Topic: Restoration of a 350 four update: Back from the Dead

[keiths]

You did good. These little fours are a blast.

[mikedialect]

that bike is a beauty! I love seeing things like this. It makes me happy to know that you took such pride in your fathers bike!


Enjoy that fella!

[Jay B]

Hoody- Great thread! I love seeing what you have done with your Dad's bike. I have a rocker cover I would be willing to give you for the cost of shipping as my contribution to your project. All it would need is a cleaning and coat of paint, otherwise good to go. Oh- as for your rusted tank, try "The Works" toilet bowl cleaner, available anywhere for about 2 bucks. Dump it in and slosh the tank around every 5 minutes for a half hour or so. Rinse well with water a few times, dry as best you can, then coat the inside of the tank with 2 stroke oil till you are ready to use it. Dump out all you can and fill with gas. The rest will just burn through, no problem.

[fmctm1sw]

I love these "chronicle" threads.  I'll second advice on "The Works" toilet bowl cleaner.  It did an absolute number on two of my tanks.  They will flash rust pretty quick if you don't coat it with oil as mentioned (ask how I know...).  Get ready for pinholes if you have any weak spots in your tank.  But wow, I was shocked.  I dumped that stuff out and stripped my driveway after I was done with the tank...

[wardmoto]

Hoody, I remember seeing the beginning of your project months back as I was lurking silently after my own project completion in Feb.  I have spent some time getting back into things as winter has settled in and I need a project.  I read your posts from start to finish and was left smiling from ear to ear at the end.  Good for you for all the hard work and effort you put into your project.  To top it off, you conveyed your excitment and elation and the culmination of your efforts so well...you are proud and it shows...you should be.  I have a bone stock 350f as well as the cafe you see in my signature.  They were my wife's grandparents bought new in 72.  I bought them before they died in early 2000.  The original one I have not altered but the other could not be made original again and I made the decision to cafe it.  It took a year and a lot of $ but on 2/17//07 at 4:30, I had tears in my eyes when she fired off after 9 years of silence.  It is the best 37 hp you will ever experience.  Awesome write up.  I took so many notes and pictures for my own build and never did the build progress post; yours makes me wish I had.  Nice work...never sell it.

[kslrr]

I agree. Awsome thread and even more awsome looking 350f.  Makes me want to get off this couch right now and go work on mine.

[hoodellyhoo]

Thank you all for the encouragement and kind words. It's a shame I only got it going at the very end of summer, so my riding was limited. Oh how I wish it could be summer again so I could ride. I've heard my dad complain for years now about waiting for winter to be over and riding season to begin. Now I know exactly what he's been going through all these years . And to make  it worse, we got our first snow today and there's more on the way. Bugger. It's going to be a loooong few months. I'm already starting to plan a strip down to the Slimey Crud Run in the spring.

Hoody, I remember seeing the beginning of your project months back as I was lurking silently after my own project completion in Feb.  I have spent some time getting back into things as winter has settled in and I need a project.  I read your posts from start to finish and was left smiling from ear to ear at the end.  Good for you for all the hard work and effort you put into your project.  To top it off, you conveyed your excitment and elation and the culmination of your efforts so well...you are proud and it shows...you should be.  I have a bone stock 350f as well as the cafe you see in my signature.  They were my wife's grandparents bought new in 72.  I bought them before they died in early 2000.  The original one I have not altered but the other could not be made original again and I made the decision to cafe it.  It took a year and a lot of $ but on 2/17//07 at 4:30, I had tears in my eyes when she fired off after 9 years of silence.  It is the best 37 hp you will ever experience.  Awesome write up.  I took so many notes and pictures for my own build and never did the build progress post; yours makes me wish I had.  Nice work...never sell it.

I enjoyed reading your thread as well. That bike of your's is a beautiful piece of work. Boy would I LOVE to hear you go screaming past with those open megaphones. Not that I have anything to compare it to, but this the best 34hp (or in your case, 37) you can experience.

[loonymoon]

Fantastic!!! You've done an EXCELLENT job!!

