XL350 Honda conversion
- Thread starter goldy
- Start date
Ta-da! Look what came yesterday! I had no idea this wheel was going to be in such good shape, as the photos showed a very crusty looking item and the price was very reasonable...but at least it appeared that everything was there. The plan was to replace the old rusty looking rim with a very nice 18" aluminum one that I have had in my parts bin for about three decades. When I pulled the wheel out of the box, it appeared to have been sprayed with something like LPS3 or Fluid Film many years ago and set somewhere where it accumulated a fairly heavy coating of dust. I wiped it off, waxed it and buffed the hub and brakeplate and this is what I got! The spokes show some staining here and there, but no rust and the rim is just like new!
Much too good to bother going to all the effort of replacing the rim and spokes. The wheel must be from a CL350 rather than a CB, because it turned out to be fitted with a 19" rim rather than an 18" and what has really sealed the deal, is that I have a new K70 tire left over from one of last winters projects that will fit perfectly. Looks like this weekend will be a busy one, mounting the tire and fitting the new wheel to the forks. I have even found a new aftermarket fender that I can mount on the machine.
Much too good to bother going to all the effort of replacing the rim and spokes. The wheel must be from a CL350 rather than a CB, because it turned out to be fitted with a 19" rim rather than an 18" and what has really sealed the deal, is that I have a new K70 tire left over from one of last winters projects that will fit perfectly. Looks like this weekend will be a busy one, mounting the tire and fitting the new wheel to the forks. I have even found a new aftermarket fender that I can mount on the machine.
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Tune-A-Fish
BOTM LOSER Proudly Deplorable
goldy said:
Sweet wheel!
Get a roll of 120 emery and rip some 1/8th in strips, twist the strip and do a one turn around the spokes and pull back and forth like a cable type bone saw, those spokes will look like new in no time.
that is awesome but why did you severly downgrade to 33mm forks? those xl350 forks are the same ones that dick mann took to a win at daytona on a cr750 honda
that is they are of identical design 35mm and with the 4 stud axle clamps
just because you are british dont mean you have to build something that is flexier than a 441 victim with tire punctures ;D ;D
that is they are of identical design 35mm and with the 4 stud axle clamps
just because you are british dont mean you have to build something that is flexier than a 441 victim with tire punctures ;D ;D
Thanks for the input guys...Guilty as charged. Yes, as mentioned previously the forks are from a CM 400 (this bike is about 100lbs lighter), but being considerably shorter the front of the machine is sitting where I want it and the price was right. It's a very light machine anyhow and I do intend to fit a fork brace before it's finished.
I took a strip of rag and some Autosol to the scruffy spots on those spokes...just like new now!
I took a strip of rag and some Autosol to the scruffy spots on those spokes...just like new now!
JustinLonghorn
No Purple Hearts, No Blue Ribbons
This has the potential to be a rad little scoot.
Got a new back tire, ready for mounting. Been fiddling around trying to decide what sort of fuel tank to use. I'm not keen on the original tank for this style build, some other ones I tried were just too big, but this one I borrowed from a friend seems to be suitable to me...looks like it's going to be another bike with a Benelli tank. Also got a new muffler that fits nicely and seems like it will do the trick.
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A few parts trickling in over the past week or so. Found a decent headlight in the parts bin. The new tank is much nicer than the one I borrowed from a buddy; much better workmanship and far smoother. Sorry about the crappy profile shot, but if I squint my eyes and imagine a racing saddle, I can see it starting to take shape.
Things are going to slow down a bit on this job as I start to do my winter restoration jobs, but I will set aside about one day a week to tinker with it. I want it to be on the road in the early spring.
Things are going to slow down a bit on this job as I start to do my winter restoration jobs, but I will set aside about one day a week to tinker with it. I want it to be on the road in the early spring.
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Tune-A-Fish
BOTM LOSER Proudly Deplorable
Won't the hub/brake work in stock legs?
