Topic: Frame-up cb350f restoration, hunk o' junk transformation

[MoMo]

 

[sbeckman7]

Great progress man and that muffler sounds awesome!  Keep the updates coming, glad all parties are enjoying the bike as well

[iiAtlas]

Looks who went for her first ride EVER! She was starting and stopping over and over for half an hour. Only stalled twice. Didn't get to shifting yet, that's Wednesday's lesson. But she's hooked for sure. Hasn't stopped talking about it since.

New clutch cable and brake line is in the city, so should have those parts installed by the weekend as well.




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Looking good!  Time to pick up another CB350F... ? 

[markreimer]

Looks who went for her first ride EVER! She was starting and stopping over and over for half an hour. Only stalled twice. Didn't get to shifting yet, that's Wednesday's lesson. But she's hooked for sure. Hasn't stopped talking about it since.

New clutch cable and brake line is in the city, so should have those parts installed by the weekend as well.




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Looking good!  Time to pick up another CB350F... ? 

Haha, actually....I have another one. I have a frame, the front end off some other bike (maybe a 450, it has a front wheel that's 1" larger), and I just got a complete 350F engine for free. That project is not happening anytime soon though. I need to finish this up, do a bunch of routine stuff on my R80, and then rebuild my cb750 engine again first.. Maybe in the spring!

[markreimer]

Clutch is fixed!!

It was the cable. I used a genuine Honda cable in the stock routing position and the clutch is smooth and light. It's perfect. This is a dramatic improvement to the ride quality.

I had a stainless brake line but didn't install it tonight as I misplaced the hydraulic bank bolt switch. Hmm... Sure it's around here somewhere.

I also had the gas cap gasket start leaking, pouring fuel al over the front of the bike after a hard stop. That's a first. I rotated the seal a few times, closed the cap and the problem stopped. Odd...

So next up is the brakes and more riding lessons for Cindy this weekend. She can shift now!


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[grcamna2]

Clutch is fixed!!

It was the cable. I used a genuine Honda cable in the stock routing position and the clutch is smooth and light. It's perfect. This is a dramatic improvement to the ride quality.

I had a stainless brake line but didn't install it tonight as I misplaced the hydraulic bank bolt switch. Hmm... Sure it's around here somewhere.

I also had the gas cap gasket start leaking, pouring fuel al over the front of the bike after a hard stop. That's a first. I rotated the seal a few times, closed the cap and the problem stopped. Odd...

So next up is the brakes and more riding lessons for Cindy this weekend. She can shift now!


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That must have been a Huge relief for you when you installed that oem clutch cable ! I would even run a known good used oem cable rather than a china-cable.

[markreimer]

It was! Such a night and day difference. My wife has a bruised hand from squeezing that lever while learning, hah! This should be better.

Say, to the other 350 owners out there, what kind of mileage do you get in the city? I'm getting mid 30's in town, which isn't so great. That's flogging it hard. My r80 gets about 28-30 in the city and just shy of 40 on the highway. So with that comparison I'd guess I would get close to 50 on the highway but need to test. Any numbers out there to compare to? I'm using stock jetting, stock air filter, and the 400 headers. Would the exhaust side of the equation affect fuel economy much?

Second question. My cam chain is very noisy. At a low idle around 1k it's totally silent. By 1,200 it's a kitchen drawer dumping on the ground. I know the adjustment should be automatic. How loud do these chains get normally? My 750 is similar but not as loud


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[carnivorous chicken]

I usually get around 120 miles on a nearly full tank -- averages to about 40mpg. Stock airbox and jetting, 400F exhaust.

Cam chain noise usually decreases as  you increase rpm. The adjustment isn't automatic -- look up cam chain adjustment for these bikes. It can be tricky and you need to be careful -- the adjusting bolt can snap, for example.

[markreimer]

Is that 120 miles to reserve, or to empty? I hit reserve right around 100 miles in the city I think.

Cam chain does quiet down when I'm riding. Certainly not unusually loud anyway. It's just when my idle is set a touch too high that the cacophony of noise happens. I found a Honda service bulletin with cam chain adjustment detailed in it for the 350F. I'll give that a try next shop night.

[flybox1]

I was consistently 38mpg. Stock airbox/plenum.  Jardine 4:2's and #78mains.

[carnivorous chicken]

Is that 120 miles to reserve, or to empty? I hit reserve right around 100 miles in the city I think.

Cam chain does quiet down when I'm riding. Certainly not unusually loud anyway. It's just when my idle is set a touch too high that the cacophony of noise happens. I found a Honda service bulletin with cam chain adjustment detailed in it for the 350F. I'll give that a try next shop night.

120 total including reserve -- so about 40mpg.

[markreimer]

Another afternoon of practice for Cindy. The new clutch made it much easier. She's making it through the gear box easily now. By Sunday next week she should have her license. Exciting!

