My CL350... now with 35% more caffine

woody1981

woody1981

Coast to Coast
DTT BOTM WINNER
Alright guys... here they are, the before and after pics of my 1973 CL350... slightly caffeinated.

Before I start let me disclaim this.

1) Everything I did could be undone.

2) This bike looks better in pics then it does upon further inspection in person... and part of the reason it looks so good in pictures is because the guy I got it from had the top of the tank repainted. So don't worry it's not like I went LOCO on a pristine museum specimen.

3) I thought long and hard about it and I came to the realization that I will probably never want to return it to stock... and so I will have a bunch of 350 parts up for sale because I'm not going to store them when I know I will never put them back on.

If you want to see more or bigger pics you can check them out on my flickr page. http://www.flickr.com/photos/ictwoody/

Here is the list of what I did to her.

• New Avon Road Riders – 100/90-19 front and 120/80-18 rear.
• Removal of the chainguard for new shock and tire clearance.
• Lowered the rear approx 1" with new 12.5" chrome redwing shocks.
• Lowered the front 1.5".
• New bates style 5.75" chrome headlight.
• New alloy headlight ears.
• New blinkers (on the way)
• Modified stock gauge mount to mount stock tach on center and lower.
• New 1.9" white faced speedo (on the way).
• New Motion Pro black clutch, tach and speedo cables... grey throttle and black brake cable were new when I got the bike.
• New Torazzi high-rise clip-ons.
• New grips.
• Removed front fork boots and stock headlight ears.
• Installed 33mm wiper seals on forks.
• Removed GIGANTIC stock taillight assembly and replaced with TINY lucas style unit.
• Removed grab bar.
• Removed mirror.
• Waxed side covers.
• Got 'er all tuned up by my local cool guy, good ol' boy shop... running like a top with new cam seal so no more oil leak.

Thats it for now. Still waiting for my blinkers and small speedo, but thats it. I have no further plans for this bike other then to ride the heck out of it while I work on the 450. Overall I am very very pleased with how it turned out. Much tougher, but not over the top... I like to think it was done in the true spirit of cafe/rocker vision.

That being said here are the side by side before and afters... the second half in post #2.

Enjoy,
Woody
 
Thats a for sure possibility. I was talking about that with a friend last night. I road it around for about an hour last night (freezing my ass off) and The position didn't bother me at all... if I do it, it will probably be something mounted to the passenger peg mounts just to keep the cost down. We'll see when I get some more miles on it.

- Woody

DrJ said:
Very nice indeed. Any plans for rearsets?
Click to expand...
 
OH SHIT!!!


Naaa... just kidding. They go different directions because there is only one tread pattern on those tires... the rotation direction is different because the rear is setup for traction under acceleration, and the front is setup for traction under braking. You have a sharp eye though.

Thanks for the compliments.

- Woody

xluckx said:
Hey Woody, Nice bike!!! but is one of the tires on backwards?
Click to expand...
 
Did Barry Bonds come by and give some good lovin' to your tires? Looks WAY meaner with the fat rubber. Can't wait to post pics of my bike with the same tires... hopefully in just a few more days ;)
 
cahurst2001 said:
+1

btw, how is the wet traction on those road riders?
Click to expand...
I have the same tires on my CB450 and the wet traction is killer !
Plus everyone loves the way they look so it is a win/win...
 
I think this bike is perfect.

Classy.

Post up in the "official before and after" sticky thread so I (and all others) can see how to build a clean cafe from a very nice stock bike!
 
nice, looks slick. the lack of indicators really cleans up the lines
 
The top triple clamp, was it stock, or from another bike? My 71 does not have this style, the clamp on style. I am figuring that you lowered the front by sliding the fork legs up through the clamps an inch and a half, right?
I am trying to see how I could do that with mine, but it doesn't seem possible, as they bolt through the top. I wonder if I would need different fork legs as well.
 
Yes. It's stock from this bike... 1973. The earlier models did thread into the upper tree and you won't be able to lower it the way I did. And yes, you are correct, I slid the fork tubes up through the trees 1.5". The easiest solution for you would probably be to score a set of later model forks of ebay... A decent set that would bolt on would probably cost you less then $100.

Good luck.

- Woody

dentedvw said:
The top triple clamp, was it stock, or from another bike? My 71 does not have this style, the clamp on style. I am figuring that you lowered the front by sliding the fork legs up through the clamps an inch and a half, right?
I am trying to see how I could do that with mine, but it doesn't seem possible, as they bolt through the top. I wonder if I would need different fork legs as well.
Click to expand...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

DTT Light or Dark

  • DTT Light
    • www.jadusmotorcycleparts.com
    www.lostapostle.ca/
    www.sparckmoto.com

    Spread the Love

    Back
    Top Bottom