CB360 Cafe

Thankfully, no issue with the valve cover. The tappet locknuts were seized on, so I let them soak in penetrating oil for a day and just had to use more force. It's easy to get timid when trying not to damage/strip/break these old fasteners.

Was able to apply the bonding gasket and install the head cover.




It's nice having a Honda shop close by. It's much cheaper (most of the time) than sourcing things online, esp if you keep needing to pickup small things. I had to get a replacement ball for the clutch rod/lever assembly as well as a locator dowel and not having to pay shipping for these small orders is great. They also helped me locate the felt wiper for the points plate from a shop in PA, since mine was toast. That shop (Scott Powersports 610-282-4800)apparently has 5 more in stock if anyone else needs one... Was $6 shipped.

My bike didn't come with any stock air filters or covers, so I bought velocity stacks years ago without knowing the struggle others have had with jetting their carbs... I am going to be getting some UNI air filter foam to cut to size for the inside, and my new mufflers seem to be almost as long as OEM, so I'm hoping it's not going to fight me too much. Also am trying to visualize and prepare for the battery being in the way and coming up with a diff solution... Just was too hard not to see what they'd look like though. Unsure about keeping them or what I'm going to do in the end, but here's how they look.


Also, now you can clearly see how yellowed the starter's clear coat is compared to the rest of the engine. So, since it's easily accessible now, I'll be repainting it.

Oh, I bought an OEM seat that has a good pan and looks like good foam. I thought I may have kept my original seat, but I must've tossed it at some point because I couldn't find it in the barn. :-\ So, I'll be recovering this seat since the cover is quite cracked. Hoping the foam isn't too crusty.

Putting anything inside the stacks is a bad idea,
You would be far better off getting automotive style 'K&N' to fit on the outside of trumpet

Intead of Uni foam, just go a step further and get a couple of Uni filters. Think there's a guy on here looking for stacks to buy "any shape and size" as I recall. Shoot him a PM, you don't need those.

Edit: found the thread, it was Finnigan...


http://www.dotheton.com/forum/index.php?topic=69720.0;topicseen

crazypj: Thank you so much for reading my build and helping. Really it is appreciated. It's been a few years since I've been reading and researching all of this. In my mind, it worked.... haha... Just was trying to work with what I have. Not sure if I'm finding what you're talking about though... Just not familiar.

coyote13: Thank you for your help. I found the user offering to buy them, and I may just see what he'd give for them.

So, back to the parts bin, drawing board, and wallet for air filtration. Wasn't sure where I was going to mount the battery either, so maybe it's just as well.

On another note, since the engine is pretty much done, I thought I'd turn my attention to my wheels. I had cleaned up the rear wheel years ago and got it laced up with new spokes, but I remember something seeming "off" when I had. I recalled a spoke or two being really "tight" when just threading the nipple on, didn't even get to truing it up. So, over the weekend I unlaced that rear wheel and sure enough, one outer spoke was about 1/2" shorter than all of the rest. I'm so glad I checked instead of just truing it up!



I ordered them off of eBay back in 2011, so I found my emails from that transaction and took a shot and contacted the seller. Awesome news, they are sending me a replacement today.

TheProspector said:

crazypj: Thank you so much for reading my build and helping. Really it is appreciated. It's been a few years since I've been reading and researching all of this. In my mind, it worked.... haha... Just was trying to work with what I have. Not sure if I'm finding what you're talking about though... Just not familiar.

coyote13: Thank you for your help. I found the user offering to buy them, and I may just see what he'd give for them.

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Bellmouth's (aka velocity stacks) work real well, as long as you don't try to restrict the way they flow. The 'clip on' mesh screens are less than worthless, they don't prevent the size of grit that damages engine and do severely restrict airflow

crazypj: Thanks for the info. I'd recently read somewhere on here about a 350 with stacks that was being tracked. The owner was testing things out and noticed a huge difference by just taking the wire mesh and giving it no filtering whatsoever. I'm still trying to figure out what I'm going to do, but I still have a lot of time and other things to do before I get to that point. I do appreciate all the help and guidance, so thank you.

Quick update: I'd ordered a few small parts that have been coming in:
- NOS rear brake bar: I'd noticed the last time I was at my parent's barn that the one I had was really bent and very rusted.
- Points felt wiper: There are 2 different part numbers for these, just FYI. One is for a certain engine SN and up and doesn't have a metal bracket attached. I didn't know this when I ordered, so I got the wrong one. No problem really, I just cut apart the bracket to only use the felt, and cut the felt to the size I needed. Oiled it and it works great.
- Seat: Happy with the condition of the one I bought. There are many different new covers for the CB360, and the one that looks to be the best is the one from 4 into 1, so I'll be ordering that at some point.

