New Bike! '68 CB350

CanadianBacon

CanadianBacon

New Member
Hello all,

So obviously not "new" but new to me. I picked up this bike on the weekend. It was 3 hours away but well worth it I think. It's a 1968 cb350 and needs some love.

I know there are some out there that would just preserve it and get it back to stock but this being Do The Ton, I'm sure most have the same opinion as me. That being, cut it up and make it go as fast as possible. ;D

The plan for this one is to tear it all down and rebuild the engine and put it back together as a little vintage racer. I'm currently doing a cb200t so this one will be on hold for a bit but I want to do it right so I'm not in a hurry.

That being said I know I will need some help with this. The CV carbs alone are already giving me doubts. But one part at a time right?

Anyone out there worked on these before? Anyone have any tips before I start tearing it apart?

Oh, one question I do have right off the start is what's with the extra fuel spouts on the tank? There is the normal petcock and then two extra spouts for fuel right at the bottom of the tank. I'm confused.

Anyway, any feedback would be great.

thanks.
 

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Nice looking bike. I see you have a Triumph in the background so you must not be unfamiliar with working on old bikes.
I'm on the fence with this one. Your bike looks in great shape and is a good candidate for restoration. If it was in sad shape then sure cafe would the way to go. On the other hand if it was so desirable as a restoration someone would have bought it before you, right? In the end you just have to do what makes you happy. I'm sure it will look great no matter what you do. :)
 
Oh man, I just love the covered forks. My first bike, a CB100K0 I crossed with an SL100K1, had them -it was basically a mini version of that bike right there only a single pot and a lot smaller (and about as high off the ground as though you were sitting in a school desk), and I'm now trying to fab up a set for my DOHC CB750F with wire spoked rims and lots of other mods, sort of an homage to bikes like yours right there. Fact is, I've banged out the tank, after first cutting it in half, in order to mod the tank to look like the old 60's Honda stuff too. So, while I'm obviously no purist when it comes to bikes, I certainly love that stuff right there. If I was the type to tell you what to do, I'd say: "You ought to save that bodywork and grab some junkers if you're gonna chop stuff in any way, and do mods that aren't really heavy like frame chopping and such not. Maybe figure out what's different about the '68 from later models and stash that stuff away. They can take old rubber bits and soak them in stuff now that makes them look like new, as I'm sure you know. But some of that stuff could be pure gold, and the reason it wasn't snapped up for restoration is that people in the know realize that it takes a LOT of sourcing such rare parts to do the job right, and most of them are lazy about it so they purchase ridiculously inflated NOS stuff rather than doing the hard detail work themselves so either way it's a daunting prospect. Blah blah blah blah blah...."

But hey, it's YOUR bike. Much to MY chagrin. I'm gonna keep an eye on what you're doing nevertheless. Just ... please be kind to it! It's a really cool bike. Maybe to some of us more than others. But that 60's Honda styling is something special.

Somewhere in a pile of junk at my Mom's place are the wing logos off my old CB100 tank. And the old sprocket from it has been a memento I kept with my tools all through the last three bikes I've built (number four now I guess) over the past twenty years. I've seen sites that carry them, and let's just say that people have been snagging them off of bikes for years compiling some type of collection, of which they now feel that each one is worth a hundred bucks. Bastards. I'd like to see some replica badges made. They sure are cool though. I'd stick them on my CB750F, but I'm leaning toward some nice replica CB72 badges I've seen for cheap. There's also a guy I found on fleabay selling seat covers for about twenty-five bucks, that he'll do up if you send him the ratty old one. I dunno if he makes them perfectly the same (ie better for a cafe than a resto), but they'd fit just right and the price is better for a hand sewn one like that rather than a replica one from over-seas.

Oh, and HEY. If you're gonna strip it all down and put a front end off a ninja or some such shit, let me know. I would love to have all sorts of bits off that front end for a KZ440 build I've got on the back burner. Especially if you're going for a dual disc front end, 'cause that drum brake is the TITS!

-Sigh.
 
Thanks for the help with the tank! I had no idea what to do with those two tubes. I thought it might be something like that.

Oh and the picture isn't as good as you think so it's not in the best condition. And I actually have the badges for the tank, they were the first thing I took off and decided I better take a picture before I get too deep into it.

The guy also threw in a free set of Scrambler pipes for it and I think I may use them instead of the ones on there now. I love the high and tight look of the Scrambler pipes.

And have no fear, this build will keep all the good bits from this bike. I love the front end of this thing! But it really needs a good going over and some tender loving care. I haven't figured out exactly what to do with it but I'll keep it pretty true to the '60's look.

As soon as I finish my current build I'll get on this one right away! I can't wait.

Cheers!
 
this looks like a fun bike to play with! I have a CB400 and I was able to tackle the CV carb tuning. still needs fine tuning, but I guess your talking performance wise they're harder to deal with. I didnt up my performance to much so I can't speak on that..

I'm watching!
 
Hey man, I just bought the same bike today...'72. I'll get pics up soon. Have you made any progress since Jan?
 
I have actually decided to turn this into a vintage race bike and do some racing with it. It's got a great motor and I already have a couple of bikes for everyday. So this one is currently in a torn down state. The engine top end is being rebuilt with performance parts and the frame is getting a bit of structure put into it.

I'm going to be starting a bit more on that tonight and hope to have it done by the June Vintage races in Wisconsin.

I'll post some pictures soon!

Good luck with yours! It will be good to compare notes with someone.
 
I am curious, what are you planning to do to the frame? Are there any particular weaknesses or areas that need improvement (assuming that I will NOT be racing)?
This is a 1st build for me. I am pretty sure I want to replace or rebuild the forks and maybe find something with a disc.
Any practical or general advice related to this model would be greatly appreciated.
 
From the research I've done there really isn't a lot you need to do if you want to just turn this into a daily cafe. The 350's are pretty solid bikes and super reliable if you keep them tuned right. That's probably why Honda sold 300 000 of them!

Because of the added stress on the frame during racing these stamped metal frames with spot welds can get a bit tired. So I will be grinding down the flanges on the frame and welding those seams together. It may not be super necessary but it's one thing that's pretty easy to do.

I'm sticking with the drum brake for now though, I like the cleaner look of the drum and it will provide enough stopping power for the racing I plan on doing. Maybe in the future I'll get something bigger.

Other than that just make sure the engine is all tight and you should be good to go!
 
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