Living Room Build - Notes on taps/dies

Fox

I've still got those patches...
I got a 1975 Honda CL360 on Thursday of this week. My older brother has been converting a CB650C into a cafe and he inherently got me interested in bikes. Before I knew it I'm forking over $900 for a non-running, rusted, honda CL! My brother says I paid too much for the bike I got and I tend to agree, but I wasn't going to walk away from the bike. I loved it from when I first saw it.

I don't have any motorcycle experience outside of some small work I did on dirt bikes I've had, but I've been working on cars for a few years now, so I know how to handle myself in a garage. I'm wanting to do a frame up restoration of the bike. Tear every piece down and start from the ground up. This includes an entire engine rebuild. I'm doing this in part because I want to learn my bike, but also because I want to learn about bikes in general. I's hoping that with the shop manual on the way and DTT as a resource, it won't prove to terrible a job.

I'm still on the fence about whether I should convert this bike to a cafe racer. Everything on it right now is original, so I could do more of a restoration project on it rather than a conversion. A original CL360 could be worth a good bit more than a Cafe'd CL. There weren't too many made, so you can't find original ones very often. Thoughts, opinions?

Secondly, where to start? I've got a pretty good idea of what all needs to be done, but I'm wondering where the common start point is. My thoughts were to be to get the bike running ok before I rip it down to the guts. Can anyone weigh in on this? Where did you start when you tore stuff down?

UPDATE-1/17/12
To Do List
1. Install new Carbs
2. Build engine back up
3. Fix squishy brakes
6. Derust Wheels
8. Rewire all electrics
-Fix electric starter
10. Get seat and tank painted!!!


Finished projects
Clean rust out of tank
Replace oil and clean filters
Clean petcock
Diagnose and Fix bad clutch lever
Derust and paint/powdercoat frame
Buy Parts
-Make or Buy a new seat
-Pods
-Blinkers
-Mikuni Carbs
-Reatsets
-Bar end Mirrors
-Clip ons
-New battery
-New headlight bracket
-Fuel line
-New grips
-New Gaskets
-Plenty of random little things

Of course, here are some current (Before) pics.

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Re: First bike, First project!

First, welcome to DTT and I'm confident you'll find tons of help here, no question.

It would be worth checking the electrical out, before taking it apart. If you're rebuilding the engine, no need to get it running first, but check compression before taking the engine out - easier to kick it over while in the frame.

Get a real Honda Service Manual somewhere online along with a parts diagram if you can. There are lots of parts fiche drawings online - very helpful in putting it back together.

Then just start stripping it down, in major chunks to get to the frame. Tank, sidecovers, seat, engine, wheels, front end, swingarm...

I'd clean it up and put it back together and get it running. If you have the ability to paint the frame etc. yourself go for it. Replace the swingarm bushings with bronze if you can. For your first bike/project, I'd keep most of it stock in terms of electrical etc. i.e. don't try to hide the battery, and maybe swap out the seat with a single bump seat and throw some clubmans on. Nothing too radical and everything reversible for resale if need be.

Glad you bought the bike you fell in love with - makes it all worthwhile.
 
Re: First bike, First project!

Tim,

Thanks for the welcome! It's very good to be here!

Ok. Anything in particular that I should be looking for? We took a look at electrics when I was buying the bike and the headlight, blinkers, etc did not work, nor did the electric start. The one light we could make come on was the neutral light in the Speedo/tach.

Will a Clymer manual do, or does it have to be the legit Honda shop manual? http://www.ebay.com/itm/1974-77-Honda-CB360-CL360-Scrambler-CL-CB-360-CB250-Shop-Service-Manual-/250968789479?pt=Motors_Manuals_Literature&vxp=mtr&hash=item3a6ee7d1e7#ht_3237wt_1099

Sounds like a pretty good idea. I like what you said about keeping it relatively simple. I have decided that this will be a conversion rather than a restoration. I love Cafe's too much to not try and make one my self. Could I do clip-ons or are they not reversible? I will be powder-coating both the frame as well as some of the more major engine components. I'm not quite sure which ones yet, but I know some of them!

I leave to go back to school tomorrow, and I won't have my bike at school till Wednesday of this, or next week. Might be a bit till I post up, but chances are, I'll be on here asking questions/reading up.
 
Re: First bike, First project!

Just threw in Prep A of the tank liner. I took a peek just now and I could already see big chunks of rust floating around. So far so good!

Did run into a few problems though.
1. The O-ring around my gas tank is cracked and needs to be replaced. Anyone got a website they can direct me too for this? Also, Would a CB350-360 O-ring fit?

2. The petcock. I'd really like to let it sit in some carb cleaner, but there is one last plastic liner that I can't get out. I've tried to pry it out and only chipped it off. Anyone ever cleaned a CL360 petcock that can provide some help?! I'll grab a picture in just a minute.
 
Re: First bike, First project!

The tank is looking good. Just put in the final liner. Should be dried and ready for gas/installation tomorrow afternoon. Then we find out if the thing runs! It was a pretty easy process. Kreme has a good manual for you. Just make sure you have a good sized bucket. At least 3 gallon capacity. I'll take some pictures when the final liner has dried. Will probably be changing the oil a little later, so keep an eye out for that.

Here's a before and after shot.
Before
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First Treatment
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Final tank linerl
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Unfortunate about the beading, but I didn't even realize it until it was too hard to fix. Doesn't seem to be that big of a deal. More of a looks thing IMO.
 
Re: First bike, First project!

The tank looks great! I may have to do this to mine!
 
Re: First bike, First project!

That tank cleaned up nice! check www.partsnmore.com for the rubber bits you need. Get yourself a petcock rebuild kit. I think they're $20 or so and well worth it. They come apart easy for cleaning and rebuild.

