freedomgli
Been Around the Block
I noticed a bunch of others around here building up little Hondas so I thought I'd throw my hat in the ring and show you what I've got. On a whim, I picked up a 1971 Honda CB350K3 last January for a few hundred bucks.
This is what it looked like.
It reportedly had been parked since September 2007 and the bike didn't run when I got it. I put in a new battery and she fired right up. At this time I also replaced the cracked headlamp bucket (thanks Midge! I just realized it was you that gave me your old bucket!) and cleaned up the switchgear by running the wires inside the shitty Clubmans. I puttered around the neighborhood but it never ran well. It would backfire like crazy and had no bottom end power and would constantly stall out. My first step was to adjust the valves and ignition timing. This cured the backfiring but now it wouldn't rev past 5k rpm. So I said fuck the points and installed the Bore Tech electronic ignition and Dyna coils. Bike ran great. For about 15 miles. Then the timing chain broke and left me stranded on the side of the road. No wonder the timing marks were wandering all over the place when I tried to verify the ignition timing dynamically after installing the electronic ignition.
I could have sold the bike right then for scrap but I figure in for a penny in for a pound and decided to pull the motor and rebuild it. So this past winter I bought a bunch of parts and tore it down and built it back up. I kept the stock pistons but installed new rings, had the machinist hone the cylinders he also rebuilt my head with new exhaust valves and guides. I did all the disassembly, cleaning, and reassembly myself. In went the new timing chain and teflon slipper, new gaskets and seals, stainless screws, and I also ditched the electric start.
KA Performance timing chain slipper tensioner
Tsubaki/Camellia endless timing chain
tapered roller steering head bearings (will go in later when I install new triple trees and clipons)
SS screw kit
starter block off plug
I got it running again in April or May and have been puttering around on it ever since. However, the ergonomics have never been good. The bars hit the tank, the pegs are in the wrong place, and I could never get really comfortable. The way forward wouldn't be easy since the bike is a cluster and changing one part would snowball into changing a whole lot of parts. So I bought a whole bunch of parts.
solo fiberglass racing seat
Mikuni VM30 carbs
Motion Pro throttle and cables for Mikuni carbs
Two different styles of Ceriani replica headlamp brackets (long and short) not sure which ones I'll use yet
33mm clipons
footpegs for my custom rearsets (build in progress)
heavy duty clutch springs
I also got some Magura levers and a bunch of other little crap I can't remember right now. Oh, I also picked up a '69 CB350 frame and tank for free (thanks Jeff @ vjmog!) that will eventually be the recipient of all these killer parts. However, I need at least one running motorcycle so while the '71 is a rolling project and prototype test bed the '69 will get the full treatment for vintage racing. Jeff couldn't believe I could fit a CB350 frame in my Miata with the hardtop on but I did it!
Lately I started working on the rearsets. Armed with nothing more than a jigsaw, hand drill, and a flat bastard file I made some aluminum adapter plates to fit the footpegs and levers. They feel pretty good right now but I won't know for sure until I've ridden the bike for a good distance. Once I'm certain they place my feet in the right place I'll make some drawings and fabricate them proper.
A work in progress.
If I had gone with 1/2" aluminum instead I could recess the hex head bolts. However, with only 3/8" aluminum it wouldn't leave much meat left if I counterbore them. Now that I know what length, diameter, and pitch bolts I need I might try some different hardware and countersink them. I'm going to use BONES Reds skateboard bearings to locate custom levers because the bearings are cheap, the right size, and are readily available.
Here are the prototype levers for the rearsets. I just need to drill a pocket for the bearing and another hole for the linkage. Once I have it mounted to the plate the foot peg is attached to I can measure the length for the linkage rod. Also, everything will get polished up nice and bright before I'm finished.
There is a conflict with my feet and the current exhaust piping so I'm going to make new header pipes to tuck the exhaust underneath the engine better and allow the mufflers to sweep up behind the pegs.
That's it for now. You're all caught up to where I'm at. I hope to keep updating this thread as I make progress. While this bike is going to remain a street bike the other frame will be totally radical and set up for racing. I hope to join the party next year if all goes to plan.
