Honda CB's and their mileage

[Sonreir]

And a well-built 350/360 can give a 450 a run for its money.

[surffly]

Yes they are fun, and yeas you can build anything to be faster then other things
But that takes alot of skill time and money, these are not beginner projects

Most important thing for a beginner is riding
And finding a bike that runs every day is just as important as finding a bike that can be ridden in all conditions in an enjoyable fashion.
Yeah I ride my CL125 all over the place, but when doing a distance its much nicer to be on my 450

[alexmac]

I agree with you.

If you want a bike you can ride everyday ... you should stay away from vintage bikes. in general.

It is kind of a running joke I have going with someone in my building ..."what's broken this week" . 

Old bikes are old bikes.... they need you to be able to turn a wrench to keep them running properly.

Honda twins are simpler than 4 cylinder machines and are easier for a nub (like me) to work on.

[rattpunk]

This ^

Haha  when I got my 450 it was a daily rider and all I had to do was replace a battery, replace the front master cylinder and headlamp as they went out over the course of a couple years. And there was the leaking gas - float needle adventure. But when some serious components went out and I started doing this and that ... its turned into a major project. I haven't even gone more than 10 miles this season.

If I had started the build process from the get go, I would have been majorly frustrated. But honestly I'm enjoying the hell out of learning how to take off all the parts and put them back on. Making it truly mine has been almost as much fun as riding.  And thinking back in it, I really take back recommending a cm as a first cafe. 

[MB]

I spent a ton of cash getting a cb350 (my first bike back after 10 years) looking where I wanted it to be....then quickly realized it wasn't the bike i wanted to ride every day. Didn't feel comfortable on long trips, too small for aggressive NYC traffic, I could go on and on. It is very difficult to make a decision on a strong rideable bike when you are immediately taken by aesthetics, bikes are really exciting.... But if you don't have the money or skills to fix your shiny (or matte black) new (old) bike you're gonna get frustrated and disappointed really quickly cause these things need love. Try to temper your taste for now in preference of rideability if RIDING is the priority.   You just have to ask yourself what do you value more? Personally after an accident shook me I decided I wanted to learn something more than I wanted to ride; a 350, a 450, and a 750 in and I have spent only 1000 miles on the road and about 30 hours a week in my garage learning the hard way..... That's cool but is that what you're after?! I'm even getting sick of it!
I reckon you should make your decisions on practical terms firstly given your experience and budget (trust me I understand a lack of these things) and then naturally and organically move on as you're more confident and have more tools and cash

[ronnie]

I'm going to give you what I think.. I think you should jump into it, if you end up getting frustrated and getting rid of the bike in 6 months that's fine and its your business and doesn't make you any less of the cool person you might be... BUT if you don't get rid of it, and you actually learn something and end up loving doing what your doing and the bike and get it fixed then the outcome is that much better.  Before I got my first bike, I only had experience working on boats, gas engines and my shrimp boats diesels. So it was only a matter of changing of application. I bought my first bike restored for 1500, I was lucky to only have to rebuild the carbs and get new coils and plugs to get it going. Lucky for me also was that it came with a spare bike in pieces that is now my project. But I think if it were my sole bike (without a running bike) I would have gotten aggravated with it and pushed it to the side a while.

All I'm saying is this, these guys will give good advice on which bikes might be better than others. But ultimately its your decision on what you want. But my vote is go for it. pic one that interests you aesthetically, mechanically, and financially and ride it home. Find one that only needs small things(carb rebuild, oil change, new tires/battery/plugs), fix them, tune it up by the manual, and smile as you ride around on it.  THEN worry about fixing things as they come..

[legendary_rider]

Sounds like a good plan....as long as you buy a cb 350. lol. j/k.

[kopcicle]

