Topic: Value of a 350F

[fixahonda]

Through a friend of a friends dad kind of deal I found a supposedly mint one owner 4K mile 350F located a little over an hour away from me. I haven't spoken with the actual owner yet, but it's been described as a nearly new bike.
The things I'm not too sure about are whether or not the carbs and tank were drained before it was parked so that might remove it a few steps from "new".

Price wise, he said the guy would take $950 which I'm thinking might be a pretty decent deal but I really don't know. I've never actually paid "real money" for any of my older bikes.
The 350F I currently have, which is in very nice shape also with low miles, was bought from the original owner this winter for only $250. I am pretty confident that with cash in hand I could probably grab this for around $800 but it's still kind of a lot compared to what I'm used to.

What do you guys think something like this is worth?

[Gordon]

Third or fourth hand vague descriptions are no substitute for pictures, so I'll have to reserve judgment until I have seen some. 

Having said that, if it has the original pipes and they're in decent condition, they're worth more than the asking price alone.

[kghost]

+1 on the pipes

[charlevoix418]

Last october, I bought my 1973 CB350F with 2344 miles for 3000$.  Original 4 non-rusted exhausts were a must for me.

Raynald from Canada

[fixahonda]

I really didn't even think of the mufflers and pipes. I'll put that on the list for things to check out.
Did they rust out really badly like the collectors on the 400F?

[mattcb350f]

a 1974 350F sold on ebay recently for $2500. Auction ended early with a buy it now offer at that price. Mint bike with original pipes.

[charlevoix418]

Well,

pipes are shiny with no blue or brown discoloration.  Mufflers are also quite shiny with no rust.  BTW an italian manufacturer produces replica mufflers and pipes but they are of course expensive (1200$ delivery included).

Recently sold on Ebay:

4 used mufflers & pipes 709$
1 used muffler & pipe reached 406$ and reserve hasn't been met!

Raynald

[heffay]

i hold the theory that a running bike should be just about equal sale price to the sum of money you would get from that same bike parting it out, whether it runs or not.  barring massive amounts of customization time.
i have no idea if that stands true or not... not sure i really care.   

5 years ago    i paid 1300usd for my cb350f cafe and a cb400f parts bike that is now the race project that the newest parts bike 350f is funding... still with me?    

any 350f, mostly complete and in restorable condition, in my opinion, is worth $500.  collecting that $500 from any buyer is a different story.   

[frappy]

Mine had been sitting 20 years and wasn't running. The paint, seat and trim is beautiful, but the stock pipes were toast.  I paid $500, but then again everything in the SF Bay Area is kinda pricey.   Regardless of the condition of the original pipes on your firend's dad's bike; if it's got nice paint, chrome, and runs well... it's definitely worth it - IMHO.

[fixahonda]

Guess I'm going to have to make a run up there and check it out.

From what I'm reading, should I be expecting these pipes to be swiss cheese when I go up there? Do they just rot from sitting? I read somewhere that Honda used double wall pipes on one of there bikes and this caused a lot of rust. Is this the bike they used that on?

If it's pretty nice but in similar condition to the one I have, I will just pass his info onto you guys here if he says it's ok. I was kind of hoping to have a minty one to keep stored for later.

[heffay]

at 950 i would expect decently solid pipes, maybe some surface rust that could be polished out.  i would not expect stock pipes.

[fixahonda]

Well finally got in touch with the actual owner today. As most second or third hand stories go, some of the details were off.
First and most importantly, it's a CB350K not F. Second, he is the second owner. Other than that, from what he describes it is still a really nice bike. Great paint, no rust, original pipes.
I'm going to go look at it this week and see what there is to see.
Same problem again, no real idea with a 350K is worth. Not a whole lot of them in one piece on ebay though the few that there are seem to go for a bit over a grand. Lots and lots of parts on there for them though.

[heffay]

they sound funny.   
fs are way better!   

no deal.

[333]

Counting the 360, they imported the twin almost 20 years.  The F for only about 2 1/2 years.  IMHO that makes it way less valuable.