1970 CL350 Project

jeffreyhardy

Jeffrey
I picked this gentlemen up for 250 bucks with a couple buckets of parts. Let's see what we can do. My first bike, and it will be a sick cafe.

 
so I have run into my first problem. I cannot get the fork ears off of the forks. Even with a rubber mallet they will not budge. Anyone done this before?



 
I have a 71 CL350, look just like that. I havent touch it yet, thought. too many other project. Try WD40?
 
If I can get the ears off, is there an easy way to get off the fork spring gaitors or boots? Do you have to cut them off or just twist for days?
 
They went on, so theyll come off. ;)
For the ears, make sure that they arent "locked" into the chrome trim at the top of the gaiters. Do they move sided to side, or are the frozen in place?
For the gaiters, mild heat is your friend. Hit them with a hairdryer to soften them a bit, and GENTLY pry them off of the fork lowers. The should slide up and off the springs after that. A little WD40 is a big help as well.
There are some products that will help to bring the resiliency back to the rubber as well. Linseed oil is one.
 
I have the same model. You must pull the tubes out from the bottom. Once you loosen the triple trees pull down on the tubes. the ears are slide onto the tubes when they were installed. So if you want to get them off, pull down on the tubes. Also, be prepared for alot of rust.
 
Okay you guys thanks for the advice to get the forks off. I now would like to know your opinion of whether or not I need new fork tubes? These pictures are after about an hour of brake cleaner and sand paper/steel wool scrubbing to get the rust off. As you can see even the progress I made there is still pitting from rust.



 
I really love the 350. I need to get one. I'll be keeping an eye on this thread for sure.

As for the forks, they don't look beyond salvaging, I think the problems you have are mostly aesthetic. Anyone else?
 
Just remember they are made of metal. You can sand them down with 100 grit and work your way up to 1000 and so on. Then just polish them out. Mine our the same way. I plan on polishing them out.

One last thing you may try to get the down further is dipping the ends in CLR. That will help take down the rest of the rust.
 
Sonreir said:
I think the problems you have are mostly aesthetic. Anyone else?

Any pitting/scratches above the travel area has no effect on performance. However what worries me is that your pitting stops seemingly where mine did, then starts again. Its hard to tell from the pictures if this is within the travel area. But that is the only way to know of the tubes are usable. If they aren't, look up forking by frank, afaik he's the only guy making new tubes for these old bikes. They are pricey though at about 100$ a tube, but like I said, hes machining the things from raw stock.
 
Okay you guys, pulling the engine today to work on prepping the frame for paint.


I will be ordering parts for the engine this week. What is a good idea to replace while I have the cases open?


-I have heard piston rings (standard size?)
-Valve springs? (inner and outer)
-I already ordered my gasket set for the engine.


What else might be a good idea while the cases are split?

Much Thanks :)
Jeffrey
 
down to the frame!






I know I haven't posted in a couple of days, but wanted to show you guys some progress that I've made on the bike. Over the weekend I got the 350 down to only the frame. As I have been taking off parts, I have been organizing them into zip-lock bags and marking them with a fat sharpie. Seemed to be the best way to go about things.


After I got it down to the frame I threw the 1969 tank on for a photo op. :)


As for the engine, I have it on a couple of wood blocks, waiting for some helpful advice as to where to get started. My gasket kit is sitting by just waiting to jump onto the bike. But, patience, one thing at a time.




The good news is, I did a little exploring and saw a practically new cam chain and rocker arms!

 
TFWG said:
Is that the stock tank? I thought only the 68 CB350 had the rubber knee grips...
I'm actually not sure, it just came on the bike. That would be pretty awesome though. Is that a 68 tank on your bike?
 
Mine's actually a 69 CB350 tank. Now that I think about it, both the 68 and 69 had rubber knee grips as I recall. I didn't know the 70 CL had rubber. Learn something new every day!
 
A lot of leftover 69's were titled and sold as 70's as motorcycles were titled when they were sold back in the day. So there are "1970" cb and cl's that have the old style tank which had the option rubber pads.
 
i find when i cant think of something to fix i just start sanding/polishing. once you break down the engine and start cleaning things to fix/replace will pop up. as for those forks if you check out mine, i salvaged the lower half and painted the upper half. i was worried about it holding up so i used a black RUST REFORMER paint even though i had sanded all the rust off, then a black primer, then a gloss black enamel. so far they still look fresh and mine is a daily driver.
 
CBdublin said:
i find when i cant think of something to fix i just start sanding/polishing. once you break down the engine and start cleaning things to fix/replace will pop up. as for those forks if you check out mine, i salvaged the lower half and painted the upper half. i was worried about it holding up so i used a black RUST REFORMER paint even though i had sanded all the rust off, then a black primer, then a gloss black enamel. so far they still look fresh and mine is a daily driver.
Thanks for the advice man! I literally just walked in from the garage. I was a little discouraged to be honest didn't know what to do next since I am waiting on money to order some parts.


What would you suggest I takle next? Wheels, frame, etc?
 
What are you intentions for this bike? that will help you determine what to do next. You can always remove un wanted brackets from the frame. Are you going to get new spokes and rimes or polish up what you have. Likely going to need new bearings. Try getting out the old ones, thats always fun. Have you bought new bearings for the steering head?


As for the motor i would pull the jugs off and see how bad they are. If your going to get new pistons you may want to go at least .25 over. I would also have a look at my cam chain tensioner. You may want to replace the cam chain. I doubt its new and they are not to expensive. Hate to open it back up just to replace it later. Also might want to buy a set of oil seals for the motor they almost always leak after the bike has been sitting for so long. There is more you can do but it just depends on how deep you want to go.
 
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