Hello DOTHETON!
As of yesterday I started a complete rebuild of a 71 cb350. I know i will need a little help at some point so i figured this was the best place to document the project.
Background: I got two 1971 cb350's, one yellow, one green, that had been sitting since the early '80s, given to me for free (i now appreciate how awesome this was) from a friend about 9 years ago when I was still in high school and didnt have a huge interest in bikes. Both bikes were complete and actually in pretty good cosmetic condition. The yellow one had a ceased motor and the green one turned over. I rebuilt the carbs on the green bike, gave the motor a little attention and actually got it relatively well. It was never licensed, i mainly used it to screw around on at my parents property. Long story short I was riding way too fast off road, hit wet grass, dumped it and separated my collar bone. What an idiot. The bike sat for the next 6 years or so while i was in college. Over the last year i have gotten into motorcycling with a SV650, and the CB350 has gotten my attention again. I realized it has some potential to be a fun little cruiser without having to sink a ton of money into it.
The goal is to completely rebuild the bike and do some cafe-inspired customization along the way, while keeping the expenses as low as possible. I basically have two complete bikes with one good motor, and I plan on selling everything that is left over after the build. I have a pretty good idea of what I want for a finished product, but I think half the fun will be seing what direction it takes as I progress. I dont have a tone of experience with motorcycle internals, but am pretty mechanically apt and have tons of tools and some metal fab equipment at my disposal. What better place to learn than a free 1971 CB350?
Yesterday was day one, which started with a carb overhaul (which previously was a problem area) in an attempt to diagnose how much work needs to be done to the engine. The floats were full of gas when I opened up the carbs, so I got two NOS floats off ebay and a couple of carb kits. I also cleaned out the inside of the gas tank as it was a little rusty. ZEP calcium lime and rust remover worked suprisingly well. A 5 hour soak with an occasional shake did the trick (i threw some bolts in the mix to help agitate the big chunks). I rinsed it out with water, then wd40, then gas. I also rebuilt the starter as I new it had some issues before and would lessen the abuse on my leg. A quick cleanup and regreasing of the bushings and planetary gearset got it functioning well again.
I put the carbs back on, put in some fresh oil, and started cranking. The left cylinder fired up right away, and the right did not. I checked compression and the left was at about 120PSI while the right was only around 95PSI. I didnt have more time to diagnose, so the I think the next step is to put a little oil in the cylinder to help diagnose any compression issues, but it looks like I will be taking the top end apart.
Pictures will be coming later today! Thanks for reading and I appreciate any help as I am sure I will need it.
As of yesterday I started a complete rebuild of a 71 cb350. I know i will need a little help at some point so i figured this was the best place to document the project.
Background: I got two 1971 cb350's, one yellow, one green, that had been sitting since the early '80s, given to me for free (i now appreciate how awesome this was) from a friend about 9 years ago when I was still in high school and didnt have a huge interest in bikes. Both bikes were complete and actually in pretty good cosmetic condition. The yellow one had a ceased motor and the green one turned over. I rebuilt the carbs on the green bike, gave the motor a little attention and actually got it relatively well. It was never licensed, i mainly used it to screw around on at my parents property. Long story short I was riding way too fast off road, hit wet grass, dumped it and separated my collar bone. What an idiot. The bike sat for the next 6 years or so while i was in college. Over the last year i have gotten into motorcycling with a SV650, and the CB350 has gotten my attention again. I realized it has some potential to be a fun little cruiser without having to sink a ton of money into it.
The goal is to completely rebuild the bike and do some cafe-inspired customization along the way, while keeping the expenses as low as possible. I basically have two complete bikes with one good motor, and I plan on selling everything that is left over after the build. I have a pretty good idea of what I want for a finished product, but I think half the fun will be seing what direction it takes as I progress. I dont have a tone of experience with motorcycle internals, but am pretty mechanically apt and have tons of tools and some metal fab equipment at my disposal. What better place to learn than a free 1971 CB350?
Yesterday was day one, which started with a carb overhaul (which previously was a problem area) in an attempt to diagnose how much work needs to be done to the engine. The floats were full of gas when I opened up the carbs, so I got two NOS floats off ebay and a couple of carb kits. I also cleaned out the inside of the gas tank as it was a little rusty. ZEP calcium lime and rust remover worked suprisingly well. A 5 hour soak with an occasional shake did the trick (i threw some bolts in the mix to help agitate the big chunks). I rinsed it out with water, then wd40, then gas. I also rebuilt the starter as I new it had some issues before and would lessen the abuse on my leg. A quick cleanup and regreasing of the bushings and planetary gearset got it functioning well again.
I put the carbs back on, put in some fresh oil, and started cranking. The left cylinder fired up right away, and the right did not. I checked compression and the left was at about 120PSI while the right was only around 95PSI. I didnt have more time to diagnose, so the I think the next step is to put a little oil in the cylinder to help diagnose any compression issues, but it looks like I will be taking the top end apart.
Pictures will be coming later today! Thanks for reading and I appreciate any help as I am sure I will need it.
