Alright, I've been kanoodling around these forums for quite some time now so I figured I should finally do my introduction.
My name is Trevor and I am a 19yr old student at UW Oshkosh studying to become a High School math teacher. I live in Menasha, WI and I like long walks on the beach and reading early romantic poetry be candlelight (jk). I have an interest in all things mechanical, mainly vintage tractors (John Deere of course), motorcycles, and cars.
My interest in motorcycles comes from my father, who owned a motorcycle before a car. When he was young he would get yelled at by the nuns at catholic school for reading motorcycle magazines instead of his textbooks. When he was 16 he saved his pennies and bought a new 1973(?) CB125, and began a long devotion to honda products. In the following years he owned a C'B 360, CM 400 Hawk, a CX500 Custom, Yamaha Seca 750. It is at this point in my dad's motorcycle timeline that he would have to tell you "the Tomahawk story". Basically he attented the Harley gathering in Tomahawk, Wisconsin (a gathering I would highly recomend) and has since been hooked on HD's. He worked a second job painting apartments in order to finance the purchase of a used 1200 sportster and, eventually, a new 1997 1200 sportster. He owned that bike up until the spring of 2006, when he was able to get a good deal on a clean, lower miles 1990 Electra Glide Classic. My dad and my mother enjoy the added comfort and luggage space for their many day trips and overnight getaways to Door County.
The story of SOHC Four began 8 or so years ago when my dad spotted an ad in the newpaper for a red 1973 CB350 Four in Sheboygan for $600. The next day my dad tok my brother and I to go look at it. It turned out the bike was nearly original (the chrome grab bar in the back had rusted away years before and an aftermarket 4-2 exhaust was poorly welded on), but the gauges, seat, sidecovers, and tank were all in good condition. The bike ran well and a few days later my dad took it home. Soon after he gave the bike a thorough cleaning and adjusted everything. Once the dirt was removed and the chrome polished, the bike looked quite pretty. My dad rode the bike occasionally for about a year or two and replaced the tires in the process. Then the story takes a turn for the (slightly) worse. The drive for the tach broke, making certaing adjustments impossible. Also, The bike developed a condition for blowing fuses. It started quite infrequently but soon got so bad that the bike couldn't be ridden. On the bike's last ride, my dad limped the bike home to find that the rectifier was toast. As soon as the ignition key was turned you could feel the fuse begin to get hot. My dad tried very hard to fix this problem. He repaced the ignition, cleaned and redid the battery terminals, bought a salvaged rectifier and nothing worked. He then dug into the wiring harness, a bit of a foreign land for my dad (as is the case with many of us). He went through and tested every connection and couldn't find any shorts or unusual drawing of current. After many attempts, my dad gave up and the bike began it's 4 year hybernation.
Then along comes me. I've had motorcycles in my blood all my life but now is the time I figure I should do something about that. I bought a Clymer manual and started nagging my dad to let me have the Honda. On the day after Christmas he said I could have it on the condition that I let him ride it once I get it going. And so I am now the proud owner of a red 1973 CB350 Four. ( I almost feel a little guilty telling this with the recent stories of a free CB and a steal on a 750, don't wanna make people jealous).
So here's where the project stands and what I plan on doing:
1) Rebuild the carbs. I know they've never been rebuilt so that's a must.
2) I plan on buying a new rectifier (maybe a voltage regulator?) from oregon motorcycles.
3) Figure out what the heck is wrong with the electrics. I can't state any good information about the condition of the electrics right now cause it's too damn cold and I dont have a heated garage. I'm pretty sure that if worst comes to worst, I could rebuild the harness myself. I'd like to avoid that for now if possible, but I will do it in the future because I don't trust 35 year old wires.
4) The cam chain is loose. The adjusting bolt is intact (thank god), but I'm pretty sure that it's stuck. I plan on simply getting the bike to run first before adressing this issue, but I'm reasonably sure that the the whole adjusters, chain, and what not will need replacement.
5) get a digital camera and figure out how to post pics.
6) Wait till it gets warm out, get working on it, and start a project thread on the forums to turn to for help and advice.
7)Get a motorcycle license
Despite these tasks, my meager mechanical knowledge and ability, and my severe lack of funds (college student, what do you expect), I am excited to begin this project. My goal is to get her back on the road sometime in the summer. And with your guys' help I should be able to do that. I'd especially love to hear from fellow 350F owers and of any good/cheap parts resources.
PS- My name Hoodellyhoo comes from a song on the cd Space Ghost's Musical Bar B Que.