I'm itching to get my CB350F back. They ARE a HOOT to ride,as long as you treat the brakes with respect. The last time I rode mine I hadn't ridden it for months but in the mean time had been riding a modern Aprilia 250cc scooter with modern disc brakes. The difference in the braking power was very scary to start with. That's the last time I rode my bike and I won't be riding it for quite a while now.

My bike is now nestled in a workshop about 120 miles from where I live. It used to be in my parent's garage but they have moved home and don't have space for it any more. It's going to have a bit of a mechanical overhaul in the mechanic's spare time, then I get it back living with me. I'm really itching to get on it again. The scooter is a good fun ride, but it's not the same and although a fairly rare model it's nowhere near as unique as the little 350F.

I also get the looks of shock when I overtake cars on a little bike that's older than I am!!

[hoodellyhoo]

HOLY COW MY BIKE SOUNDS AWESOME!!!!

So here's the story: Ever since I've had my bike running, there's always been noise from the motor. I figured it was a mixture of tappet and cam chain noise, but was never sure. I adjusted the valves but heard no change in the noise. When I has the valve cover off I replaced the tensioner and guide blades. I have also tried many different methods for adjusting the cam chain, but I usually end up using the "standard" method of using a screwdriver to push an the tensioner. The best result I had ever gotten from this is a slight reduction in noise, but nothing much.

Period magazine tests say that there is some cam chain noise by nature because the rest of the engine is so quiet that the noise doesn't get drowned out. Therefore, I figured my noises were just the nature of the bike and have been riding the bike like this for about 800 miles.

Well today it was sunny so I wanted to go for my first ride in two weeks. I didn't get to the end of the block before I decided that I had had enough and that there is no way in heck that bike should have been making that much noise. So I went thought the motions for cam chain adjustment again (loosened the adjuster bold, idled at 1,200rpm, and pushed on the tensioner). Except this time, I went for broke and gave my screwdiver a good heave. Suddenly the heavens shined down, doves landed on my shoulders, and my ticks and rattles went away. So I gave it another heave and had my girlfriend tighten the adjuster for me because I don't have three arms yet.

I absolutely cannot believe how good that bike sounds now. The only noise it makes now is a little clutch rattle from unsinked cabs and that wonderful hum out the exhaust pipes. The bike sounds like brand new. NOW I finally know why they compare this bike to a fine watch, and why Mr. Honda said it was his favorite motor. When I went for a ride, I could hardly hear anything over the wind noise it was so quiet. I just wish I had discovered this sooner, but at least my cam chain arm wasn't frozen from the chain rubbing on it.

So anyway, I took a video of it. Sorry it's not too great, it was a hasty production. Too bad my camera doesn't have better sound quality. The clutch rattle really isn't as bad as it sounds in this video.

[youtube=425,350]T0Stbc78i1w[/youtube]

[loonymoon]

Looking great Hoodellyhoo. I say looking because I can't hear it on my work PC> will have to wait until I get home to compare it to how mine sounds!!

Ridden it yet?

[loonymoon]

Heard it now.  Hard to tell if it's much different to mine. That loud rattle is the clutch?? 

 I'm pretty sure the rattle mine has is the cam chain you can almost hear the links going round!!

[hoodellyhoo]

Heard it now.  Hard to tell if it's much different to mine. That loud rattle is the clutch?? 

 I'm pretty sure the rattle mine has is the cam chain you can almost hear the links going round!!

The majority of the rattle is the clutch because it gets quieter when I pull the clutch lever in.

Part of the reason i decided to fiddle with my cam chain again is because I heard your bike in your video and decided your's was much quieter than mine.

[mattcb350f]

When I removed the motor out of my 350F for restoration and took off the valve cover, I noticed the camchain was loose even though I did the ole' screwdriver tightening method before when I had it running. So while it was on the bench, I did the same thing you did and gave the screwdriver a good shove and the tensioner came loose and tightened it up  . I think the little "U" shaped arm under the crankshaft gets a little stiff over time and seizes up a bit.

Good to hear you got it sorted out..... or not to hear rather  Great looking bike too! I'm envious of the nice chrome 

BTW, I went with the same style GT grips you have for mine. Just arrived today and feel great. Can't wait to use them

 Matt.

