CB350 Twin, Bratstyle project

Since I have gotten my cafe racer rolling I have been looking for at project bike that I could turn into a rat/brat bike with a 2up seat so I could ride around th ecity with my girlfriend. This Sunday I stumbled upon an offer I couldnt refuse: a 1973 CB 350 that had been sitting a guy's (heated) workshop for ten years. He bought it non-running and never got to get it running. It was only missing the tappet covers, the gear pedal and brake arm.

Gas tank is not rusty, engine turns, oil looks fresh and there are two new plugs in it. However, when I emptied the floats yellow jello came out

The plan is to make a bratstyle-but-not-bobber project. My inspiration is mainly these guys from Copenhagen: www.wrenchmonkees.com

this is how I got it (sorry for crappy cell photos)


wiring was pretty clean and almost non-screwed up by the PO's


then I ripped everything I dont need to make it more clean


I love the lamp and light switch on the headlamp!






then I began cleaning up the wiring. dont need all the lights and indicators


like so...


sand paper and steel wool made the rim and fork leg come alive again




cleaning carbs...


and then to some serious cleaning of the frame and engine


I'll leave the side covers in brushed alu finish and paint the rest black


next up is more cleaning and painting action, stay tuned

Awesome shoelaces! They almost match the bike!

stange_dk said:

and then to some serious cleaning of the frame and engine

Click to expand...

Should be a great project!

Cant wait to see what you do to this bike. I love the bratstyle wrench monkeys bikes.

Had never seen those bikes very nice love the look very much what I'm going for in my next build. Will be keeping a good watch on this project and taking notes. Alot of bratsyle/tracker/two up projects starting. I think its cuz we all wanna have room for our ladies to ride.

stange_dk said:

Click to expand...

that diagram looks familiar....hmmmmm

I found the wiring diagram somewhere on the net and modded it in photoshop.... I have the file if you need it...

stange_dk said:

I found the wiring diagram somewhere on the net and modded it in photoshop.... I have the file if you need it...

Click to expand...

i had the same one posted up on my build, i did the same thing in mspaint

I've actually got the same exact bike (if that is indeed a front disc brake there)
Bought it in the fall thinking I'd cafe it up, but I recently realized I would more than likely be riding 2-up every now and again and decided I really like how the bratstyle seats look.
That said, I'll be keeping an eye on your project here as I'm working on mine. I'll probably even start a topic once I get a bit more work done.
And if you could post that wiring diagram 'twould be much appreciated. The wiring on my bike looks a bit hairy.

So, I found a little time to work on the bike again. The last few days have mostly been about sourcing cheapest-possible parts for the bike. Luckily I found a guy who has a lot of cb350s and he's selling me all the stuff I need for at very reasonable price. So cool to find a one stop second hand shop like that.

I still need to find some suitable handlebars and but I already got a pair of cool white grips, pod filters, antrazit engine paint, exhaust wrap, seat foam and vinyl and other bits and pieces. Oh, and a set of Mitas h3 tires are on the way from Germany:



I like the old skool trial look of them.

Today I spent a few hours cleaning the grime off the engine and frame. The PO has sprayed "#€%/&%€ "alu" paint on all aluminium parts so I have to dig in with the wire wheel everywhere I'm not repainting. Besides that, I found that plugs are new, oil has never ran in the engine, and all bolts are removed easily. Someone had the intention of starting this baby up but never got it finished... i'm just glad that this bike was stored in a heated garage!

I'll post the wiring in my next post. it's not all done yet.


painted carb lids


reassembling carbs


engine after a quick wire wheel cleanup


frame...


one of my friends helped with scrubbing engine and frame... I'll wipe them down with alcohol to prep before painting


so... my next post should be a painted engine and frame

I too like the brat style look, my next build will be that style. If you come across a source for the seat, please post. I'm in need of one. Keep the pics coming....

@ cretin,

the source for the seat will be seat foam, a plywood or metal base , glue and black vinyl

I made my cafe this way and with a little help from a friend with a sowing machine it's not that hard. I'll post pics when I come to the seat...

So, got some parts today, white grips, Hella type light, a new clutch lever so I can let the integrated clutch/lights setup go. Also got some seat foam for my seat... The frame has been painted with hammerite satin paint with a paintbrush at 11pm yesterday night, and given the circumstances it looks ok 8)

new parts...


fork tree before paint remover


after a final rinse in the kitchen sink ;D


I should get the engine paint in the mail tomorrow and then I should soon be able to pop the engine back in the frame

Looking good, man. I like the grips. Keep us posted.

--Chris

Where did you get the grips from? They look awesome.

Are you going to paint the triple or leave it brushed?

thanks for the comments; I got the grips from Kickstarter Classics in Germany, http://kickstarter-classics.de/

that type is called Beston grips (at least in europe that are)

After rinsing the tree I hit it with the wire wheel for a few minutes and I like the way it came out... so all the unpainted alu parts on this bike are going to be brushed. I'll probably give them wax as a final finish so they dont absorb too much road grime

stange

so, got the engine painted gray and popped it back into the frame. Although I used the "slide frame onto engine" technique I scratched the frame a bit but it can be fixed with a little black paint. the gry engine enamel turned out to be a bvery good buy, it covered very well already after the first coat so I gave it three more and that was it.

now I just need to turn get the wheels finished up and it should be a roller...

Sweet! Reminds me I need to get going on mine again and stop letting life get in the way.

where has this been?!