Topic: 1972 CB350F Restore and More

[kghost]

Looks good brother.

Any plans for pinstriping the tank?

Thanks kghost!
Yep, I'm thinking about going with black(not a oem color but would look nice) or dark blue OEM striping, but haven't put much thought into it. What do you think?

Well I dunno if you remember but I painted mine Titanium silver.....



I thought it needed something.....and wound up spraying candy Red on top of it......

I think a Black stripe or Black/Gold striping would really set it off.

[strangedaze39]

Hey Kghost,

I actually didn't recall you painting it silver first but I did know you had a red one. I think the red looks really nice too. For the pin stripping I know I don't have the skill to do anything free hand myself (good canvas painter, bad straight line skills  ). Hopefully AFE decals can print some decals in a different color, if not I'm pretty sure this is what Honda used at the factory (or similar)

http://www.masterstripe.com/striping/striping1.htm -They even have black/gold color combo (at the bottom)

BTW: I'll be balancing my carbs, tightening my cam chain, and adjusting my valves today. If anyone has some tips or things I should be careful or do, please let me know.

[kghost]

Its all pretty straight forward...least nothing jumps to mind.

Keep us posted

[Jim]

Awesome bike... I have the same bike ('73) same colour. I have to go a bit further into it to get mine to where yours is. Check out my avatar, that was last month; this is last week,

http://i429.photobucket.com/albums/qq17/donovjim/bikesx012.jpg   

and now that i have some headers for those new 4/4 silencers (compliments of Hef, thanks Hef) I can move to the front end.
I'll keep you posted... you should keep that machine stock it's beautiful like that.
J

[strangedaze39]

I was going to ask does the cam chain really self tighten properly by using the bolt up front above the oil filter?  And the carb intake screws are near the front carb boots, not somewhere else or actually on the carburetor right?

[strangedaze39]

Awesome bike... I have the same bike ('73) same colour. I have to go a bit further into it to get mine to where yours is. Check out my avatar, that was last month; this is last week,

http://i429.photobucket.com/albums/qq17/donovjim/bikesx012.jpg   

and now that i have some headers for those new 4/4 silencers (compliments of Hef, thanks Hef) I can move to the front end.
I'll keep you posted... you should keep that machine stock it's beautiful like that.
J

Very nice Jim! Is yours a stock silver? I think silver was a stock color for europe, canada, and asia. While america only had green, red, black. Also nice find on the headers I was going for the same ones but asked just a day late, but I'm glad they're being put to a good use! I have those same mufflers as well, where did you grab yours?

Also I do plan on keeping it cosmetically mostly stock because I really like how they came from the factory except for some minor things. Upgrading parts to improve it's performance and mostly reliability is a different story though.

[mattcb350f]

I was going to ask does the cam chain really self tighten properly by using the bolt up front above the oil filter?  And the carb intake screws are near the front carb boots, not somewhere else or actually on the carburetor right?

GREAT WORK ON THE BIKE SD39!!!!!!! 

Great polishing job too.

Couple of points..... I have my kicker indexed a notch or two ahead of yours so that it folds in ahead of the side cover. looks fine either way but I was afraid of it smacking the cover so if you want, you should be able to move it ahead without any trouble.

I've heard of people giving the cam chain adjuster a little help by pushing down on the rod slightly (see FAQ procedure....somewhere). I tried that and although the chain quieted down...... I got an audible 'wirrrrring' when the engine got warm  .

I then adjusted it by the book (automaticaly) and the 'wirring' noise went away.... moral: I think it's easy to overtighten the cam chain by helping it 

By carb intake screws you mean idle mixture screws? If so, yes they are located above the bowls on the 'filter' end of the carbs.

 Matt.

[strangedaze39]

Thanks Matt! I always loved your bike so it's good to hear you like mine 2.

Figured it out, brass attachments goes here:

[mattcb350f]

Oh, for the carb sync tubes  .....yeah, don't thread them into the carbs cause the threads are different. The second pic is correct, This one:



the attachment tubes tread into the four holes on the cylinder head. In my carb sync set, there are two shorter brass tubes for the outside carbs and two longer for the inside. Yours may be different.

the individual carb slides are adjusted to achive sync. by four adjustment screws w/ lock nuts, similar in design to the one that's on the lower part of the clutch cover.

