Topic: "Mile High" CB350 Four project

[Denver_Larry]

And my kit definitely didn't have that little diagram and notes!  Oh well, I see some time on the buffing wheel later today.

[palepainter]

Looking great so far!!

Thanks Pale!  BTW that tank and tail may be headed your way at some point.

It would be my pleasure.

[NobleHops]

Good to know, wish I knew before!  Gotta make mistakes to learn from them I guess...

There is one other bit of subtlety that they do NOT address. At the end of the project, when the new bearings and spacer are installed it is common to end up with a slightly larger overall distance between the top bridge and the triple clamp. Not an issue with a bike like yours that isn't using headlight ears, but on 500s and 550s and others that have ears between the triple and bridge, Honda uses rubber grommets above and below the ears to firmly anchor the ears with compression so they do not rattle.

There are two ways to remedy that: One is to machine the top bearing nut (under the bridge) so the top bridge can sit lower, and the other is to simply add an oring above or below the ear-and-grommet stack before installing the top bridge.

[Denver_Larry]

Thanks for the tips guys.  Disassembled, re-polished, added spacers, reassembled: all good!

[NobleHops]

ROLLER!!!

 

Nice milestone Larry!

[Denver_Larry]

Thanks, I appreciate it guys.  It's nice to see it coming together!

[NobleHops]

ROLLER!!!
Head turner!
 

Nice milestone Larry!

Fixed that for you, Nils 

Definitely better now :-). Thanks Cal.

[palepainter]

Looking great.  I was curious as to who you used to powdercoat frame if it is coated?

[Denver_Larry]

ColorWerks
Price isn't too bad other that the $100 minimum. 

[Denver_Larry]

A couple questions about the coil mounts:
1.  I'm assuming that I need to strip the powdercoat down to bare metal between the mounts and the frame to ground them, but I want to make sure.
2.  Is dielectric grease (or something else) used anywhere here as a best practice?

[innovativems]

it's looking amazing!

[Denver_Larry]

Never mind on the coil/ground questions... evidently there is no need!


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[Denver_Larry]

it's looking amazing!

Thanks inno!


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[Denver_Larry]

Alright, I'm trying to get to the bottom of the gearing thing...
I want to at least start with the OEM sprocket setup, but I can't seem to nail down what the stock gearing was.  Most of the aftermarket gearing manufacturers list the stock gearing as 16/38, but I've also seen 16/36 and 17/38.  17/38 is what I think is right, primarily since the manual lists a gear ratio that matches exactly what a 17/38 has.  Can anyone shed some real light on this?

[markreimer]

This is absolutely gorgeous! Can't wait to hear it! Did you do anything specific to address the common 350F oil leak along those oil orifices outside 1/4? What brand gaskets did you use? I rebuilt a 350F over winter and I'm opening it up again tonight to diagnose a major oil leak into #1.

[Denver_Larry]

Combo of NE brand and OEM gaskets.  Around the orifices I just gave it a very thin coat of the high temp hondabond.   Just be careful not to be sloppy since any that gets in the orifice will likely plug it eventually and starve the top end.

[markreimer]

Combo of NE brand and OEM gaskets.  Around the orifices I just gave it a very thin coat of the high temp hondabond.   Just be careful not to be sloppy since any that gets in the orifice will likely plug it eventually and starve the top end.

I did the same thing. Very light film on the rubber seal exterior. Copper coat on a OEM head gasket. What kind of head gasket did you use? Bike looks siiiick!!!!


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[Denver_Larry]

Thanks Mark, going slow but steady....

Honestly can't remember if the head gasket was one of the OEM ones or not (But I THINK it was).  I didn't apply the hondabond to the rubber seal itself, just a thin coat on the mating surfaces around them.

[Denver_Larry]

Help!

Finally got my sprockets in, and I'm having clearance issues.  My primary clearance issue is with the chain passing the shock.  I had axle spacers installed on the wrong sides I think to start, but can anyone confirm which side gets the bigger spacer on a CB350F?  I moved the bigger spacer to the left side which helped some, but it's still not quite right.  What is right is my chain line seems perfect.  I'm running a 520 conversion which effectively removes thickness from the left side of the drivetrain which theoretically should help with clearance.

[Denver_Larry]

And since I swapped spacers, my tire is now rubbing on the brake stay.  I don't want to re-true the wheel to fix that until I'm sure about the spacers.

[Denver_Larry]

[innovativems]

Large spacer goes on the drum side.  Are you running a 520 o ring?   Looks like it.  Should clear.  I'm running 520 o ring and race tech shocks with no issue.   But I also am running a Framecrafters swingarm would is probably alittle wider in the back


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[Denver_Larry]

Shoot.  Big spacer on the drum side makes things worse.  How big is your rear sprocket?  I'm running a stock size (38).

[Denver_Larry]

Swapped the big spacer back to the right side.  Fixed the brake stay clearance issue (only have 1mm: yikes!), but the shock clearance issue is significant.


I figure that I can gain about 5mm clearance if I machine the inside of the clevis and add more washers to the one that's already there, but am I missing something obvious?  I would rather not start machining on $1000 shocks if I don't have to...

[Denver_Larry]

Had a brainstorm:  if I run the preload collars up the shocks, I could have spacers made for the bottom spring perches that would get the perch moved straight up about 15mm and I think that would do it.