I also took the bike out for a proper highway run. I learned a few things:
- the top speed this bike can hit is about 91mph. Well, at least into the wind. I really had to lay down on the tank and work to get there. It'll power up to 75 or 80, but after that it was slow going.
- I can't wheelie this bike
- the wind really blows you around on these little bikes. I missed my 750 out there!




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[grcamna2]

A 16t. countershaft sprocket will allow the engine to reach the good part of the powerband a lot better, imo.

[markreimer]

Yeah I could see that for sure. When this one wears I'll be dropping down a tooth for sure.

[grcamna2]

Yeah I could see that for sure. When this one wears I'll be dropping down a tooth for sure.

well that could take a while.. 

[markreimer]

Haha yeah, I guess so. I think I'm still on the same sprocket on my 750 after about 30,000km. Maybe I won't wait so long..  Really it's just that the budget is running out on this project and I'd like to devote some money and time to a couple cosmetic items soon. The seat comes to mind, given the giant tear in the vinyl.

Also, I'm not sure if I had mentioned this or not, but Cindy and I have planning a 2-up tour from Winnipeg to Jasper, AB in mid August. It'll be about 4,500km round trip, a mix of blustery prairie crossings and winding mountain roads. So I've got three months to find and fix any remaining kinks in the bike, and she's got three months to get her riding skills up to snuff. I'm confident we'll both succeed in our tasks.

For the bike, the remaining items I've got listed are:
- Replaced that damn brake line! I lost my hydraulic banjo bolt switch, so ordered a new one this morning. Hopefully I can have it all replaced by the weekend. I'll also rebuild the caliper with some Dow Corning High Vacuum grease around the back and sides of the pad, which successfully eliminated the brake squeal on my 750 a few years back. Hoping for a repeat on the 350.
- I still haven't balanced the carbs, checked timing/points, adjusted cam chain. All small but meaningful things. I'll get to that on the weekend likely as well.
- Take the seat in for reupholstery. I'm not good with that, and 'I know a guy' who does it well and affordably.
- The front tire is a touch out of balance I think, but only between 60-80km/h. Once up to 100kmh it's smooth and easy. Those tires will not be on the bike for the tour anyway though, so I'll replace them with fresh rubber and balance at the time.
- The headlight is brutal. Basically a tea light. However Cindy isn't allowed to drive at night for the first year of her license, but I'd still like to improve it.
- Find a cb550F kick start!!!!!

[grcamna2]

You've got a lot of 'prep' to do for your two-up trip;if you're going to do that trip Please install the 16tooth CS sprocket on your bike beforehand otherwise it'll feel like you have to ride your mountain bike w/ panniers w/ only a 50 tooth chainring.. remember cadence & 'spin' w/ 170 cranks which is similar to your short stroke CB350F engine. 

[markreimer]

You've got a lot of 'prep' to do for your two-up trip;if you're going to do that trip Please install the 16tooth CS sprocket on your bike beforehand otherwise it'll feel like you have to ride your mountain bike w/ panniers w/ only a 50 tooth chainring.. remember cadence & 'spin',at least w/ 172.5 cranks 

Oh god this is NOT a 2-up trip haha! I can't even imagine attempting this 2-up on the 350. That would suck, hard. I'm taking my R80 and will be the trip sherpa, so to speak. I've got two huge aluminum panniers, 37L each I think. Cindy will be on the 350F with a tank bag and small dry bag behind her, at most. But yeah, the more I think about how hard the bike worked to hold 100km/h into the headwind, the more I realize the 16T will be a necessity.

[grcamna2]

You've got a lot of 'prep' to do for your two-up trip;if you're going to do that trip Please install the 16tooth CS sprocket on your bike beforehand otherwise it'll feel like you have to ride your mountain bike w/ panniers w/ only a 50 tooth chainring.. remember cadence & 'spin',at least w/ 172.5 cranks 

Oh god this is NOT a 2-up trip haha! I can't even imagine attempting this 2-up on the 350. That would suck, hard. I'm taking my R80 and will be the trip sherpa, so to speak. I've got two huge aluminum panniers, 37L each I think. Cindy will be on the 350F with a tank bag and small dry bag behind her, at most. But yeah, the more I think about how hard the bike worked to hold 100km/h into the headwind, the more I realize the 16T will be a necessity.

 

I understand that two-up w/ heavy luggage on your CB350F would be maxed-out

[markreimer]

Ok, I ordered a 16t sprocket and a new hydraulic brake switch so I can install the braided line on Thursday.

