CB350F (the color of money) CAFE REVAMP

[shift_love]

well, now that i have more reliable transportation ive decided to completely start over on my cb350f, ive been toying with ideas for the past couple of months and have decided on a basic design that has become pretty common, im not gonna try and be different in any sense of the word, but im going to try and execute this build flawlessly

FUNCTION BEFORE FORM

This is hown it started,



and this is where it was as of a couple weeks ago






and now after a few hours of work and some brief hesitation, this is how it sits now





mods/fixes worthy of mentioning are, completely rebuilt carbs with #80 mains, new factory honda needles, and aftermarket everything else, mac 4-1 exhaust, dcc rear shocks, brand new honda and motionpro cables every where, new brake pads and fluid, new lines, rebuilt rear drum with shoes, slipstreamcycle rearsets, and a refreshed wiring harness and motor to make sure it starts and runs everytime

now...since before i had gone through the motor, replaced all the gaskets, rebult the carbs and had them professionaly tuned and syncd by an old man who is a old bike specialist i wont be doing any of the motor type stuff in this thread, this thread is simply meant to cover the trials and tribulations of making it handle, making it functional, and making it pretty.

While i am not up for an all out flame fest on some of my choices, i will be open to constructive criticism and or advice as fas as the suspension aspect of it goes, tucking shit in, and possibly a muffler/tail pipe baffle replacement discussion.

i started getting annoyed and wanting to redo this thing when i realized that my DCC seat was a pain in the ass, literally and functionally. it didnt let me access the battery or the air filter with out taking it off and then unbolting a weird seat pan that they reccomended, but now that im hip to a couple tricks ill be fixing this with some hinges and some stratgecially placed brackets

also, before anyone harps on me, i do plan on getting rid of the bobber/chopper axle mounted taillight, its just not visible enough at night

im also looking for any and all advice pertaining to shedding some weight, i know i lost some when i went and stripped down the bike the first time, but id like to lose a little more, so that when i ride my 350f for fun it doesnt feel slow as hell compared to my 750 i ride for comfort

so thats where im at, lets rip this thread a new one and talk about just what kind of levels this platform can do!

 

[Hoosier Daddy]

Re: CB350F CAFE REVAMP

Joining along because I have a fondness of the 350four, they are a fun little bike. That being said they are just that, a little bike. Do not expect it to compare to your 750. Removing weight is going to give you the best bang for the buck. Generally as a good rule of thumb 7 or 8lbs=1hp. If you eliminate the starter (there are plugs for the case) and make it a kicker only, you can also drop the battery size... If you shed the fenders you should install a fork brace.
Modern suspension pieces will help the handling in the twisties, as will a good quality tire selection. But to be fair to the bike, make no mistake it's a 350cc. There is no replacement for displacement. Enjoy it for what it is, a flyweight four cylinder.

 

[whynot]

Re: CB350F CAFE REVAMP

I am gonna follow too. As you can see in my signature, I own both a 750 and 350F..................the 350F is all original, except (of course) the exhaust, which the only thing left of it are the header pipes.

Can't wait to see what you do, and how.

 

[shift_love]

Re: CB350F CAFE REVAMP

Joining along because I have a fondness of the 350four, they are a fun little bike. That being said they are just that, a little bike. Do not expect it to compare to your 750. Removing weight is going to give you the best bang for the buck. Generally as a good rule of thumb 7 or 8lbs=1hp. If you eliminate the starter (there are plugs for the case) and make it a kicker only, you can also drop the battery size... If you shed the fenders you should install a fork brace.
Modern suspension pieces will help the handling in the twisties, as will a good quality tire selection. But to be fair to the bike, make no mistake it's a 350cc. There is no replacement for displacement. Enjoy it for what it is, a flyweight four cylinder.

as far as just removing electric start, id love to but some jack wagon or something weird happened to the little loop inside the lower case and its been broken off, it wasnt working when i got it so i bought a new clutch cover and kick start lever, went to install in and noticed the broken section, which leads me down a different path, once i get the bike all prettied up and handling well ive been toying with the idea of a cb400f swap with a 466 kit and some head work, that would gain me some power, and then i could shed some electrical weight

but onto removing weight from the frame the only place i really see is the neck, it could be just one solid tube with a couple brackets for the tank, but im not sure how much weight that would shed. also the brackets for the stock seat, the reinforcement in the middle upper part of the frame where the air duct runs through can be cut out and replaced with a short section of tubing, and the under tray for my battery and electronics will be replacing the fender and plastics and ill just use a couple pieces of sheet metal.

