some WD-40 around the boots to check.

BCC said:

So I am trying to decide on a smaller battery so i can hide it under the seat. I was looking at buying two 6v 4.5amph batteries and combining them. Has anyone had problem with this kind of set up?

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hiding the battery under the seat why ? because everybody else is doing it ? bahhh bahhhh bahhh

just remember it is a 40 year old bike and very likely needs new cam chain tensioner rollers at a minimum and you are spending money on a seat and shocks that wont work.get the thing running in stock form learn to tune it insoect the cam chain tensioner wheels,after a few hundred miles
check the swingarm pivot bushings for play/wear,,get new brake shoes etc

Yep, all that ^


Please do not tear the bike down before you get it running well and have a good working knowledge of tuning.

Okay I apologize for my past posts as they are clearly not going into enough detail :-[. So Ill start all over. I bought this bike back in 2013. That year I read the clymer manual about a dozen times, took the whole bike apart, striped the frame, repainted the frame, checked pressure in both cylinders, set the timing, valves, points, changed the oil etc. In 2014 I had bike running perfectly and rode it all last summer while I was living in ann arbor. I never tore down the engine as I didn't see the need to as the pressure in the cylinders was good and there were no leaks in the gaskets. Being 6' 2" the bike is clearly a little small on me and ive decided that i would give the bike to my girlfriend. This is why i went with a flat seat. So that she could feel more confident on the bike. In the picture it probably is not noticeable but that seat is upswept in the back so i shouldn't have a problem with the back tire.

Now that that is better explained on to better explaining the carb issue. I had the bike running and idling well this spring but when i came back home for the summer she started having the issue. Now I did leave the gas in the "ON" position by accident in the spring so i assume the carbs just got dirty and need cleaning.

Since I am de-tabbing the bike for the seat I will need to put the battery somewhere else, hence the putting the battery under the seat statement. Now I remember in my material science class we were able to combine voltage from batteries by running a series (negative to positive, positive to negative). So I was wondering if any one has done that and how their success has been.

So I am really bad at this build thread thing . Anyways been working on the bike for a while now and its "almost" complete. So i decided to paint the tank my self with rustleom and a paintroller and am pretty happy with the results. Also welded the frame up and repaint the subframe.

you say it shouldn,t have a problem with the back tire but it does.it comes up higher than the frame tubes.the upsweep at the back is not the issue.it is the seat flat on the frame where the goddam tire goes when it hits a big bump.that is asuuming the shocks you are buying for your girlfriend are of high quality to give her a SAFE compliant ride.you needed to maintain the same clearance as with the stock rear fender

Well I am running 13.5 in shocks which are about an inch more in clearance. I assume that will be fine but ill make sure and measure the travel.

And if that doesn't work out ill have to extend the swingarm. (though i will avoid this if i can as i dont want to slow the steering of the bike)

If you look at your old shocks, you can probably see where they rode by inspecting the wear on the shaft. Mine usually have a 1-inch range of motion. Compare this to the swing arm motion. Even with the horrible expansion joints in Michigan, a 100lb girl will probably never move the shock!

The one thing girls lack is hand strength and reach (i know that is 2 things). Look at improving the front braking system. You can simulate this by only pulling the brake lever with pinky and seeing if the brakes work.

redwillissuperman said:

If you look at your old shocks, you can probably see where they rode by inspecting the wear on the shaft. Mine usually have a 1-inch range of motion. Compare this to the swing arm motion. Even with the horrible expansion joints in Michigan, a 100lb girl will probably never move the shock!

The one thing girls lack is hand strength and reach (i know that is 2 things). Look at improving the front braking system. You can simulate this by only pulling the brake lever with pinky and seeing if the brakes work.

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suspension needs to be set up per rider weight, once in a while all travel will be used when this is done . if he cares about the safety of his girl he will set up the suspension correctly