OJ's CB360 and a Story of Not Enough Time

[OJ]

As some may know, I bought a '74 CB360 roughly a year ago. With the arrival of our second kid, promotion at work and basement reno, I did not work on her too much after getting her running OK and safetied/registered in August last year. Soon after I parked her for the winter. We had a late spring here and I got her on the road at the end of April. Rode her in cold, and had pretty bad backfire that split the rusty left muffler, and I ordered new mufflers a month ago from a local shop. I'm still waiting for the pipes...Upside is, that I took her for a ride with a shot muffler on Saturday, before starting to change the handlebar, and she did 130 km/h quite easily, so the engine is there.

Right now I'm in the middle of mounting everything back on the bike, and hopefully getting out for a ride this weekend. New parts will be low drop clubman bar, headlight brackets, new coils, new mufflers, master cylinder re-build kit, fork seals and new spark plug wires. Most parts from Dime City and some from local shop.

This will be slow going as I'm trying to keep her on the road while working on her, and if I have better luck next winter, I may do something more extensive while we have snow on the ground.

Feedback and recommendations are welcome.

 

[Finnigan]

I'm on board

 

[OJ]

First shipment of parts came in. Emgo 8 degree upswept megaphones. they're 23" long, so should work ok. Tooling around in the garage and noticed that I need a better shim to mate the 1 3/4" ID muffler onto my headers. Emgo shims seem like a bit of a pain.

Now I just need the DCC parts to come in, but the express shipping may not be express enough to get the parts for the weekend.

And the photo.

 

[Sonreir]

More 360 content.

Count me in.

 

[OJ]

Some work tonight after my bike ride (the pedal to move type) and after I got the ladies to bed. Also, DCC order is on the way so no riding this weekend.

The muffler clamps are so shirty that I want to cry. mostly because I did not order the good clamps from DCC. Otherwise the mufflers look good and will probably make the bike almost silent. I'm also working on something to hold my gauge, planning on tach only and having speed on my bike computer. Not sure if this would pass safety, but the stock speedo is useless.

 

[crazypj]

There is NEVER enough time or money

 

[OJ]

You got that right.

There's also a 1975 Suzuki GT550 in rough shape for sale locally. Going to see that one on Saturday...

 

[crazypj]

GT550 can be a LOT of fun, particularly when you brace frame/swing arm port it and fit set of expansion chambers 8)

 

[OJ]

Got the mufflers on, well somewhat, and started her up to see how loud the pipes are. The sound is good, can tune in my garage with a door cracked open without disturbing the neighborhood. The muffler-header joint leaks a little, so I may need to get better clamps. I made the shims myself from car part store exhaust parts, and the seem to fit bit better. Any tips on how to seal the header to the muffler?

The tachometer mount is also starting to take shape.

And the GT550....I think I need to pass. Mrs pointed out, that a Ducati, older or newer, is kind of my dream or nightmare bike and I should wait for one of these and not turn our garage into a motorcycle graveyard. She is often the voice of reason.

Too bad the rest of the parts are still in transit.

 

[OJ]

Got my DCC order today after nine days of anxious waiting. The box had gotten soaking wet in transit, and somewhere on the way, it had been wrapped in plastic. Luckily the goods were all OK, but not really what I expected when I chose the upgraded shipping. Of course I had to work on the bike a bit and I got the headlight brackets installed and made some brackets for the coils. Next up master cylinder, fork seals, header gaskets, oil change and some riding.

 

[OJ]

Got her back to road worthiness again. I am bit surprised that everything works quite OK. I want to get the seat upholstered sometimes soon and new paint on the tank would also be quite nice.

 

[OJ]

Back at it again after few weeks out of town. Had an eventful ride to the lake last night as the bike started blowing fuses before I got out of the city. The right coil managed to spin in the mount and shorted to the frame. The ride went fine after figuring that out and the bikes does ride strong. Cruising at 110 km/h at around 6500 rpm and got her up to 145 km/h on flat road with no wind, and it feels that there's bit more in there.

Also found almost complete cylinder head locally, only one valve/spring is missing. No cam shaft though which sucks, but this is a step towards having parts in case things go sideways. Now I'm also thinkin about 378 cc mod when I get that far.

I should get the M/C next week or so and will also replace the brake line with continuous run eliminating the brake light switch as the M/C has a built in switch.

Last night was the first longer ride, and it helped me decide that I need a new helmet. Bell Vortex it is.

 

[crazypj]

Cool, sounds like it's running pretty well
145K is over 90mph?

 

[OJ]

Need to paint the tool box and start carrying tools with me. The odds are, that I will get stranded again and a small crescent wrench, leatherman and a small screw driver make on the road wrenching a bit of hell.

What is the common concencus on muffler to header attachment? The clamps that came with the mufflers are crap, so I was planning to order the ss clamps/straps from DCC. Or should I just weld them and be done with it?

 

[620dark]

Here's what I used on my 360:

http://www.speedmotoco.com/product-p/58-22-25.htm

I went with item 30-711 UNIVERSAL EXHAUST PIPE CLAMPS - 1.50 - 1.64"

After I removed the (aftermarket) mufflers from my headers, the cheapo clamps didn't seal as well and I ended up with leaks as well. These clamps did the trick!

 

[OJ]

All right then. I'll order the clamps. I am somewhat fixated with the welding, so I might weld some add on pieces of pipes onto headers to get rid of adapters. Or...maybe trying those step-up pieces from the autopart store adding some length to headers and getting rid of adapters.

Another next step is a new M/C and was planning on running one hose from M/C to caliper as the M/C has the brake light switch, so could get rid of that piece. Obviously tapping the caliper to take the banjo bolt. Any reason why I should not just use a simple 27" hose between the M/C and caliper?

One more next step is to start working on the seat. Would like to keep he 2-up option, but at the current combined weight of 300-320 lbs, CB360 is not really a 2-up bike.

 

[OJ]

So I could get XS400 pistons at good price, but will these work in cb360 as the piston tops are flat compared to CB360 pistons. Would imagine compression will not be too high with flat top pistons. Has this been done before? CrazyPJ or others? I would rather use GS850 pistons, but they are bit too expensive at least on ebay.

I also figured out my starter issue. The button has been broken and I assumed there was other issues as well. Turns out that the starter motors turns just fine, but the clutch doesn't engage as the little springs and caps are messed up and not pushing the rollers. I would like to get the starter going at least to try such luxury, but where can I find the replacement caps and springs?

 

[620dark]

Another next step is a new M/C and was planning on running one hose from M/C to caliper as the M/C has the brake light switch, so could get rid of that piece. Obviously tapping the caliper to take the banjo bolt. Any reason why I should not just use a simple 27" hose between the M/C and caliper?

Nope, no reason, especially when you have another brake light switch. I understand that a stainless steel braided line is the cat's pajamas, and will probably be what I end up going with.

 

[OJ]

It sure is a no time project moving with baby steps as I try to keep her riding while doing the work.

Got something done today though, but man I've forgotten how to weld. It looks even worse in a photo, but at least it's sealed. The pipes are exhaust repair parts from autoparts store. They're 1 1/2" ID to 1 3/4" OD so no adapters needed. There's still some exhaust leak, and the pipes got bit louder. Need to get the nice ss clamps. Exhaust length increased by 2.5" as well.

 

[suthern]

looking good so far. Once I get my 360 running I will be on the same track as you (trying to build it while riding it)