BIG UPS to my man Josh (former service adviser at Bob's BMW) for lending me his garage, his tools, his time and his expertise. Without his help I never would have gotten the bike back on the road.
This is what it looked like.
It reportedly had been parked since September 2007 and the bike didn't run when I got it. I put in a new battery and she fired right up. At this time I also replaced the cracked headlamp bucket (thanks Midge! I just realized it was you that gave me your old bucket!) and cleaned up the switchgear by running the wires inside the shitty Clubmans. I puttered around the neighborhood but it never ran well. It would backfire like crazy and had no bottom end power and would constantly stall out. My first step was to adjust the valves and ignition timing. This cured the backfiring but now it wouldn't rev past 5k rpm. So I said fuck the points and installed the Bore Tech electronic ignition and Dyna coils. Bike ran great. For about 15 miles. Then the timing chain broke and left me stranded on the side of the road. No wonder the timing marks were wandering all over the place when I tried to verify the ignition timing dynamically after installing the electronic ignition.
I could have sold the bike right then for scrap but I figure in for a penny in for a pound and decided to pull the motor and rebuild it. So this past winter I bought a bunch of parts and tore it down and built it back up. I kept the stock pistons but installed new rings, had the machinist hone the cylinders he also rebuilt my head with new exhaust valves and guides. I did all the disassembly, cleaning, and reassembly myself. In went the new timing chain and teflon slipper, new gaskets and seals, stainless screws, and I also ditched the electric start.
KA Performance timing chain slipper tensioner
Tsubaki/Camellia endless timing chain
tapered roller steering head bearings (will go in later when I install new triple trees and clipons)
SS screw kit
starter block off plug
I got it running again in April or May and have been puttering around on it ever since. However, the ergonomics have never been good. The bars hit the tank, the pegs are in the wrong place, and I could never get really comfortable. The way forward wouldn't be easy since the bike is a cluster and changing one part would snowball into changing a whole lot of parts. So I bought a whole bunch of parts.
solo fiberglass racing seat
Mikuni VM30 carbs
Motion Pro throttle and cables for Mikuni carbs
Two different styles of Ceriani replica headlamp brackets (long and short) not sure which ones I'll use yet
33mm clipons
footpegs for my custom rearsets (build in progress)
heavy duty clutch springs
I also got some Magura levers and a bunch of other little crap I can't remember right now. Oh, I also picked up a '69 CB350 frame and tank for free (thanks Jeff @ vjmog!) that will eventually be the recipient of all these killer parts. However, I need at least one running motorcycle so while the '71 is a rolling project and prototype test bed the '69 will get the full treatment for vintage racing. Jeff couldn't believe I could fit a CB350 frame in my Miata with the hardtop on but I did it!
Lately I started working on the rearsets. Armed with nothing more than a jigsaw, hand drill, and a flat bastard file I made some aluminum adapter plates to fit the footpegs and levers. They feel pretty good right now but I won't know for sure until I've ridden the bike for a good distance. Once I'm certain they place my feet in the right place I'll make some drawings and fabricate them proper.
A work in progress.
If I had gone with 1/2" aluminum instead I could recess the hex head bolts. However, with only 3/8" aluminum it wouldn't leave much meat left if I counterbore them. Now that I know what length, diameter, and pitch bolts I need I might try some different hardware and countersink them. I'm going to use BONES Reds skateboard bearings to locate custom levers because the bearings are cheap, the right size, and are readily available.
Here are the prototype levers for the rearsets. I just need to drill a pocket for the bearing and another hole for the linkage. Once I have it mounted to the plate the foot peg is attached to I can measure the length for the linkage rod. Also, everything will get polished up nice and bright before I'm finished.
There is a conflict with my feet and the current exhaust piping so I'm going to make new header pipes to tuck the exhaust underneath the engine better and allow the mufflers to sweep up behind the pegs.
That's it for now. You're all caught up to where I'm at. I hope to keep updating this thread as I make progress. While this bike is going to remain a street bike the other frame will be totally radical and set up for racing. I hope to join the party next year if all goes to plan.
BIG UPS to my man Josh (former service adviser at Bob's BMW) for lending me his garage, his tools, his time and his expertise. Without his help I never would have gotten the bike back on the road.