1975 Honda XL350 Brat/Cafe

[pjams]

Hey kids!

Long time lurker here thought it was time that I joined up with all the knowledge floating around. I've been into bike builds since my first bike show as a kid and have always wanted to be a builder, either for myself or to flip bikes.
This XL350 was my first build to do so with aside from my KZ550 which I've been building on for the last few years. With some funding from my cousin and my hands I built it last summer to sell but didn't get it finished until late fall so the selling season wasn't right. Now it's up and running and I'm feeling optimistic. So, onto the build!

Started out similar to this, unfortunately I was so excited to get started I didn't get any shots of it pre-teardown so I pulled this image from Google.



Pretty shabby, didn't run but the motor was free and had good compression. Carb was trash, handlebars bent from a fall, and the tank had seen better days.

I started with mocking up the wiring on the frame, maybe a bit early and I've learned that's probably best to wait for this step but I was going to have to be adding tabs and mounts for various things onto the frame so I needed to now where/how to route the new wiring.











Wiring supplies courtesy of WireBarn.

I'll post more when I'm home, leaving work now.

 

[pjams]

Next I had to get frame just right. This required a new place for the seat and some tab removal for a nice clean look.




Found some nice rebar from the PO


I needed the seat perch to be wider at the tank and of a thicker bar. Luckily I had a 38" drag bar lying around so I cut it in half and whadaya know, perfect!






License mount ready


Used MDF for the seat pan as I couldn't get ahold of any alum and wasn't keen on steel. Plus I was on a budget.

 

[pjams]

The seat was next. I wanted a brown leather seat but wasn't sure if I wanted to go with the typical pleat or wrap. After considering the amount of time I had to do the seat and the price of having it all custom sewn I decided to wrap the seat myself (always wanted to try it). We found a large piece of scrap buffalo hide that was perfect. It was strong and supple and stretched just as we needed it to, especially considering the shape of the pan where it butted up against the tank. So I set to wrapping the pan and foam.





Fitted to the fresh-from-the-powdercoaters frame and it couldn't have been more perfect. Scratched it a bit but it came out with some leather loving care.





Fitted with the tank after its white basecoat

 

[xb33bsa]

you got way ahead of yourself the tire hits the new frame cross bar way before shocks bottom out
and that stock exhaust is worth about $300 before you molest it

 

[pjams]

Now the tank had to be treated for rust and had to be stripped. I learned my lesson about using muriatic acid to de-rust the inside. A tip: don't do it unless you know exactly what you're doing!! Thought I did until I came back to find acid all over the floor from it having eaten through the ALUMINUM petcock. Thank god I was doing this in the back of the shop where I worked at the time or my downstairs neighbors would've had a heyday with me getting all over them on their balcony Long story short I got the rust out, smooth/filled what minor dents it had, and threw a white basecoat on (like what is shown above) and moved to paint it.

Here was the blue I chose and I chose it blindly,paint roulette you could say, and it ended up being my favorite blue on any vehicle.



Bottom of the tank



I wanted a stripe on the tank that was unique so I thought I'd try my hand at it. This was my first time using an HVLP gun and while the paint came out great, the edge of the stripe did not.



I tried so many things but could not keep the bleeding from happening. So I just decided fine, blue it is!

Beginning assembly




And this was the final product of a month's worth of work!



or so I thought...

A week after final assembly I deciuded the tank could use a good wet sand and polish as I had to rush the last couple of coats coupled with my inexperience. I took it off and flipped it over only to find pin holes that has shown up post painting (remember that acid?) Well I guess it's fairly common for acid to get into little pockets if not fully rinsed out and slowly eat the metal out. That's what had happened, it ate tiny holes and now gas was getting under the paint and bubbling it. I couldn't sell that! And I'd used all my paint already!

 

[pjams]

you got way ahead of yourself the tire hits the new frame cross bar way before shocks bottom out
and that stock exhaust is worth about $300 before you molest it

The shocks I put on it weren't the originals keeping the tire from hitting the frame. And the exhaust was pitted, had holes, and was bent at the muffler...

 

[xb33bsa]

ok well you used longer shocks and checked full travel ? why did you put on the bigger mikuni if then you strangle the airflow with a far too small air filter ?
hey but the bike looks great !

 

[pjams]

So after much deliberation, we decided the best course of action was to just get a whole new tank and have it painted:

Enter the peanut tank


My father's corral and my KZ550 to the far left


up on the lift



Before we test fit it I knew it wasn't going to go down on the frame willingly. The tunnel was bout 1/8" too thin and not near as deep as the original. So I'd have to find a solution for all the electronics that I had neatly placed up under the tank.