[kslrr]

That sounds like it is NOT running on all 4 or the carbs are WAY out of synch.

[hoodellyhoo]

That sounds like it is NOT running on all 4 or the carbs are WAY out of synch.

I'm sure it is running on all 4. Like I said, the rattle is not as bad as it seems in the video. Now that I got the cam noise taken care of, I plan on doing a quick plug chop to recheck my carb settings and then I will sinch them. I can't wait to see how smooth it gets. But all of this will probably have to wait two weeks till I can get home from school and work on the bike.

[hoodellyhoo]

Not much new to report. Since my girlfriend says we should ride to my grandparents for Memorial day (about 30mi), I decided I would finally rig up the backrest like I've been promising her I would. The backrest was a cheap ebay score. The only problem is that it was a bit rusty and missing whatever hardware came with it to mount it to the grab rail. Took a bit to get it mounted because things were bent, but after two trips to the hardware store for materials I finally got it together. It's deffinitely more solid than I thought it would be.

I cleaned it up a little before I put it on. I guess it was made by triple A. I gave some of it the steel wool treatment to remove rust and it really cleaned up nice. Some day I'll spend more time getting the rest of the rust.

To be honest, I hate the way it looks. But if it means we get to go more places on the bike instead of driving, then I suppose it's for the better. That, and I know how much it sucks to not have a backrest.

[hoodellyhoo]

I finally took the time yesterday to do a carb synch. I used a motion pro mercury setup that I got cheap off ebay a while back. There certainly seem to be a few people who dislike the mercury tubes, but I found nothing particularly wrong with them.

Well now I know what people talk about when they say that this is a sensitive adjustment. Every little movement changed the readings. It took quite a few tries to get everything to keep close after tightening the lock nuts. Now that it's done, I find myself starting my bike up just so I can here it idle.

Here's the setup I used. Nothing like using an old (1950's?)  fan to keep an old motorcycle cool.



This is what I ended up with. #3 was being particularly finaky.



And a video:

[youtube=425,350]<object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="

name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="

type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object>[/youtube]

[fishman_Phil]

Your bike looks great. Never heard of this mercury tube setup before and appreciated the video clip to show it in action.
Cheers  ...

[Johnie]

Trevor...you da' man!!!  Sounds really nice.  Now about that steering head...

[hoodellyhoo]

I had just spent a half hour typing this post when the power cord fell out of my laptop and everything disappeared, so now I will try again. Ugh.

   Yesterday I finally decided to do something about my front brake. I know some members on here would slam me about using my old stuff but to be honest it has worked fine. I have never been in a situation where I ran out of braking power, and there have been some sudden stops. I just knew that things could be better. A few weeks ago I tried bleeding some fresher brake fluid into my system to see if things would improve but they didn't. So yesterday I started taking things apart to see what I could find.

   Taking the master cylinder apart was just as much of an adventure as I have read on this board before. My first obsticle was getting the small clip out that holds the rubber boot in. First I tried toothpicks, then a safety pin. Finally with a small flathead screwdriver and some carefully applied blunt force, I got it out. Then came the infamous circlip. My circlip pliers were too wide to simple go in and use them so I had to compress the piston to get them to fit. I eventually was able to hold the MC in one hand and compress the piston with my thumb with the help of one of the bolts that holds the MC to the handlebars. I then used my free hand to manipulate the circlip pliers and get the clip out.

   The internals had more crud and rust than I expected, just because everything else has been surprisingly clean. Because of what I found, it only made sense to tear the caliper apart as well because and crud from the MC must have also made its way down there.

   The piston side bake pad didn't want to come out. The manual says to lightly tap the caliper head but that didn't do squat. Eventually, with some silicon spray carefully applied compressed air, the piston and pad came popping out. Again there was more rust, both on the piston and on the sliding surface of the pad.

   Unfortunately I have pitting on my brake piston. I don't know how much is too much, but the few pits that I do have seem kinda deep so I'll be getting a new one. I also have to order new brake pads and haven't come to a decision on those. I did a search on the board and came up with this: EBC pads, though plentiful and reasonable priced, will squeak. Partsnmore pads are good but they are all out at the moment and I'd kinda like to get some soon. Then there's the $15 mystery ones I've seen on ebay. Cheap as they are I'm sure you get exactly what they are, a $15 set of pads. Anybody have any suggestions?

