Because who doesn't like giving advice?

[braveryk]

Another new member! My name's Bryce, and I'm in southern California. 22 and in college, I live with a couple mechanically-apt guys, always working on their desert projects. I've been trying to get into it for a few years now, learning as much as I could recently about Café racers and the like.

I already own my dream car (1975 Corvette Stingray) but the parts are too expensive. I want to put my money where $1500 can buy me more than a complete set of door hinges and a gumball. I want to start working on a bike. I used to own a Kawasaki F11 250, but I sold it in order to buy something with a little more power. Unfortunately, the money just got up and ran away, I swear to God! I've been kicking my own ass for selling it ever since.

Anyway, I'm unfortunately bikeless for the moment, but I want to rectify that as soon as possible, and I have a few questions about what to buy first. I'm definitely going Honda this time, and I'm trying to decide between the CB/CL350, 360, or the 400F. I really have no reservation against any of them, are there any reasons to go with one over the other? I like the 360's 6-speed, and the all of the praise the engine of the 400F has gotten, but the idea of four carbs makes me a little uneasy.

I've been thinking about starting with just the frame and work my way up. I have no interest in keeping the bike stock, so I wouldn't really be missing out on to many factory parts. I want to build a lot of it myself. "If you want the job done right" and all that. Or should I buy one that doesn't run, fix it, and then modify it? Is one significantly less expensive than the other? The advantages I see in buying a frame first is that you don't have to buy any parts that you aren't going to use, but if I buy something complete and fix it, I won't have to buy literally every single thing.

Sorry for rambling, but I've been trolling these forums for a few weeks now, and I'm done waiting to get started. It's nice to meet you all, and I've seen some amazing, (and really informative) threads on this site. You all seem extremely experienced and, seeing as you're on a café racer forum, you all have amazing taste.

Thank you for reading, if you have any advice at all for a somewhat beginner, I would really appreciate it.
-Bryce.

 

[Tim]

First, welcome to the site! You'll get plenty of advice here - no shortage of opinions.

A running bike is usually going to be less expensive than buying a non-runner. That being said, some 'non-runners' have just been sitting for a while and need a carb cleaning, some fresh plugs and oil and fire right up.

Compression is important as is a solid bottom end (transmission). If there's good compression and the transmission feels ok, then it's not bad to get it up and running.

4 cylinder bikes are more expensive to rebuild. 2x the cost of a twin for boring/honing, carb kits etc. But they're smoooooth.

The 400F is a killer bike, but the 350 and 360 are excellent also and are a classic twin design lending themselves to awesome little cafe's. The 400 is a little more 'modern' but is one of the nicest flickable Honda's out there.

Can't go wrong with any of them, but in the end, a twin will likely be a little easier. Really all depends on what you fall in love with or can find a good deal on.

Don't dismiss the 500/550 four cylinders either. Plenty of oomph for highway riding and still a compact city bike. Many regard them as the finest Honda SOHC. I owned both.

 

[braveryk]

Hey thanks. I'm really leaning towards a 360, but I'm having a lot of trouble finding a bike or frame. The trouble is, I'm working in a budget. There's not any spending cap, but I can only spend a certain amount per paycheck. (Full-time student working ~30 hours a week.) This is why I'm bringing up buying a frame and working my way up. I'll buy the frame, and while I save up enough money to buy an engine, I can clean the frame, draw up plans, modify the frame, etc. Work on every part and get it perfect before I have enough to buy the next. On the other hand it will take me a few months to save enough to buy a non-running bike, and in matters like this, I'm impatient.

But you aren't wrong about buying a complete. I probably will end up having to do that. Here comes more time with no bike, *looong sigh*.

I'm thinking about staying below 500cc for two reasons: I'm relatively new to motorcycles, (I've had my license for four years now, but haven't had a bike for almost two of them) and haven't done much work on them. I think it will be a little easier to learn/build on something smaller. (Right?) And I'm a tall, skinny guy, so I'm leaning towards a thinner, sleeker bike. I like the way they look all café-ified a little more than the bulkier bikes.

I've been checking craigslist twice a day, from tijuana to Salem to Yuma, trying to find a 350/60 with no luck. Ebay has some bikes, but only at $1000, without shipping, and that will take a while to save. Any other places I should check?

