Topic: The insane prices of cb350 twins

[Prospect]

Am I missing something but the cb350 is the highest production motorcycle imported into North America. They are not rare. Their prices has skyrocketed in the last several years. Perhaps because of the scrambler cafe or tracker craze. I bought one for $200 fifteen years ago.

In Toronto Canada hack jobs are commanding high prices of $3000-$4000!!

Is it the same in your area or just here?

Rant over.

[HondaMan]

This is a unique bike: the only MORE unique one is the 250cc version made for only the Japanese market, because the Japanese loved the Honda Four, but it was/is horribly expensive to license a bike more than 250cc there. The 250 makes a tire-saving 17 bHP...

The CB350F is said to be the only bike Sochiro Honda actually bought from his company: I know a local custom-bike builder who was born in Japan and worked on the Honda production lines in 1971-1975 while in school. He told me Sochiro would ride his Baby Four right up to the production lines (and it was never dirty) in his whie coveralls with wrenches in his pockets, and work alongside the other techs to assemble the bikes when he (my friend) was working on the CB550 and CX500 production lines. If anyone knew of a 'slowness' (we'd call it an assembly problem) they could tell Honda-san and he would take it right back to Engineering to fix it, and it would get fixed.

[Prospect]

This is a unique bike: the only MORE unique one is the 250cc version made for only the Japanese market, because the Japanese loved the Honda Four, but it was/is horribly expensive to license a bike more than 250cc there. The 250 makes a tire-saving 17 bHP...

The CB350F is said to be the only bike Sochiro Honda actually bought from his company: I know a local custom-bike builder who was born in Japan and worked on the Honda production lines in 1971-1975 while in school. He told me Sochiro would ride his Baby Four right up to the production lines (and it was never dirty) in his whie coveralls with wrenches in his pockets, and work alongside the other techs to assemble the bikes when he (my friend) was working on the CB550 and CX500 production lines. If anyone knew of a 'slowness' (we'd call it an assembly problem) they could tell Honda-san and he would take it right back to Engineering to fix it, and it would get fixed.

I remember you mentioning years ago on the forum that there was a cb250 four made but I have never been able to find any info on it.   Not even a picture.  Would be great to see it.

[gpzkat]

Do you mean the twin or the four?  My kid's middle school vice principal rides a green CB350 four outfitted for touring with fairing and panniers.

I had a '74 SL350 as a teen in the 70's which was my favorite 350 twin just from style perspective.  Well it was my brother's, really, and I got caught riding illegally and it got thrown into a tow rig's sling for a ride home.  Mom managed to hush it up from my dad who would have killed me.

I do see these 'brat' style CB's and they don't impress for the asking price.

[Prospect]

I mean the twin. 

[HondaMan]

This is a unique bike: the only MORE unique one is the 250cc version made for only the Japanese market, because the Japanese loved the Honda Four, but it was/is horribly expensive to license a bike more than 250cc there. The 250 makes a tire-saving 17 bHP...

The CB350F is said to be the only bike Sochiro Honda actually bought from his company: I know a local custom-bike builder who was born in Japan and worked on the Honda production lines in 1971-1975 while in school. He told me Sochiro would ride his Baby Four right up to the production lines (and it was never dirty) in his whie coveralls with wrenches in his pockets, and work alongside the other techs to assemble the bikes when he (my friend) was working on the CB550 and CX500 production lines. If anyone knew of a 'slowness' (we'd call it an assembly problem) they could tell Honda-san and he would take it right back to Engineering to fix it, and it would get fixed.

I remember you mentioning years ago on the forum that there was a cb250 four made but I have never been able to find any info on it.   Not even a picture.  Would be great to see it.

I never knew it myself except for 2 things: one was reports to me by returning Vietnam vets that I knew (who furloughed in Tokyo on the way home) and a local biker who went to a swap meet that occurs here every January in the Denver Collesium. The latter thought he was buying a used CB350F engine until he got it home and noticed the fins were slightly different: they were smaller on their perimeter! Then he noticed the serial number was "CB250F...". We was going to try to install it anyway, because the cases looked to be the same: I don't remember hearing if he did, or not. Then I found the specs: all 17 bHP of it!

I had a CL350 twin and I put my brother's CB350 twin together from the crate for him at my previous shop at Peoria, IL, then took it to him in Missouri in the back of my then brand-new 1972 El Camino SS (biggest piece of junk to ever hit the pavement...). He rode it for almost a decade, and it would actually run just over 100 MPH after we broke it in just right. My CL ran to 96 MPH, then just wouldn't go any faster, and my SuperHawk would run 98 MPH, same story: he could always best me on the long, winding Missouri roads.

