CB350 project from Australia

hi guys, my name is Russell and ive been looking around this site for some time now getting some useful info, so i thought it was time to post up what ive been working on. i picked up a 1972 cb350 a couple of months back with a locked up motor, looking at having a bit of fun with it and turning into a bit of a cafe/brat style bike. the bike was near complete when i got it, though it was missing the left hand side header and exhaust. ive stripped the bike back to the frame and dismantled the engine. unfortunatly the engine had a little more damage than first thought, with 1 piston rusted in the bore and all the cam chain tensioner gear broken and worn out. it also looks like the cam and rockers are a bit worn out, starved of oil at some point maybe. though the bottom end seems to be in good condition. so ive cleaned it all up and put the bottom end back together with a new cam chain, just bought some 66mm wiseco pistons off ebay (hope they work well) and the top end is at the machine shop getting cleaned up and bores oversized when i receive the pistons. just need to find a new cam and rockers now which is a shame. i have the frame getting modified at the moment and also a seat and battery box getting made, so looking forward to getting that all back hopefully before easter so i can get into painting some bits over the bit of time i have off! thanks for your time and ill keep updates as i get things done!
cheers,
Russell

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i've got a cb350 with the 66mm wiseco pistons in the machine shop atm.
it looks like you're in melbourne as well? maybe we can do some side by side power comparisons when i finally get mine finished.

Yeah cool sounds good! Yep im in Melbourne too. Even when I get the motor back I have a feeling itll be still a little while off running. Are you going to be running an electronic ignition?

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yeah, i've got the older pamco ignition with the aluminium rotor.

Ahhhh ok, I sent him an email a few days ago because I'm interested in the same thing but I didnt hear back from him, not sure if you can still get them for the 350 twins anymore

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last i read they were being modified due to wear issues. there are some other alternatives. http://www.charlies-place.com/PAGES/Store/electronic_ignitions_new_2.html etc

Keep the updates coming mate, good to have another Aussie on board!

Cheers will do! Ive just sent an email off to charlies place now, so interested to see what they have to say

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Well I got the whole bottom end back together tonight which was good, only thing now is it in a gear and everything spins when I turn the motor over but I cant select any other gear when I move the gear shifter up and down, you can only move the shifter up and down but not fsr enough to select anything else, any ideas? Was thinking its maybe because there is no oil in the gearbox so maybe the selector fork is binding up a little on the drum, or ive done the clutch springs up too tight, I'm not really too sure. Any ideas?



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Wow, you are really putting in the hours for a great level of detail

Looks great already

CafeRacersUnited said:

Wow, you are really putting in the hours for a great level of detail

Looks great already

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Thanks! This is my first ever bike build so I'm trying to take a bit of time to make sure I've done things properly. Don't want to get to the end result and realise I dont like it!

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So I think I known what ive done wrong and why the bike wont shift. I don't think the selector drum was in neutral when we dropped the gearbox back in the case, which is why it wont shift. Not happy at all, got to pull the thing completely apart again now to fix this! Ahhh well you live and you learn hey...

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Hey mate, just wondering where you are getting the cylinders re-bored? Looking for somewhere myself at the moment...

Bootsey said:

Hey mate, just wondering where you are getting the cylinders re-bored? Looking for somewhere myself at the moment...

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join the melbourne cafe racer group on facebook and ask the same question, they'll sort you out.
in the past i have used a jetski place in clayton (southern jet ski i think..) and my current project engine is with basil at headworks in murrumbeena, though he outsources the boring, so might not be the cheapest option.

Bootsey said:

Hey mate, just wondering where you are getting the cylinders re-bored? Looking for somewhere myself at the moment...

Click to expand...

Mate mine is getting done at ken colvin in west Heidelberg, he's supposed to do good work but friggen hell he takes a long time, constantly call him to remind him to do it. Ill post some pics of the work when I finally get it back

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So a bit of a story, my grandpa passed away mid last year and had quite a few 70's 2 stoke jap bikes in his collection, which most of went to my uncle, but ive ended up with a 1975 suzuki k50 in wicked condition that my grandpa owned since 1982. This bike means alot to me, its the bike that I learnt how to ride on, its the bike that started it all! So im going to clean it up, sort the electrics and get it club regoed asap



And this is me and him when I was a kid, who knew what a slippery slope this bike business would be!



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Been a bit slow lately, waiting on one of the rims to get fixed, got the pistons in the motor and the barrel on and painted, just waiting to get the head back from the machine shop. Hopefully I can get the paint done soon then ill have a roller!

Havnt updated this in ages! Got some things painted, wheels built, tyres on, bought a heap of stuff from dime city and also an electronic ignition, so just waiting for all thay to show up at the moment.

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Looks great so far. Keep it coming.