Which Honda CB is best?

Benihana

Active Member
Hello guys. You might have seen my first post as I was looking at a clean cb550 but sadly I wasn't able to pick it up. I've been searching night and day for another cb cafe but recently my friends have warned me about these bikes; mostly due to their age...


I really want a cafe racer and the Honda CB series seems like its the best way to go. The questions now is which is the best CB for me?


When I was looking at the 550/750 I didn't realize that they weight around 500lbs. Thinking about it now, that is way too heavy. I am looking for one about 300lbs or less. Also for me, the speed of the bike is not as important as the look. As long as I can get it freeway legal then I'm good.


That being said, 550/750 would be out of the question. In regards to price, I am located in California so how much should I be looking to spend on a CB cafe racer?


If I end up finding a clean CB that is stock, how much is it to do simple conversion to make it look like a cafe racer?


I might have more questions but right now this is all I can think of. I know a lot of my questions are noob so please bear with me. Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks guys!
 
just the look,why on earth would you want a slow cafe racer?your friends dont know jack,cb's are great bikes easy to work on and mostly inexpensive.
 
I can see where you're coming from... I'm eyeballing a CB350F right now and was just checking the forums to see if I could dig anything up on that specific model, myself.
 
cb360's are pretty common, light-ish, and have the parallel twin engine for the real cafe look. There are a lot of cafe'd 360's here, just browse the big arse project threads. I'm slightly biased since I just finished building one this year. If I had it to do over again, I'd have gone with a 500T as I'm already bored with the lack of power.
 
Theres not a CB out there that weighs 300lbs or less that will cruise at highway speeds. Bikes are only heavy when theyre standing still Bikes arent made to stand still.
 
CB550 is probably the best 70's CB made.
They fixed all the problems from the 500 (although it needs better brakes, dualo disc fixes it ;) )
It should be 420lbs for CB550F1. (don't know about the earlier 4 pipe version, I only had a 1978 CB50K3 for a few weeks before I sold it to my brother)
360 is about 360~390 lbs depending on model (CB or CJ) but a lot smaller bike
 
I didn't mean to offend anyone but what I meant was which bike was best for me. I just didn't want a heavier bike considering my friends sports bikes are all around 350lbs so I figured a bigger bike would be more to handle. And there is definitely no way I want to end up with a sports bike. So what I gathered from here is either the 360 or 550 is my best bet?
 
Xs rd kz h1 h2 gt t sr these are the 70s bike names you should look for you will thank me in a year cb are played out
 
You didnt offend. Its just that bikes are heavy man. I defintly understand the draw of a light bike. My little rd200 is sub 300lbs and a blast. That said, it isnt highway friendly. The cb360 is an ok bike, but I generally dont love them. You can do a ton to make them a better bike, but it'll cost you. If you can find a cb550, buy it. Theyre great all around. Kinda lighter, quick and powerful. Plus, theyre pretty easy to modify for the "cafe" look youre after. If you can find a cb400four, defintly buy that. Awesome machine.
 
bradj said:
Xs rd kz h1 h2 gt t sr these are the 70s bike names you should look for you will thank me in a year cb are played out

I was only looking at CBs because I've heard maintenance is inexpensive and parts are easy to find.
 
i own a cb360. that said, rd350s and especially h1s are badass. if you dont know , just go watch a quick video on youtube. anyway, i bought a cb360 this past winter with two inches of ice on the fuckn road and about wiped out before i even got it home. i bought it because it was lghter than a 750, and im pretty good with mechanics. but after a year, if i could start over, id at least got the 550, most likely the 750cb. the main thing with cb350s-360 are you are pegged out on the highway(great in town bike and for the twisties though). until the 33mm forks shake the hell out of me. A great lesson someone told me. If you ride a bigger bike to its ability, you will wreck within a month. Ride the bike to your ability, and you will be fine.
 
They are cheep to buy and own but the more carbs you have the more problems you have ,and the kehins that come on cbs suck cock. Spend just a little more money on a kawaski of yamaha and you will spend alot less over the course or owning the bike. ask any old drag racer they will tell you, if honda made a good bike they kept it
 
also be prepared for periodical maintenance. theres a reason these bikes came witha tool kit under the battery. good luck man, and hope to you see you on the forum, these dudes are awesome. Also, if you buy an older bike, you will have old guys constantly talking to you about your bike and also harassing you about your clipons, clubmans, or solo seat
 
Thanks for narrowing down my searches. Would you guys happen to know how much I should be paying for a built cafe and a stock bike considering that I live in California?
 
Benihana said:
parts are easy to find.
becouse there worth more if you take them apart than if you try to sell them together, every motor or front end you find on ebay represents a bike that was not worth fix en .176 pages of cb550 part should say something about quality.
 
I would wait till winter set in and buy something it will be cheaper as least it would be where im at. your state has a way of driven the price of junk through the roof and cafe racer tv shows have put all kinds of attention on cbs
 
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