In any case, nice to meet you. Thank you for the response.

I'm excited as hell to start this bike, Thanks for the resources!

 

[edukaycheon]

Similar situation to you, except I already have my CB360
One of the biggest problems I have with my bike is finding time apart from school, etc to actually work on the bike. It needs some work but overall its in good condition. Depending where you are in California, the price of older Hondas like the CB350s/360s is super high compared to other places around the country. Kind of sucks but there are good deals out there. If I were in your shoes, I would probably want to buy a running bike that I could modify. I know that having ridden my bike before, not being able to ride it hurts me emotionally and there's nothing I want to do more than get it fixed and in between my legs again. When you have other obligations, the motorcycle might be put off to the side, and having a running bike can constantly remind you why you're doing what you're doing.

Just my two cents, keep us posted with your progress, and good luck with your search!

 

[teddpage]

I would recommend starting with a complete bike. If you buy the bike piece by piece, you are guna spend a lot more money in the long run! You know what they say, the sum of the parts is worth more than the whole.
Dont just look at Honda's. There are plenty of good Yamaha's (the XS line of bikes), Kawasaki's (KZ's) and Suzuki's out there (GT).
If you are looking for a lightweight, skinny, flickable bike, dont discount 2 strokes either! You might find yourself an inexpensive yamaha R5 or DS7 or RD250/350/400 thats been sitting in someones garage forever.
Well, im off to work. Oh yea...WELCOME TO DTT!

 

[frogman]

Don't count out the 450 twins as well as the 350F's they are all good bikes to goof with. Buy as a complete bike as you can, that way you have all the LITTLE parts you need to do the job. Hell, get TWO that way you can have a runner to ride and a project to mess with. I have 4, 3 of them are ride-able. ;D

Now is the time of the year to be watching Craigs, people will list bikes because they don't want to store them. They THINK now is a good time to make money on them but in the end they take much less than they wanted because they need them GONE.

Patience is key now, best deals will come around the holidays when someone want's extra spending money.

Craigs is kinda of stupid too. Use BROAD terms to search. Honda, Yamaha, etc. See what kind of results you can get then add in CB, DT, etc. Sometimes people just know its a HONDA motorcycle and they list it as such. Could be the bike of your dreams but if you are looking for a 1975 HONDA CB 550F you won't see it.

 

[VonYinzer]

Welcome to DTT! If inexpensive is your game, you really can't beat the 350. Its just as fast as a 360 without the 360s issues. They made 300,000 of the things too, so parts are cheap and readily available. The six speed 360 tranny can be fitted to the 350 as well. With some work. The 400f is a killer machine, but like Tim said, it can get pricey to build. They also didn't make too many of them, so they're generally more expensive right from the start. And engine parts are getting harder to come by.
As stated, don't rule out other makes either. Every manufacturer put out great bikes. The Yamaha RD line is awesome and if you're building a mild bike can he done on the cheap.
Also as other have said, get a bike that's as close to complete and running as possible. Not only will it be cheaper, but it will be easier for a first time builder. I've found that generally when you buy a bike in pieces the important parts that are missing are gone for a reason. As in, they're expensive or hard to find and the PO sold them off. Another upside to starting with a complete machine is the money you can make by selling the stock bits you're not using. Great way to fund a build. Let the bike pay for itself.
Good luck and keep us posted.

 

[braveryk]

I've found that generally when you buy a bike in pieces the important parts that are missing are gone for a reason. As in, they're expensive or hard to find and the PO sold them off. Another upside to starting with a complete machine is the money you can make by selling the stock bits you're not using. Great way to fund a build. Let the bike pay for itself.

Really good point, I think I'm sold. Although it's gonna be a few months before I can afford a bike, I'll put on some Johnny Cash, try to hold back the tears, and put together a a to do list correlated with a parts list in the meantime.

The picture is the inspiration, mainly, for the build. Although I dig the look of light-colored heat wrap, and maybe a little lip on the end of the seat, after making it a little shorter. Things like that.

Thanks for the information guys, I'm in the process of researching and building a list of bike I could go with. The Hondas I'm seeing are all 4-stroke.. But I'd be totally fine with a 2-stroke like the Yamaha RD. I'll build my list, and keep my eyes on craig's.

Always happy to hear advice. See you guys in the forum.