..until I got my 750...

[HondaMan]

Do you mean the twin or the four?  My kid's middle school vice principal rides a green CB350 outfitted for touring with fairing and panniers.

I had a '74 SL350 as a teen in the 70's which was my favorite 350 twin just from style perspective.  Well it was my brother's, really, and I got caught riding illegally and it got thrown into a tow rig's sling for a ride home.  Mom managed to hush it up from my dad who would have killed me.

I do see these 'brat' style CB's and they don't impress for the asking price.

The part I don't quite understand is the resurrected CB360 twins. Some things should be allowed to die quietly...

[Flyin900]

In 1968 I bought a used CB250 twin from the local Honda dealer in Oakville ON in Canada. It was fine with me riding solo, yet the clutch slipped when the GF was onboard. The CB350 twin was just released about a month after I had bought the CB250, so the Honda dealer gave me a refund of the purchase price of the CB250 against a purchase of a brand new CB 350 twin.
Problem solved on all fronts. It was a two tone white and green colour with the black rubber knee pads on the gas tank.

To the original posters question I am also in Ontario and yes there are too many wishful sellers on Kijiji these days. No CB350 twin is worth more than $1500 to $2500 in value, unless there is something very unusual
(Ie still in the crate, or pristine condition and very low miles etc.) You can ask what you want and will likely get someone unsuspecting that will buy at a silly price. Anyone who is clued in will never step up and pay those inflated prices.
Occasionally a great deal will surface on various sites and those are the ones to act on when they appear. Every bike I own less the GL1200 Standard shown in my list below were purchased at very low prices over the past dozen years. Patience and knowledge trumps haste and ignorance IMO.

[Kevin D]

I can’t speak to the price of restored 350’s, but I did see this his ‘n hers pair of 350s at the Gilmore meet recently.

[Robbo]

I have this ‘69 in my stable.  I really should put it on the road.  The prices around the GTA are beyond silly.  I have seen the odd kijiji ad with a decent price but they disappear quickly.




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[gpzkat]

Doesn't look like it would take much to do so, nice looking bike!

I have this ‘69 in my stable.  I really should put it on the road.  The prices around the GTA are beyond silly.  I have seen the odd kijiji ad with a decent price but they disappear quickly.


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[Prospect]

I have this ‘69 in my stable.  I really should put it on the road.  The prices around the GTA are beyond silly.  I have seen the odd kijiji ad with a decent price but they disappear quickly.




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Does it say TYPE 1 on the left side points cover? I can't tell from the picture.

[754]

If anyone hax them horrible fiined chopper cam  and point end covers they want to sell, please message me..

[Robbo]

I have this ‘69 in my stable.  I really should put it on the road.  The prices around the GTA are beyond silly.  I have seen the odd kijiji ad with a decent price but they disappear quickly.




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Does it say TYPE 1 on the left side points cover? I can't tell from the picture.

Yes it does


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[Robbo]

Doesn't look like it would take much to do so, nice looking bike!

I have this ‘69 in my stable.  I really should put it on the road.  The prices around the GTA are beyond silly.  I have seen the odd kijiji ad with a decent price but they disappear quickly.


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Thanks .  I’ve done all the work.  It’s just that I have two bikes already licensed and insured on the road.  Probably should sell the RD250 but she was my first...old...bike .


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[HondaMan]

I have this ‘69 in my stable.  I really should put it on the road.  The prices around the GTA are beyond silly.  I have seen the odd kijiji ad with a decent price but they disappear quickly.




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Now, THAT is gorgeous!

[Prospect]

I have this ‘69 in my stable.  I really should put it on the road.  The prices around the GTA are beyond silly.  I have seen the odd kijiji ad with a decent price but they disappear quickly.




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Now, THAT is gorgeous!

That IS gorgeous.  Look how they designed the front fender to have  the strut as a single line vs. what it is on the cb750.  Very nice.  Also, the front brake hub is aesthetically pleasing. Another design feature is the continuous line between the fork ears and the rest of the front fork.  Cute little grab bar! Low profile fuel cap!

Is that a restored bike or just a well kept time machine?

[grcamna2]

I keep hoping someone will teach some of these 'Caf'e customizers'(Not)to see the value in the original frames and just Caf'e the other parts like the fenders,etc. and stop chopping-up/bobbing the tail sections off the frames.They can be put back to original by the next owner if they would please keep the frames intact.