Question - how much soot is common in your exhaust? Since the emgo cocktail shaker is pretty wide open, I can get a real clear look down the throat, so to speak. I was a little surprised how sooty everything looked in there. Given that the carbs/air filter are all 100% stock, I don't think I'm running terribly rich. In fact I thought I was running lean given the header discolouration I experienced on the first run. If it is rich/lean, it couldn't be by much, and I wouldn't expect it to cause this much soot. Am I just out to lunch?

One thought could be that it's burning a bit of oil. That seems odd to me given that it has under 2,000 miles on it, but maybe the rings are a bit stuck after sitting for almost 40 years. Based on the photo here, what would you suspect? You can see where I wiped it with a cloth to see how oily it was.

I checked the oil for the first time since filling it and it was down a fair amount. Maybe 0.5L or a bit more. However, I had removed the clutch twice, which attributes for some of the oil loss. After filling it again, I rode for about 100km, with lots of wide open throttle, experienced zero oil loss. Thoughts?

[grcamna2]

Ok, I ordered a 16t sprocket and a new hydraulic brake switch so I can install the braided line on Thursday.

Question - how much soot is common in your exhaust? Since the emgo cocktail shaker is pretty wide open, I can get a real clear look down the throat, so to speak. I was a little surprised how sooty everything looked in there. Given that the carbs/air filter are all 100% stock, I don't think I'm running terribly rich. In fact I thought I was running lean given the header discolouration I experienced on the first run. If it is rich/lean, it couldn't be by much, and I wouldn't expect it to cause this much soot. Am I just out to lunch?

One thought could be that it's burning a bit of oil. That seems odd to me given that it has under 2,000 miles on it, but maybe the rings are a bit stuck after sitting for almost 40 years. Based on the photo here, what would you suspect? You can see where I wiped it with a cloth to see how oily it was.

I checked the oil for the first time since filling it and it was down a fair amount. Maybe 0.5L or a bit more. However, I had removed the clutch twice, which attributes for some of the oil loss. After filling it again, I rode for about 100km, with lots of wide open throttle, experienced zero oil loss. Thoughts?

Mark,
You may be running a bit of oil past the rings/guides;why not warm up the engine and then while it's hot remove all the plugs and pour in about a half oz. of Seafoam or Marvel Mystery oil into each cylinder and then let that sit over-night and fire it up mid-day tomorrow.That will give it a change to loosen up the rings a bit,they might have a bit of carbon around them which needs to be removed for the rings to 'spring back' w/ the proper tension to seat them.

[markreimer]

Ok more proper work done tonight. First on deck was replacing the crappy brake line. I ordered a single braided steel line straight from the caliper to master cylinder. I also rebuilt the whole caliper again, and discovered my pivot bolt was doing anything but pivoting. It was seized solid, glazing my pads as a result. So THAT is why the front brake squeals so hard and sucks!

I cleaned and lubed the bolt, coated the backside of the pads with Dow Corning high vacuum grease and reassembled. WOW I have a actual brake now!! I had a very slight squeal once after about 25 hard brakes, we'll see if it stays quiet. But it definitely works waaaaayyyyyyy better.



Next was fabbing a temporary exhaust hanger. I'm embarrassed to even show it. It's so ugly. But it works and will be replaced in time. Just some metal strapping to do the trick.



Then I attempted to pack some glass pack into the muffler. The shape of the pipe makes this next to impossible, but I did manage to cram a bit in from the other end and it's taken the harsh overtone off the overall sound. Still loud, but more pleasing.



Last was a first attempt at restoring the tank finish.  a buffing wheel and some abrasive paint restoration compound did a shockingly nice job at polishing out the stains. Next week I'll tackle this in earnest, now that I know there is something worth saving.



Cindy goes for her moto driving course tomorrow. By Sunday she'll be legal and I'll have to give this bike over!



After all that we replaced the wheel bearings in a cx650 and called it a night. I rode home and boy oh boy is it feeling FINE with the new clutch cable, good brakes, smooth squeak-free swing arm and front brake.


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[markreimer]

I should clarify - I didn't leave the glass pack just stuffed in the end like that haha. I forced it between the baffle and the pipe, packing it in tightly.

I also lightly sanded the brake pads to remove the glaze.

Also packed more grease into the swingarm pivot bolt after a slight squeak reappeared. I was able to pump a lot more in since last week actually, and continued till it oozed a lot out of both ends.

[sbeckman7]

I was a little confused for that muffler haha 

[markreimer]

I was a little confused for that muffler haha 

Haha yeah. That looked....wrong. The baffle fits snug where the cocktail tapers down near the exit of the pipe, so you can't wrap the baffle in glass and strap it down. If you do, it won't fit back inside the pipe!

So instead I pulled the baffle 3/4 out, and then pushed glass in from the 'intake' side of the muffler. As it filled the space between the baffled and pipe, I pushed it in further and continued packing till all the space was crammed tight. We'll see how long it lasts.