As far as your whole rebuild on the bike, if it's complete and in decent shape try and get her running first. Most likely you'll want to replace the points and condensors, clean the carbs, replace plugs, general tune up stuff really. If you have a solid running bike leave the motor alone and just ride the tits off of it. I've always loved scramblers. I went full cafe with mine because it was a $200 crusty turd. Complete restorable bikes I feel should be restored. All that being said, in the end it's your bike. If you have a vision of ripping around town on your very own garage built cafe then go for it. Keep up the build and pictures. Good luck.
 
Re: First bike, First project!

Yeah, it did actually. The bead marks with the tank liner do look a little rough, but that's about all they do. Didn't even realize they were happening till it was too late. Regardless, I'm really happy with how it came out and I highly reccomend the process to anyone with a old rusty tank. Definitely well worth it.

Currently, the plan is to get the bike running perfectly before I start on the actual restoration bit. I want to have the engine running like a damn top before I buy any actual cafe parts. Believe it or not, I got it running this weekend after I changed the oil. It was a pretty awesome feeling, not gonna lie. I'll post a video of the first turn over in a bit. That being said, it is not, in any way, running well. It backfired constantly and bogged down about every minute. But hey, it's running and that's a good step. I'm thinking the carbs are needing some jet work. I thought about giving them a bath this weekend, but they looked newly clean when I got down and checked. Sparkplugs are still shiny new, but I checked them after the bike kept bogging to make sure I had a good spark, and they were pretty wet and black. That's another reason why I'm thinking it's the jetting, running too rich. Anyone got some other ideas on this? Maybe the video will give you a better idea of what I'm working with.

As far as the direction I'm taking the bike, I'm going full cafe. Talkin chopped frame an' everything. I thought about doing it all original, but I know I wouldn't enjoy it as much as if I had my own Cafe Racer.

I'm trying to draw of a "To Do" list of sorts. You can find my current one in the first post of this thread. If you have any suggestions, I'd love to hear them.

Oh and, djelliott, thanks for the link. That's a great parts resource.
 
Re: First bike, First project!

I'm going to begin with the official tear-down tonight. Plan is to get as far into stripping and cleaning the engine that I can, then if I run into a problem, start checking/cleaning/pulling my electrical system. That should be enough for one night(this whole weekend).

What's that you say? I'm at college and I don't have a garage so where I am going to do this without losing that tiny little screw that just fell? Dear Friend. Just have a look at the photo below. I think you'll enjoy them.

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Re: First bike, First project!

Just a quick update.

Right now I'm working on breaking the bike down to the bare frame. I've taken the engine out of the frame, and I plan to do a full tear down to get every piece of grime out of there. I'm going home this weekend so my plan is to break it down, clean it, and build it back up while I'm home. Unfortunately I'll probably have to do another tear down to replace all my gaskets when I get them. Which leads me into my next topic.

I just ordered the majority of the parts that I'm going to be putting on my bike. You know, the usual, clip ons, bar ends, new taillight/blinkers. The works. I added in a few extra goodies that I'm really excited about. I'm also working with Sonreir on making some custom gauge faces to go with my bike's aesthetic. If it all works as planned, it's gonna be so sweet. I'm also trying to talk Chrisb1 into making me a custom seat. He's got some awesome renderings on his build thread, and I'd love to have something like that on my ride.

Here's a couple shots.
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Re: First bike, First project!

1chrisb said:
So how pretty is this penny of yours that you were offering? ;)

He he. I was wondering when you were gonna ask. What are you thinking?
 
Re: First bike, First project!

Sorry, I started replying here, then realized it would be better PMed, so I just posted that and started the PM. Had to think for a while!
 
Re: First bike, First project!

I've been going and going all week, so I haven't had a chance to post up my work from last weekend, but here it is now!

1. Cleaned the front forks, put in new seals and dust boots, and changed the fluids. Was in dire need of a fluid change. The stuff I poured out was GREEN! It was a total pain and very messy, but I'm glad it got done.

2. De-rusted and painted my exhaust. I'm gonna be wrapping it so the paint wasn't exactly neccesary, but I figured it would freeze all the rust and keep it nice and clean!

Pics are below

This weekend was going to be dedicated to breaking down and cleaning my engine, but I can't seem to get past step one. The alternator retaining bolt turns the whole engine, and I can't hold the alternator tight enough to prevent that. Anyone got any ideas?

Also, I'm going for a brushed aluminum look on all the bare metal, so I've been hitting everything I can with sand paper. 80, 120, 220, 400, 600. It's coming out O.K, but I can't get the real "brushed" look. Ideas on this as well?

I'm going tomorrow to get some of the tabs grinded off, then next week it's going to powder coating! I know it's been done a million and a half times, but I'm gonna go with a black frame. I debated on a blue frame, but it's just not my style. I prefer sort of low-profile/subdued...beauty(for lack of a better term). So, I'll be posting pics of that.

Of course, any feedback is welcome. Let's get those 2 Cents jingling!

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Re: First bike, First project!

I figured this deserved it's own post.

PARTS!!!!
...minus the oranges.

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Re: First bike, First project!

Yo Fox! 8)

How's it goin with the build? Engine blasted yet? :)
 
Re: First bike, First project!

vain said:
Yo Fox! 8)

How's it goin with the build? Engine blasted yet? :)

Vain!

No actually I haven't. I was in Lowes the other week picking up some paint and ended up getting a bunch of sandpaper with it. I got the idea to go over my crankcase with it (80,180,220,400,600) and it came out exactly like I wanted it. I think instead of blasting I'll just sand it myself. Here's a shot of how it came out.

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In other news, The frame is getting it's final metalwork done tonight(Shortening the frame) and then it's off to powder-coating tomorrow. Yee haw.
 
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