Turned my attention back to my wheels. While waiting for the replacement spoke to arrive for the rear, I got the front tire off. Of course, there was quite a bit of rust inside. I was able to get all the spokes off and have the wheel de-rusting now.

Bought a good condition used front rim, just waiting on delivery. Sadly, mine was too rusted and the metal too weak for me to trust it (was able to push through the metal.)

Sonreir said:

+.25 pistons for the 360 come up on eBay pretty often but you can sometimes stick with stock pistons and +.25 rings. That wouldn't be my first choice though. And make sure you spec out the pistons before making that decision. It's possible they've worn down a bit as well.

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You need to explain that, it's a VERY BAD IDEA to try and fit +0.25mm rings into a stock cylinder
The ring end gaps will need to be filed or ground to correct spec or they will close up, break and destroy cylinder (2mm overbore generally works though )

TheProspector said:

Bought a good condition used front rim, just waiting on delivery. Sadly, mine was too rusted and the metal too weak for me to trust it (was able to push through the metal.)

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If your re-building wheels why didn't you fit the wider rear rim to front?
I have a couple here in good condition as I don't use the steel rims on my bikes

Thanks to all that are following along! Quick update, but it was a big milestone for me, since I've had these tubes, tires, & bearings for over 4 years now... I got the new front rim (which is in great shape) and laced it up with new spokes. I got the replacement spoke for the rear and laced it up too, then trued them both. Before that, I had gotten the old bearings out and replaced them with new All Balls. I'm glad I did, the rear bearings looked to be in poor shape and I had gone this far, so why not. I also installed the rim strips, tires, and tubes. Anyway, am glad to be done with that part of the build.

Hope you all have a great weekend

A few weeks ago, I removed my forks and brake assembly to start working on them.

The forks were a little rusty, but no bad pitting, so I started cleaning them up.


I got the old seals out with a seal puller, used an impact drill to remove the allen bolt, and polished the lower tubes. It wasn't until I got one put back together that things didn't look right to me. I guess I was too busy being worried about rust to notice, but both of the forks were bent. You may be able to tell from the above picture... Disappointed, I found another pair and rebuilt them once they came in.


I then turned my attention to the front brake caliper assembly. I had bought a new housing, piston, seal, bleeder, pads, and bolts (basically everything.) Put that all together. The arm pivot pin was REALLY stuck, but some heat and persuasion helped it out.


Also polished up the front fender. May have to pick up some banjo bolts. I'm not sure where a few of mine are from the tear down. Anyway, just wanted to update everyone. Hope you all have a great Memorial Day weekend.

Sucks about the forks. I added a grease fitting to the pivot point to avoid it seizing up again.



If you got an aftermarket caliper seal, check it for a small ridge in the middle of the seal on the inside and outside diameters. I bought one that happened to have these ridges and it made the piston inoperable. They are still available from Honda.


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adventurco: Thanks for the info and good job on the zerk. Mine moves freely with some fresh grease. I did get an OEM seal. Even with slightly greasing it and the piston with brake grease, it was still quite a tight fit and took some pressure to seat the piston. I'll check it's functionality once I get the brakes together just to be sure things are in good shape. I've had to use clamps to gently push pistons in on cars when changing pads, but this seemed tight for sure.

If you had to use a clamp to get the piston in on the 360 caliper, chances are it won't have enough play in the gasket to return. If you pushed it in by hand (with a good amount of force) you should be good to go. Its an easy test once the brakes are bled and the wheel is installed, but a nuisance if you have to take everything back apart and refit the piston ( ask me how I know )


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TheProspector said:

adventurco: Thanks for the info and good job on the zerk. Mine moves freely with some fresh grease. I did get an OEM seal. Even with slightly greasing it and the piston with brake grease, it was still quite a tight fit and took some pressure to seat the piston. I'll check it's functionality once I get the brakes together just to be sure things are in good shape. I've had to use clamps to gently push pistons in on cars when changing pads, but this seemed tight for sure.

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Get the piston back out, the groove or edges of seal groove still have corrosion which is preventing the seal seating properly making piston too tight
Probably 30+ yrs ago I made a 'dovetail' scraper from a broken Phillips head screwdriver to clean them out properly.