I'm happy someone mentioned the Victor . It was one of my first daily drivers . It went from stock to what these days would be called a street fighter and then back to near stock again . In it's several incarnations it had a T500  Suzuki front brake ,  Lectron carb , ET'd (energy transfer)with fully AC lighting and ought but a kill switch , race shocks off a Laverda , the list goes on . I learned about reverse cone megaphones by getting it wrong about six times . I welded up cams and profiled them by hand with a wet grinder and fit and try in a fixture . I used alternate pistons and home made aluminum rods . I learned how NOT to make my brake cables just ONCE . I found out how to remove stubborn screws and repair threads . I read and applied whatever I could get my hands on to make that goofy combustion chamber work . In short I think I repeated every mistake ever made on that platform from valves way too big to bores too large to ignition far too advanced and camshafts better left to the pros . I still own a near full set of Whitworth wrenches , taps and dies .
I've owned a cb350 and scattered it's top end by lightening the rocker arms a bit too much . Hated the carbs and the front brake had its limits .
The cb360 was a step backwards in my mind .
The 350f is best left to a restoration at this late date .
The 400f is a better mount but getting scarce .
Might as well include the 500f as a restoration candidate also and abuse the 550 instead .
The 450 is odd plus in the valve train and has its unique learning curve in valve adjust and tune up alone . You might as well find a 500t for all that trouble .
The Yamaha 360 and 400 twins are nearly bullet proof with minor trouble spots .
The kz440 will drive right around them both if you can keep a cam chain in it .
The RD's (any of them) are fun as hell but a grenade with a loose pin waiting for a place to happen .
The XS650 now has a much larger following than it did new and for good reason , it just works .
of the later middle weights the KZ550 stands out as does the VF500 although the Honda may be a slight favorite simply due to its power delivery it comes at the expense of complexity I'll not wish on a novice .
Move just a few years further into the future and the FZR400 presents itself as a real chassis with a remarkable engine .
Just a step further along the trail of knowledge and experience you can find any number of large dirt or dual sport  Japanese singles up to 650cc that can be swapped into a street chassis . These make for outstanding street mounts but lack long legs . You may terrorize the city and back roads with one but consistent freeway  speeds will mangle the engine or you  eventually .

Take a look at all that we have mentioned and dive into the web history , forums , local clubs , library , manuals , whatever you can find . Eventually an idea will form that you just can't shake . Armed with a plethora of information aching to become knowledge you will eventually find your starting point . As others have rightly suggested the first time get one that runs without parts being ejected or falling off with a name you can at least pronounce as well as find parts for .
I'll warn you once and elicit a bit of laughter from a few of the old hands here . The exception to all this is seeing that one bike the first time that you just have to have . Doesn't matter that it was made for only two years in country that doesn't exist anymore or is missing major parts like a crankshaft . You just see yourself riding it . You just see yourself looking at it in your driveway . You just can't as much as your better judgment tells you  to , leave it behind . We have all done it at least once . Mine was the 441 Victor . The day I had finally sorted it was the day it was time to move on . I just didn't realize it for several years .
~kop

[Sonreir]

Pretty much everything kop said.

Chances are, you won't really appreciate your first bike that much.  Most of us get it, ride it, sell it, move on to something newer, nicer, and faster.  And then a few years down the line, wish we hadn't.

When I got my first bike a few years ago, I told myself that I wouldn't sell it.  I choose, instead, to remake it into what I could.  Rather than spend the money on a newer and faster bike, I began to replace and (hopefully) improve components of the bike.  My Honda 360 is not generally a desirable model and that suits me just fine.  Inferior is just a synonym for potential.

If it's your first bike, just get something that runs and won't need a bunch of parts replaced in the first year.  You'll likely want to move onto another bike at that point, anyway.

[teazer]

FZR400 is a flat out incredible motorcycle.  The only issue with my wife's is that if you let it sit with modern crappy fuel, the slow jets get clogged. The fix is simple - ride it more often.

14,000 rpm, handles great, sounds like a race bike with almost any muffler on it. brakes are great and lots of ways to upgrade it over time, if you feel so inclined.

[VonYinzer]

Just as another alternative...

I recently picked up a 1982 Kawasaki gpz 550. Basically the next gen kz550 and its an awesome bike. Still cheap, fast, light, easy to ride, and really customizable with some ingenuity. I've never been a Kaw fan really. Always leaned towards Honda and Yamaha. But after putting several hundred miles on the little Kawasaki in the first weekend (it had 22k on the clock when I got it) that I owned it with zero issues has me sold. If someone showed up offering to trade me for an FZR or nicely sorted RD I might just let it go, but in comparison to many other bikes I've ridden, I haven't found a real negative yet (outside of the crazy skinny rear tire). Again... Just trying to give you some other options. Good luck.

[rays650cafe]

Rode an 84 GPZ in high school, was a friends bike. It was brand new at the time. Hauled ass, decent ergos, brakes, and suspention. I can't imagine it would be a bad bike even now... man i'm old.

[teazer]

Old,  WTF...... I rode a 57 when I was in school and it wasn't old then...........I need to go racing again- keeps you young.