Curious, is this going to be a straight street machine? The stock XL jawns aren't great for trail as they are. They like to bottom out on rough terrain. Going the other direction will certainly keep this on pavement.
you got the wimpy ones man lil 31's or 32's the 35's on the xl350 are excellent forks for their day probably in the top 5 oem jap forks. i raced against maicos husky and cz's with them and beat them alldeviant said:
dick mann used a set to win daytona on the cr750 they are extemely easy to mod longer or shorter.they have a boss for a brake stay,they have the 4 post axle clamps
what he did makes absolutely no sense in any meaning of the word
its just making extra work to go backwards by a long ways to swaP them for 33mm trash off a CM :-\
So are they worthy of consideration as an alternative to a mid-80's CR if one struggles to find such a front end?xb33bsa said:
Strictly street use.
Let me explain the choice of forks...I wanted a shorter set than the 'dirt bike' ones it came with to get the front of the bike a little more level and I wanted to reduce the weight. The stock XL forks would have required a lot of modification in order to get where I wanted to be. The std CM forks were two inches shorter overall...then they were slid another 1.5" up through the triple clamps...this gave me an overall fork length difference of about 3.5". There is still plenty of fork travel without hitting anything. Yes, I know this reduces the ground clearance, but there is still a ton of room under the machine (over eight inches) and being so narrow there is a ridiculous amount of lean angle before anything contacts the ground. With the overall length being reduced by 1.5" from stock CM, the flex will be less, and I do intend to mount a fork brace for good measure. Honda deemed these forks suitable for a 40+hp 380lb motorcycle, they should work quite well on a machine that only develops 22hp and weighs about 80lb less...and the price was right, I cannot afford to dump a ton of money into this machine...maybe I will consider something different in future. After all, these things are never 'really' finished, are they? They may not be anybody's idea of perfection, but they are going to stay, at least for now.
Let me explain the choice of forks...I wanted a shorter set than the 'dirt bike' ones it came with to get the front of the bike a little more level and I wanted to reduce the weight. The stock XL forks would have required a lot of modification in order to get where I wanted to be. The std CM forks were two inches shorter overall...then they were slid another 1.5" up through the triple clamps...this gave me an overall fork length difference of about 3.5". There is still plenty of fork travel without hitting anything. Yes, I know this reduces the ground clearance, but there is still a ton of room under the machine (over eight inches) and being so narrow there is a ridiculous amount of lean angle before anything contacts the ground. With the overall length being reduced by 1.5" from stock CM, the flex will be less, and I do intend to mount a fork brace for good measure. Honda deemed these forks suitable for a 40+hp 380lb motorcycle, they should work quite well on a machine that only develops 22hp and weighs about 80lb less...and the price was right, I cannot afford to dump a ton of money into this machine...maybe I will consider something different in future. After all, these things are never 'really' finished, are they? They may not be anybody's idea of perfection, but they are going to stay, at least for now.
I've been very busy with some restorations and custom jobs, so this little project was put on the back burner for the past couple of months, but last week I managed to find a little time to get back at it again. I sorted out a nice front fender and got around to making a fiberglass seat fairing to fit the original seat pan. After a little work reshaping the upholstery foam I sewed up a seat cover and managed to get it fitted. The 'dry' build is pretty much complete, so now it's time to break it all down again and prepare it for paint and final assembly.
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With a couple of the more pressing jobs finished up, I finally had some time to myself this week, so I stripped the little XL 350 down to the bare bones. Got the frame all cleaned up this morning and sprayed a few coats of black on it before applying a couple of coats of clear. Nice and shiny. I had planned on plain black right from the beginning, but one of my buddies almost had me convinced to do this frame in candy red...I had to remind myself that this is supposed to be a low budget job...maybe if I decide to keep the machine I will consider that next year. The only mods I made to the frame were a threaded lug for the front gas tank mount and a little bracket to mount a steering damper...that way if anybody ever wants to return it to original condition, it won't be a difficult job. Now it's time to clean everything else up and get it back together.
