1974 Honda CL360 barn find

[Untame]

Learned about this hidden gem last night and was offered it for $25. Just over 10,000 miles on it. Engine turns freely. Hasn't been ridden in 30 years.

Manufacture date of 10/73 so an early example. (Anyone know a list of serial number ranges for specific models?)

 

[ridesolo]

Nice find! (I just sent you a PM)

 

[Untame]

All washed up. Making room now to squeeze it into the garage.

 

[JerryAssburger]

WOW! That thing with a decent set of tires and once-going-over, THAT would be your Sweet-Handling Bike...No? Either way, CONGRATS!

 

[Untame]

WOW! That thing with a decent set of tires and once-going-over, THAT would be your Sweet-Handling Bike...No? Either way, CONGRATS!

We'll see what happens. My daughter thinks it is really cute. She had already claimed the GN400, but this has electric start. If she decides to finish out the GN400 I think it would be fun to finish it out like a RC166 in Honda race livery.

 

[JerryAssburger]

I think she'd like the 360. I used to have an old SL350 that was a hoot to ride around town.

 

[irk miller]

Oh man, I love the 360s. I have one I'm just about finished with. I've built 4 of them so far with a second 378 conversion about to happen next year. The exhaust is worth a good $500 if it's as clean as it looks in the pics. There is a whole list of things to check for. See if it has the punch marks on the engine vin above and below the dash in the engine vin for the factory recall stuff. There are some easy oil mods to go through, as well. All the engines are fundamentally the same throughout the production run, except for the CJ has a better oil pickup. Pretty sure your vin should be 2000XXX. My 74 CL is 2001XXX

 

[Untame]

Oh man, I love the 360s. I have one I'm just about finished with. I've built 4 of them so far with a second 378 conversion about to happen next year. The exhaust is worth a good $500 if it's as clean as it looks in the pics. There is a whole list of things to check for. See if it has the punch marks on the engine vin above and below the dash in the engine vin for the factory recall stuff. There are some easy oil mods to go through, as well. All the engines are fundamentally the same throughout the production run, except for the CJ has a better oil pickup. Pretty sure your vin should be 2000XXX. My 74 CL is 2001XXX

Can't tell if that is a punch mark or just a corrosion spot.

 

[irk miller]

That's one punch mark. IIRC, the first recall was for the rockers and the second was for the tensioner. You'll probably want to pull the cover and looksy. If CrazyPJ chimes in, he will remember the order.

 

[Untame]

That's one punch mark. IIRC, the first recall was for the rockers and the second was for the tensioner. You'll probably want to pull the cover and looksy. If CrazyPJ chimes in, he will remember the order.

Saw a vid on YouTube that said the major recall was the tensioner and the rocker arm recall wasn't as big of a deal. Either way, will probably be doing more tear-down on this motor than the GN400 because it has been sitting for over 30 years.

 

[Untame]

Found a table that said the CL360 serial numbers started with 1000001. This would make mine the 4,240th bike. The engine serial is 4,255 -- pretty close together.

 

[ridesolo]

Pretty sure that's one of the Honda mechanic marks.

 

[irk miller]

I assume that’s the Common Motor video. They’re good dudes for 360 parts.

Yes, it’s a Honda Dealer mechanic’s mark, Cory. They punched the engine vin plate after performing the recall service.

 

[Untame]

Oh man, I love the 360s. I have one I'm just about finished with. I've built 4 of them so far with a second 378 conversion about to happen next year. The exhaust is worth a good $500 if it's as clean as it looks in the pics. There is a whole list of things to check for. See if it has the punch marks on the engine vin above and below the dash in the engine vin for the factory recall stuff. There are some easy oil mods to go through, as well. All the engines are fundamentally the same throughout the production run, except for the CJ has a better oil pickup. Pretty sure your vin should be 2000XXX. My 74 CL is 2001XXX

The table I found said the submodel K1 started with "2" instead of "1." Not sure what the configuration difference is.

 

[Untame]

I assume that’s the Common Motor video. They’re good dudes for 360 parts.

Yes, it’s a Honda Dealer mechanic’s mark, Cory. They punched the engine vin plate after performing the recall service.

Yup. That was the one.

 

[ridesolo]

Yes, it’s a Honda Dealer mechanic’s mark, Cory. They punched the engine vin plate after performing the recall service.

Yeah, mine had two marks instead of one, but looks like they just used a hammer and punch to mark it.

 

[Untame]

For kicks, I asked ChatGPT to show me what the CL360 could look like in full race Honda livery. Not bad!

 

[irk miller]

The table I found said the submodel K1 started with "2" instead of "1." Not sure what the configuration difference is.

Yeah, I made an assumption based on how the 350s are numbered. Looks like for the 360s the first number references the year.

 

[irk miller]

Yeah, mine had two marks instead of one, but looks like they just used a hammer and punch to mark it.

They did. The PO’s bike was brought in for recall service before the second recall, which is likely why the mechanic only punched once.

 

[Rider52]

10/73 would make it an early 1974 model. I not a big fan of them because I was working in a Honda shop when they came out. The reason is due to the remarks regarding the punch marks. The punch mark looks correct to the recall notice. You should have two marks if both recalls were performed. One above the dash and the other directly below. However some shops didn't follow the recall instructions and I've seen one or both punch marks at various locations on the number pad. I've also seen engines that had the the recalls performed but didn't get a single punch mark and some with a line scratched through the dash making it a plus. I'd bet a whole lot of 360s never had either recall performed due to the comments on various Honda sites about missing punch marks. There were two other recalls which were only sent to dealers. One involved the wiring harness under the gas tank. It needed to be rerouted due to potential chafing. So check your wiring. The other involved overheating issues with the 360 engine. I very much doubt anything was ever done about the overheating as 360s were 2 year only models. Honda dealers really didn't care about them. As Irk said the exhaust is probably worth more than the rest of the bike. The side covers will bring good money too if they are not cracked or have the tabs broken. All that said I've built two 360s in the past 10 years. One was a bobbed CB360 and the other is a CL360 still in my garage.