'72 CL350 Dies under load/when warm

D

deadaimcarlos

New Member
Hey y'all. This is my first real post (funny how that works) and i have a kind of peculiar and frustrating issue. I recently picked up a 1972 CL350 for a steal, and it was in great running condition. I rode it around for a bit, did the deal, and trucked it home. Once i got home i decided to take it for a quick zip up the block. About a mile into the journey i felt a loss of power, tried shifting and found it was to no avail. I pulled over and she died on me. After doing the usual stuff, messing with the petcock, hitting the sides of the carbs (stuck float?), opening the gas tank and kicking her over, i decided to just push her back. Once i got in my driveway i noticed a small bit of fuel underneath the bike. I doubt i had flooded the carbs, but regardless i fired her back up. She started almost immediatly and seemed to idle just fine, albeit a bit low around 8-900. After putting the bike away for a night i decided to give it another go today. I started the bike up, once again almost instantaneously it fired over, and let it idle for between 5-10 minutes. I twisted the throttle a few times once it was warm and all seemed well. Thinking the stalling must have been a fluke, i decided to go for round two, hopped on and rode down the street. After getting to about 40 mph i seemed to have maxed out all she had, and then i started to lose power again. I pulled over, and the bike slowly died on me. Just like the first time, the bike would crank and crank without starting AFTER it died (warm), kick over but not start.

Both times this has happened:
1- The bike died after being put under load, within a mile of leaving my house.
2. It died/lost power around 35-40 mph.
3. Fuel was on/on reserve.
4. Fuel was in the tank.
5. Bike started cold amazingly well, barely touched the starter and it was running.
6. Idled fine for minutes before taking it for a ride (warm).
7. Would not start within the immediate time frame after dying. Kick or electric
8. Seems to draw the battery very low after it dies.

I've tried the electric and kicking it after it has died both times and nothing. I this is my first 350 twin (my dd is a 77 550f) so im a little lost. I do have a Clymers, and i feel like it has something to do with the condenser because it seems to died when warm, but the fact that it wouldnt gain any speed or power also makes me think that the jets are getting clogged. The bike is in beautiful shape otherwise, has inline fuel filters that look great, and the tank was kreemed (not a fan) and looks like it has held up. Could it really be the battery just not getting charged? Im looking for ideas, the other posts didnt seem to have the same symptoms all together. Cheers
 
I would check first to make sure it's getting air. My wife's bike had a very similar issue, and it took me waaay longer than it should have to figure out that she had put the bike's registration in a Ziplock and stashed that under the seat. The bag had migrated toward the airbox and, whenever a load was put on the throttle, the intake would suck the bag, choking the air.

Long story to support the brief point - make sure it's getting air first.
 
Ok, it's definately getting air. with filters, no filters, hand over the intakes on the tb's themselves. I just noticed that what seems to be a drain line off the bottom of the left side carb has been cracked. Regardless, just hooked the battery up with a jump and cranked her over. No start. I'm starting to think it's more fuel related, but it's got half a tank, fresh gas, high test. The two inline filters seem totally fine with no sediment built up. The tank looks clean aswell. The normal idle speed for these is around 1000-1200 correct? Or did i read that wrong? It still is cranking over but she wont fire. Does this sound like a condenser problem to anyone? or points?
 
Two inline fuel filters? Why?

Try pulling them both and running a line straight to the carbs.
 
Sonreir said:
Two inline fuel filters? Why?
Click to expand...

There is a separate line for each carb.

What kind of inline filters are you using? I had a similar sounding problem that would creep up when riding close to wide open for extended periods. It was caused by the cheap paper inline filters I was using. Switching to bronze filters fixed it, but between the two filters and the sediment bowl in the petcock, everything big should be filtered out I'd think. It's probably safe to not use inline filters if everything else is clean.
 
Thanks, and you nailed it with the individual lines. I should have clarified that, my mistake. The inlines look like clear disposables (non rebuildable) however there are bronze elements inside of the clear plastic shells. Also, as odd as this seems i went out for the past hour away from the CL to ride my 550 to clear my head and whatnot, and when i got back i figured i might as well try the 350 once more before i went to rack out. The damn 350 fired over, started right up, was idling around 1000-1100 and seemed totally fine. I decided to do a ride up my driveway (1/3 mile) and all was well, turned around and did it again, and then went down the street, back up, got pretty comfortable with that and ultimately did a few passes at 40-50-55 mph on my local main road before coming back. After every pass i would let the bike roll me to about 5-10 miles an hour, shift around, play with the clutch, and then repeat. All seemed well. I am very confused by this now. Is my bike just a "night owl" and refuses to run right in the day. Everything seemed totally fine. I also, stopped it, killed the engine, and restarted it a number of times with barely an issue. Could this perhaps have just been some stickiness in the carbs from sitting around before i bought it and i was just working through?
On order now is two rebuild kits from DCC just to be on the safe side, along with a new condesnor, points, and plugs/wires. Why not tune her up, right?
 