   The paint on my caliper was flaking off so today I took a couple hours and stripped my calipers and the top triple tree that I got from Heffay (to replace my current one with a broken off handlebar bolt). I used a dremel too with a wire brush tip. Even though it was slow, the small tip was good for getting in the nooks of the caliper.

Mmmmm, tasty brake crud



I cleaned everything in simple green. This probably wasn't the best fluid to use but it worked fine for me.



Parts stripped and ready for paint







 

[Honda!]

I had just spent a half hour typing this post when the power cord fell out of my laptop and everything disappeared, so now I will try again. Ugh.

   Yesterday I finally decided to do something about my front brake. I know some members on here would slam me about using my old stuff but to be honest it has worked fine. I have never been in a situation where I ran out of braking power, and there have been some sudden stops. I just knew that things could be better. A few weeks ago I tried bleeding some fresher brake fluid into my system to see if things would improve but they didn't. So yesterday I started taking things apart to see what I could find.

   Taking the master cylinder apart was just as much of an adventure as I have read on this board before. My first obsticle was getting the small clip out that holds the rubber boot in. First I tried toothpicks, then a safety pin. Finally with a small flathead screwdriver and some carefully applied blunt force, I got it out. Then came the infamous circlip. My circlip pliers were too wide to simple go in and use them so I had to compress the piston to get them to fit. I eventually was able to hold the MC in one hand and compress the piston with my thumb with the help of one of the bolts that holds the MC to the handlebars. I then used my free hand to manipulate the circlip pliers and get the clip out.

   The internals had more crud and rust than I expected, just because everything else has been surprisingly clean. Because of what I found, it only made sense to tear the caliper apart as well because and crud from the MC must have also made its way down there.

   The piston side bake pad didn't want to come out. The manual says to lightly tap the caliper head but that didn't do squat. Eventually, with some silicon spray carefully applied compressed air, the piston and pad came popping out. Again there was more rust, both on the piston and on the sliding surface of the pad.

   Unfortunately I have pitting on my brake piston. I don't know how much is too much, but the few pits that I do have seem kinda deep so I'll be getting a new one. I also have to order new brake pads and haven't come to a decision on those. I did a search on the board and came up with this: EBC pads, though plentiful and reasonable priced, will squeak. Partsnmore pads are good but they are all out at the moment and I'd kinda like to get some soon. Then there's the $15 mystery ones I've seen on ebay. Cheap as they are I'm sure you get exactly what they are, a $15 set of pads. Anybody have any suggestions?

   The paint on my caliper was flaking off so today I took a couple hours and stripped my calipers and the top triple tree that I got from Heffay (to replace my current one with a broken off handlebar bolt). I used a dremel too with a wire brush tip. Even though it was slow, the small tip was good for getting in the nooks of the caliper.

Mmmmm, tasty brake crud



I cleaned everything in simple green. This probably wasn't the best fluid to use but it worked fine for me.



Parts stripped and ready for paint







 

Great thread!  Maybe we'll cross paths someday on a lonely Wisconsin backroad...

[hoodellyhoo]

Finally have my master cylinder reassembled. Took me long enough to get the circlip to sit in its groove but it all worked out. I also got my calpier rebuild kit in the mail and have a line on a brake piston to replace my pitted one. Still haven't found a good pair of brake shoes to buy.

[martino1972]

Finally have my master cylinder reassembled. Took me long enough to get the circlip to sit in its groove but it all worked out. I also got my calpier rebuild kit in the mail and have a line on a brake piston to replace my pitted one. Still haven't found a good pair of brake shoes to buy.

1.99 for fresh asparagus,not bad.......

[Johnie]

My take for what it is worth...stay with the OEM pads if available.  You probably will have them on there for a long long time.  Good pics...someday you can do my KO master for me...

[kslrr]

Where did you get the calpier rebuild kit, what is included and how much is it?