Test fit





I can't seem to the find the pics but I was able to modify the frame buy just grinding only what I needed off of it without ruining its integrity and getting that thing low enough it didn't look so goofy. Due to time and effort the desicion was made to have the tank powder coated but we couldn't find any place that had a blue that would match the rest of the bike. Seeing as how we were back and forth about the blue vs white (which we also really liked) we decided on white which ended up being a mush better choice)



Headlight on/off switch to keep from draining the battery



I decided to move the battery to a little basket I had made that attached under the seat





Forgot to mention the spare leather wrapped clubmans. I actually ordered drag bars but they got lost in the mail (I hate USPS!!) and they weren't of any help trying to find them, except for my local postman. So we used some clubmans I had the KZ550 at one time.

 

[pjams]

ok well you used longer shocks and checked full travel ? why did you put on the bigger mikuni if then you strangle the airflow with a far too small air filter ?
hey but the bike looks great !

I've ridden it plenty of times, great room for the tire in pot holes and twisties and it really has great power. The front up a couple times! This was really more for the experience than track-day fun. Thanks for the comment though!

 

[pjams]

Final product! Aside from some minor cosmetic stuff on the motor, and getting the bare metal polished (the chain has been oiled since this pic) It's good to go!

 

[pjams]

I will say I have to bend the license plate up to avoid the tire though. I didn't use a side mount as they're technically illegal in Missouri and if I plan to sell this I want the buyer to know it's legit.

 

[irk miller]

Hey, where's the XL? These are wonderful enduros. I'm not sure there's any of that left here. FYI, never use muriatic acid it's hydrochloric acid. Hydrochloric acid eats rust and eventually gets into the metal. Use phosphoric acid instead. It converts the rust to the iron phosphate, which has structure. It also has a way of treating the metal and preventing future rust.

 

[pjams]

Hey, where's the XL? These are wonderful enduros. I'm not sure there's any of that left here. FYI, never use muriatic acid it's hydrochloric acid. Hydrochloric acid eats rust and eventually gets into the metal. Use phosphoric acid instead. It converts the rust to the iron phosphate, which has structure. It also has a way of treating the metal and preventing future rust.

Thanks for the tip! Yeah the acid was a def mistake. I do have some vinyls to put on the tank that'll elude to its heritage. Just need to find them...

 

[Mr.E]

I realize your budget is pretty tight on this, but please, if you don't do anything else, at least replace that chain. It's cheap and will save a world of very avoidable grief when that rusty nugget decides to wipe out the cover.

 

[xb33bsa]

I realize your budget is pretty tight on this, but please, if you don't do anything else, at least replace that chain. It's cheap and will save a world of very avoidable grief when that rusty nugget decides to wipe out the cover.

very good advice and with the longer shocks you MUST use a LOT more slack in the chain, it needs to be sagging like grannies tits in a hot shower, you might even consider a spring loaded tensioner to control that floppieness

 

[irk miller]

If you used that muriatic on the chain, then get rid of it right away. Hydrochloric acid produces hydrogen embrittlement in high carbon steel. The links will actually crack and split and when you least expect it, that thing will blow.

 

[coyote13]

I would also be very concerned about the structural integrity of your frame where you've welded in a set of handlebars. It seems a lot of people don't understand the actual physical forces at play on a motorcycle's frame through the course of a spirited ride.

 

[pjams]

If you used that muriatic on the chain, then get rid of it right away. Hydrochloric acid produces hydrogen embrittlement in high carbon steel. The links will actually crack and split and when you least expect it, that thing will blow.

Ha no acid on the chain. I'm not that crazy Just a good lubing up

 

[pjams]

I would also be very concerned about the structural integrity of your frame where you've welded in a set of handlebars. It seems a lot of people don't understand the actual physical forces at play on a motorcycle's frame through the course of a spirited ride.

The bars were actually of a heavier tube. Wayyy heavier than the frame tubes. I didn't trust myself to weld the frame either so I'm hoping the pro I had do it can put his rep on it. I've actually seen a few people use bars for structure in past too.

 

[pjams]

very good advice and with the longer shocks you MUST use a LOT more slack in the chain, it needs to be sagging like grannies tits in a hot shower, you might even consider a spring loaded tensioner to control that floppieness

Thanks for the advice on the tension! I was actually contemplating this. The chain really does look worse than it is. It's like the light was hitting it just right, but I still appreciate the tokens of wisdom. I'm not not considering a new one. Even though this one has less than 50 mi on it. Bike was in a pretty humid environment here in the mid-west, granted it's no rainforest.