Dont waste your time with the DCC kits
The aftermarket gasket kits are junk.
You can get OEM that fits perfect, deals with modern gas and some times is cheaper.
 
Even if its not a K&L kit its 50% more expensive.
http://www.hondaparts-direct.com/fiche_section_detail.asp?section=2034010&category=Motorcycles&make=HONDA&year=1971&fveh=123254

Buy service parts from the people that made the motorcycle and not someone selling universal parts.
 
Thanks for the heads up. I got sent to DCC from the advriders guys and the kit seemed to be reasonable, but you make a valid point that i hadn't considered. That being said, i'm still confused as to why my cl is running so oddly. Tonight it ran remarkably well, where as not 4 hours earlier i was pushing it back home. Do these symptims scream anything?
 
Unscrew the bowl of the petcock and check the screen. They get clogged from time to time. It's tricky because when you park the bike the sediment settles into the bowl. When you run for awhile it clogs back up into the screen. Those inline filters might be vapor locking too. I'd go with the straight fuel line suggestion.
 
Plugged vent in the gas cap can cause problems as well. As the bike draws more fuel, a vacuum is created in the tank and eventually no more fuel will come out. If/when the bike dies again, pop the gas cap and see if you can hear air rushing in.
 
Hey y'all, im back after a few long days at work. On a whim, i ordered a new key a few days ago and it showed up so i figured i'd give the CL another shot. The carb bowls were clean, took out the inline filters, and had the battery on a tender. Trying the new key out, she cranked and cranked but still wouldnt reliably fire over. After draining the battery pretty significantly, i decided to kick her over. After about four kicks i got her to start up, but it was the same as before. Low idle (7-800) chugging, and when i blipped the throttle she wanted to stall out. I decided to try each carb individually so as i was leaning over the bike from the left side, operating the right carb, i noticed the most peculiar thing. From the boots of my sparkplug wires to the crank i saw arcing. Im going to go ahead and guess that it was shorting out on the case and that was why it was so unreliable to run? Any thoughts? or could this be from the points shorting to the case and then back into the ignition? I'll takea video and post it up in a bit. Thanks again for the help so far. Hopefully it's almost fixed!
 
Who cares if the bowls are clean? Its the jets that are important

Yes spark plugs grounding is bad and needs to be addressed
 
The bowls were a suggestion from earlier, but i just wrapped up the wires double thick to see if i could kill that theory, and now my bike wont start. Maybe the battery is just completely shot. I tried kicking her over for about 2 minutes straight and decided to call it quits for the night. If anyone has any other thoughts? Has anyone seen the points arc to the case and cause symptoms like this? Still looking for the root cause of this all. Thanks!
 
Wrapping the plug wires is not a fix.
If you are lucky and the only break is down by the caps you can take the cap off, cut the wire back a bit to good material and put the cap back on. If not you need coils too, check for breaks around where the coils meet the wires.

Yes points can ground to the cases.

Really just start at the beginning with the manual
 
sounds like plug wires (you found), and why not coils while you're on it. Coils, when beginning to fail, heat up and expand (very slightly of course) and the can begin to short out through their outer casing. Happened to me on a 125. It would start, run for 5 minutes (getting me about 1-2 miles from home) and then die. flat out die until it cooled. coil fixed it up. should be able to get a repro for around 25$
 
Aye Aye to that Ktriple. I've been looking into it this evening and it looks like a couple of coils from mikesxs, his wires and boots, a set of plug and a few hours/beers should have this bike up and running. Any suggestions? Mikesxs was the first place that had a lot of hits and success, if you have any ideas though, let me know! Thanks again! Sounds like the same problems.
 
Mikes XS is a decent outfit. Those might take some fitting, but no big deal. Not sure is anyone sells a replica
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

DTT Light or Dark

  • DTT Light
    • www.jadusmotorcycleparts.com
    www.lostapostle.ca/
    www.sparckmoto.com

    Spread the Love

    Back
    Top Bottom