i have a clean tank for it as well without and dings, so i wont be adding any bondo this time and i figure thatll save me at least a pound, side covers are going even though i love them, so then so are the brackets, ill rejet for pods even though i dont want to, but i think i can stand to reason that the motor will be happier breathing more

on to pods...ive read a lot about the disadvantages of them, and i figured id never venture that route, but when i bought my cb750 the PO had ditched the airbox and installed pods, and mine makes some power over my friends stock 750 so i figured why not, if they dont work ill reinstall my old airbox and change the jets back down

ALSO a shorty muffler tucked nicely should shave a pound or two and get me leaning more to the right as compared to the standard MAC replacement

 

[lipuid]

Re: CB350F CAFE REVAMP

What brand and size tires are you running right now? They look a little larger than 90/100, and how does it handle?

 

[shift_love]

Re: CB350F CAFE REVAMP

What brand and size tires are you running right now? They look a little larger than 90/100, and how does it handle?

they are in fact 90/90 and 100/90, and id say it handles pretty good, but i cant really test how low or how fast until i can get my stuff tucked in nice so it doesnt scrape,

now for an update, i took my tank and seat and wheels up to the body shop at work this morning, i had planned on taking the frame and swing arm to the powder coaters but i just wasnt really digging how my electronics tray turned out so im gonna hold off and redo it either tonight or this week so i can have it to the powder shop by at least friday,
i did however get my seat brackets and hinges welded on and all my random doodads and brackets cut off the frame and smoothed up so things are going well and i hope to have this thing standing back up in a couple weeks

so heres just one lame progress pic, more to come

 

[shift_love]

Re: CB350F CAFE REVAMP

got some goodies in today on the good ol ups truck. also, the frame is officially at the powder coaters should have it back by the end of the week or early next week, will post some pictures of the new front end parts later on today!

 

[shift_love]

Re: CB350F CAFE REVAMP

so, i got my first box of stuff that i ordered, only thing missing was my damn fork seals. i guess since weve had ice on the ground here in texas for the last 5 days usps is backed up and not delivering everything, but i did get my upper tripple, clip ons, grips and gaiters, so as soon as i get my seals i can tear the forks down and put the front end together (after the frame gets back from the powder coaters at the end of the week, so heres a quick pic



and heres a special tough they did on the triple, i thought it was pretty neat since i didnt know it would come like this, but they totally forgot the f

 

[shift_love]

Re: CB350F CAFE REVAMP

whoohooo, more updates, so last night i dissasembled my forks and got sanding/polishing, the fork body wasnt too terrible but the actual tubes were horribly rusty and i got the arm work out only a teenage boy can get...if you know what i mean

anyways lol, after a few different grits of paper starting from 80 and escalating to 2000 i finally got the tube pretty damn shiny, also finally got my NOS honda fork seals in, so itll be a nice and clean assembly, i read somewhere in my searchings last night that using a 10w fork oil was quite the upgrade for better performance, what are yalls opinions on that?

so today i picked up some mothers billet polish and a "powerball" and i plan on getting the fork bodies down to a mirror finish, and it will come in super handy with my side covers and what not

so here are some extreme before and after pictures to show the state of things

 

[shift_love]

Re: CB350F CAFE REVAMP

also real quick, if anyone is keeping up with this thread that knows...i need the advice of some suspension gurus on how to set up my rake for the best performance. i want to keep the bike at a lower stance, and i dont want to spend crazy money on valving and emulators for the front etc... i do plan on replacing the steering head bearings with tapered roller bearings, and i would like to just use a nice set of rear shocks and then set the fork heighth correctly for the front

previously, for the past 6 months that is, ive been running it with the tripple lowered on the forks 3/4's of and inch, and i used 11" rear shocks to replace my worn out factory ones, just cause i wanted it kinda low so itd be easy to move around and what not

but i would entertain different opinions, it doesnt have to handle like a race bike, because it simply wont ever be one, but i would like for it to perform a little better than it did before, and i seem to think that it handled quite nicely, nice enough that i could scrape my exhaust and kickstand while leaning into some fast turns...should i step up my heighth in the rear and keep the front lowered a tad? or is my set up ok, and i just really needed to fix my leaking front forks so that they dampen correctly, along with the tapered head bearings and a steering dampener

 

[shift_love]

Re: CB350F CAFE REVAMP

WELL i got my forks all polished up and shiny last night, reassembled and put the new gaiters on it, so now all im waiting for is the frame to get finished so i can assmeble them, and then start on the long long list of other stuff to do

 

[Hoosier Daddy]

Re: CB350F CAFE REVAMP

Depending on where and how bad the rust pits are on the tubes, you may trash your new seals in short order...
If they are within the jounce and rebound section of the tube and you can feel them with your fingernail that is not good. If the pitting is above that where it would never stroke past the seal you should be OK.