[Robbo]

From what I understand, the bike was owned at some point by a Honda employee who was able to source a lot of NOS parts for the bike.  He sold it on to a young guy who had grand intentions of finishing the project, but after a period of struggle, he put it for sale on Ebay.  That worked out well for me as the auction ended on a weekday at approx. 1pm (and not primetime).  Another bonus was that the bike was located in southwestern Ontario so I didn’t have to travel far to pick it up.
Was told the usual...it did run, all the electrical works, etc. etc. I found lots of small issues with assembly, mechanical and electrical.  Nothing that couldn’t be fixed.
You’re right about the front drum brake.  It’s a work of art.  I also love that the seat is hinged at the rear.


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[grcamna2]

From what I understand, the bike was owned at some point by a Honda employee who was able to source a lot of NOS parts for the bike.  He sold it on to a young guy who had grand intentions of finishing the project, but after a period of struggle, he put it for sale on Ebay.  That worked out well for me as the auction ended on a weekday at approx. 1pm (and not primetime).  Another bonus was that the bike was located in southwestern Ontario so I didn’t have to travel far to pick it up.
Was told the usual...it did run, all the electrical works, etc. etc. I found lots of small issues with assembly, mechanical and electrical.  Nothing that couldn’t be fixed.
You’re right about the front drum brake.  It’s a work of art.  I also love that the seat is hinged at the rear.


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Robbo,are you able to source parts/part numbers for OEM Honda stuff like NOS for that K1 ? The sites I've looked at don't have any listings for the 1969/K1 CB350:I don't know how anyone finds them..

[micol]

Had that same bike when in high school. Same color and everything. Rode it everywhere. That one is beautiful!

[MauiK3]

I had one very briefly, it was my first bike but when the 750 K0 came out, game over.

[Robbo]

From what I understand, the bike was owned at some point by a Honda employee who was able to source a lot of NOS parts for the bike.  He sold it on to a young guy who had grand intentions of finishing the project, but after a period of struggle, he put it for sale on Ebay.  That worked out well for me as the auction ended on a weekday at approx. 1pm (and not primetime).  Another bonus was that the bike was located in southwestern Ontario so I didn’t have to travel far to pick it up.
Was told the usual...it did run, all the electrical works, etc. etc. I found lots of small issues with assembly, mechanical and electrical.  Nothing that couldn’t be fixed.
You’re right about the front drum brake.  It’s a work of art.  I also love that the seat is hinged at the rear.


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Robbo,are you able to source parts/part numbers for OEM Honda stuff like NOS for that K1 ? The sites I've looked at don't have any listings for the 1969/K1 CB350:I don't know how anyone finds them..

There were only slight differences between the K0 and K1 models.  They are otherwise identical bikes so you can search the K0 parts listings/fiche.





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[grcamna2]

Ah,ok,
The parts like the frame and engine,etc. are the same(aside from the numbers) but the seat,tank,taillight,colors And that rare front fender small reflector are different.That makes those NOS parts Very dear indeed.

[Prospect]

I keep hoping someone will teach some of these 'Caf'e customizers'(Not)to see the value in the original frames and just Caf'e the other parts like the fenders,etc. and stop chopping-up/bobbing the tail sections off the frames.They can be put back to original by the next owner if they would please keep the frames intact.

100% agree. The chopper craze of the 70's did that to Harley's. Now we're seeing it with Japanese bikes.

[754]

I did not know there was 2  CB tank sizes, plus the smaller CL tank..

[grcamna2]

I keep hoping someone will teach some of these 'Caf'e customizers'(Not)to see the value in the original frames and just Caf'e the other parts like the fenders,etc. and stop chopping-up/bobbing the tail sections off the frames.They can be put back to original by the next owner if they would please keep the frames intact.

100% agree. The chopper craze of the 70's did that to Harley's. Now we're seeing it with Japanese bikes.

A Sawzall should be a 'license to carry' type of weapon;at least when using a hand hacksaw,it takes longer,and they may change their mind in mid-cut..

[HondaMan]

I did not know there was 2  CB tank sizes, plus the smaller CL tank..

There's actually 3 different CL tanks, too. The 1968-69 2-tone type, the 1970-71 (my personal favorite) version and the last one 1972-73, which were sold longside the CB/CL360 twins (and sold better). I used to race my 1970 CL350 against the "new" CL360 guys, could whip them in stoplight contests by 3rd gear @10,000 RPM (tach went 10,500). The cams got tamer in the 1972 versions of the 350 twins, redlining at 9600 instead. Those bikes were bulletproof.