New bike, first build. 1968 CB350

Well, here we go... I've been cruising the forums for some time and I finally found a project to start, a 1968 CB350. Picked up the bike locally from a guy with like 70 old Honda's he is either working on, parting out, or keeping for himself. The guy has a ridiculous amount of excess Honda parts for like everything imaginable. He was nice enough to let me visit the bike and even work on it a bit while I scraped together some cash to make the purchase. Best part is that I have someone locally who is willing to help me through the process and even some help with replacement parts.

The good:
- It's a 68
- Titled
- Frame is solid
- It's complete
- Local parts/knowledge stockpile
- Mostly surface rust, and not a ton of it

The bad:
- Sitting for a long time
- Rusty tank
- Bad compression

The motor on it now might be a basketcase, I tested 90/30 cold (doesn't run), but I'm headed back over this weekend to pick from one of his CB350 motors with good compression. He threw in a bonus motor in case I had trouble with the one on the bike. So if I get ambitious this winter and rebuild the original, I may wind up with two good motors.

I was thinking of starting with the carbs or tank this week. Any suggestions would be welcome. Also, I'm open to ideas on final styling, I haven't decided if I want to make it a slightly modified restoration or go more towards a cafe.

i really dig the stripes on the tank and side covers

Type 1 motor, booyah!

Nice bike!

This guy you speak of...any K0 Tanks? Tachometers? Handlebar Controls?

I'm going to see him this weekend, so I'll be sure to check for you. I'm not sure on the K0 tanks, but tachs and controls are likely.

Looking forward to your build. As stated, digging the pin-stripe.

Man,me and best friend had one of those that was our primary means of transport as teenagers! It was a beauty!,that one looks even cooler! The handlebars I think maybe ,I dunno,but that's an awsome bike!

And those knee pads,and am I the only one here who thinks that drum brakes look cool on an older bike like that?

Cool looking bike! Looks like a good starting point for whatever you decide to do. It would look good as either a cafe or even just as a resto with some mild tweaking. Either way I'll be following your progress.

I made a little progress tonight. Got the seat, battery, air boxes and tank off. I also started to clean the last 40 years of dirt off the frame. No new problems yet! I even snapped a couple of pictures...

Any suggestions on what I should do about the little bit of surface rust on the frame? I'm not sure that I want to completely remove everything to sand and repaint since for the most part the frame is in good shape. I guess i could sand and use touch up paint.

Also, obviously that battery will need to be replaced. Any suggestions on modern replacements that would do better with running the lights all the time? I'd like to cut any weight I can without sacrificing performance in that department. I will be redoing all the electronics anyway, so I can switch out other parts of the circuit as necessary to accommodate a different battery and/or charging system.

An AGM battery is a good bet. They are sealed and are about the same cost as the acid fill type

kewl jumping on this one

I was doing some research on replacement batteries tonight and wondered if anyone could chime in with personal experiences.
Here are the options I came up with, starting with the regular replacement, then an AGM, and finally a couple lithium iron phosphates.

Type: Factory replacement XT12N12A-4A-1
Price: $35-40
Dementions: same as stock (big)
Weight: 7.5600 lbs
Voltage: 12V
Capacity: 12AH
CCA: 113

Type: YT12C High Performance AGM
Price: $60
Length: 5 5/16
Width: 3 3/16
Height: 6 5/16
Weight: 9.2
Voltage: 12 V
Capacity: 12AH
CCA: 180

Type: Lithium 9 AH PBEq LiFePO4
Price: $105
Length: 4.45"
Width: 2.28"
Height: 3.50"
Weight: 1.23
Voltage: 12 V
Capacity: 9AH
CCA: 135

Type: Lithium 14 AH PBEq LiFePO4
Price: $150
Length: 4.45"
Width: 2.28"
Height: 3.50"
Weight: 1.61
Voltage: 12 V
Capacity: 14AH
CCA: 210

Some other notes on the lithium ones:
- very low discharge rate
- very light
- significantly smaller
- very low maintenance
- no changes to electrical system required
- charges faster and lasts longer
- twice as expensive as AGM
- 3 times more expensive than stock replacement

What do you guys think? Worth the extra? Has anyone tried one out?

on a small cafe i would be going the lighter one with good coils etc. but on a bigger cc bike or a cruiser/relaxing rider id just go stock. that’s what I’m running and she'll do the job no mucking around with relocation issues or fab mounting stuff.

Love the look good luck with everything

So, I know this project log fell off the map for a while, but I have been busily working away at it and am happy to report that I have almost completed the project (for now at least). I have been taking pictures along the way, so I will be sure to update progress over the next couple of days.

I do have a question for all of the pros out there, I don't have airboxes or filters at the moment, carbs are rebuilt with standard jetting. Should I hunt down original airboxes or if I just use pods or something similar, what jets will I likely need?

So as I mentioned, I'm a lot farther than this now, but I'll post a few images of the process for people thinking of taking on a first project. And don't worry, next project is complete rebuild of the original type 1 motor.

New motor with better compression & some nice new tires...

Mufflers removed, rear end disassembled, more frame cleaning, test fit the new drag bars.

Front tire removed, motor removed, almost stripped down...