 

[shift_love]

Re: CB350F CAFE REVAMP

They were fine where they slide into the seals. It was up where "covers" were Inbetween the triple and under them. Kinda shitty if you ask me that those headlight brackets and lower covers would merely hide the fact that your forks are rusting away but oh well. They're all shiny and smooth now. Only a little bit of pitting and dark stains now. But it looks a shit ton better.

Anyone else wanna chime in on the fork oil question? To use 10w or 15w for a firmer front end? Or to just use ATF like the manual says.

 

[shift_love]

Re: CB350F CAFE REVAMP

so i think its time for some updates...

i got my forks assembled, got the frame back from the powder coaters, and started putting stuff together in a joyous spree







im really digging the look of the solid aluminum upper triple with the clip ons underneathe, and im getting more and more anxious to complete this build... the rest of my parts come in this friday and soon ill really be able to start cooking getting this thing back assembled, but im still waiting on my wheels, tank and seat to get painted, but that shouldnt stop me from putting together all my electronics, keep on painting bits and pieces, and decide on what to do with my battery

LIST OF PARTS TO COME

gold o ring chain
dyna 5 ohm coils
8mm wires
17 tooth sprocket
new headlight bucket
new turn signals
new taillight
new reg/rectifier combo
and much more im sure im forgetting

 

[shift_love]

Re: CB350F CAFE REVAMP

and i guess i totally missed uploading pics of when i finished freshening up my motor, so here that is

 

[shift_love]

Re: CB350F CAFE REVAMP

quick update, my bike is starting to look like a bike again, got my headlight on, got my new DYNA coils installed, started running the harness, put on my new 16 tooth front sprocket because i dont care enough about "the ton", i want torque, and ive been painting random tidbits...im still waiting for my wheels to get painted, i couldnt find our painter today at work, so i figured id just leave him alone and not nag him cause ive got more and more to do, but heres some progress pics

 

[shift_love]

Re: CB350F CAFE REVAMP

figured id post an update since its been awhile and i told myself id do a full thread regardless of what everyone thought (or didnt think) not being bitter, just figured people would respond to questions or make remarks on what im doing wrong or right or what have you... anyways

got all my controls mounted up, fabbed up a cool ignition switch bracket and mounted it to the upper triple, everything seems to be going pretty smoothly



also got my wheels back from the painter last week, they look FAN-fucking-TASTIC super smooth and glossy, he used a hard clear coat that should last quite a long time, dont mind the absurd exhaust angle, i was just messing around with ideas for the reverse cone muffler i plan on using, but wanted to see how ridiculous that would look lol



things i still have to do

finish wiring and setting up nice clean grounds

mount my seat after i get it back from the painter (along with my tank NBD on that one though obviously)

make bracket for taillight/license plate and wire taillight

possibly rejet carbs for pods and different muffler i plan on buying a set of 4 sizes from siriusconinc, im thinking its probably going to take 85-90's

fine tune the cables and get them snug and tucked

clean up stock rear mudguard

make removeable battery tray that hinges on rear turn signal frame extention and connects to mudguard...just wait on that, the idea i have seems awesome and simple

bleed front caliper and replace pads

and more im sure im forgetting at the moment

 

[Hoosier Daddy]

Re: CB350F CAFE REVAMP

I been here the whole time.
Looking damn good so far.... glad you commented on the exhaust angle. I was a little worried.

 

[shift_love]

Re: CB350F CAFE REVAMP

I been here the whole time.
Looking damn good so far.... glad you commented on the exhaust angle. I was a little worried.

well thanks man, ive been posting all my updates on dfw's facebook group and those people seem to like what im doing, i just cant believe no one has called me out on anything yet, cause that seems to be a common trend on auto/moto forums nowadays, but i guess ill keep on truckin

ordered a new clutch kit, springs, shorty reverse cone muffler, siriuscon jet set, and a smallish 9aH battery last night

my tank and seat should be done this week since my painter and i finally decided on a color so theres that, and ive got my first weekend off in a month this saturday so it looks like ill be getting a lot of stuff done

 

[Hoosier Daddy]

Re: CB350F CAFE REVAMP

Yeah, forums are kinda the polar opposite of the golden rule "If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all"... seems if you screw something up the thread grows leaps and bounds, but when you are doin good, all you get are "crickets chirping".