The lock nuts are loosend and they can be threaded in or out which lifts the slides up and down.

Now, ......... as to the location of said adjustment screws, they are located between carbs 1 &2 and 3&4 behind the linkage that lifts up the slides. They're just behind the large cap nuts which can be seen in the pic above.

I've always taken the tank off to do a carb sync to get access to these adjustment screws. the manual says to reattach the tank with a longer hose somehow but I've always done the carb sync with what gas is in the carb bowls 

 Matt.

[Jim]

39...
Mine is olive green ... as original. Got paint codes and decal kit from links found here. The pipes from Hef polished very well and are solid. The silencers are from Jason in Dallas (i think his shop is motovation?). I was lucky to get them then because this bike and used parts are rare in eastern Canada. Not having them was holding up my resto. I have a good set of 4 into 2 pipes which came off this bike that I'll put up for sale later. (Any tips on locating a new or very good headlight bucket?)
J

[strangedaze39]

Thanks Matt  I ended up figuring it out lasts night but was pretty confused at first. It's running better now less competing and more working together type sound (cylinder firing wise) That must take some skill to do it with what's in the bowls! I did it last night with a long fuel line and having my tank sitting on my frame where my seat normally was (flipped open) and made sure to have a blanket laying below the tank.

@Jim: Yep these are pretty dang rare around where I live as well (IL). Thats pretty cool you painted your bike then. Means the paint is going to look A+ do you have any pics of the tank mocked on the bike w/ the decals? Also I've seen a couple headlight buckets around (NOS ones come up on ebay and sell for around $70-$80) and I know where to get rings any time($35) If you need the links let me know I'd be glad to send them over.

BTW nvm about the exhaust I have a couple that I to need to sell. But if you ever see any good headers for sale please let me know.

I'm going to do cam chain and valves today.

[Jim]

Good luck on the chain... I have  DOHC '79 CB750. Been there with that; this one is good.

I'll post pics of the green when assembled in the next few days. The paint is amazing and will bring me into the league with the rest of u guys.

OK on the pipes. I have checked, nothing local available on the bucket. Mine is ok but not as good as i would like. Please do send me that link to the bucket (i have a good ring).
thx
J

[strangedaze39]

Hey Jim,

Yep a good paint job can make all the difference. Can't wait to see the pics. BTW thanks for looking for any headers, just keep me in mind if you ever see a set.

Quick question:

My gauges have gone to hell real quickly recently. The problem I'm having is massive needle jumping around 60mph on the speedometer and 5k rpm on the tachometer. Today I took them off and apart and the seating totally feel apart on it but I'm going to either have to pick up some new rubber seating (which thank god they still sell) or get some new tachs/speedos. I'm also willing to pay someone for a repair job to be done on them. I know that the cables are fine because they are only a month old and still square and the bottom or the gauges that the cables plug into seem square as well, kind of thrown off by that.

As of now I'm riding without them but it's something I really rather have on there. Any ideas would be helpful.

[hs2k007]

great job on the build.  i have started my restore on a 72 350f as well.  it is green as well.  i am looking to replace my wheels right now.  i found all the parts and may try to lace them myself.  i think i may repaint my bike the original color and leave the stripes off but paint the emblems orange like the stripes.  great work so far though.  do you have any links or contacts for the parts you have purchased?

[fastbroshi]

  Hmm I just noticed those carbs look similar to to my 550's (they're marked 069a).  What kind are yours?

[strangedaze39]

Question:

 I'm super frustrated right now. It seems like it's something new every day and it consumes much more time fixing this thing instead of riding it. Now for no apparent reason it's having a extremely hard time running it sounds like banging coming from my clutch/points area and the bike has NO go I can barely go down the street and all it does it putt putt putt then die when idling. What is going on? It was running better then ever just a couple hours ago, I checked my points gap and timing and the timing is on but it seems like it's almost misfiring because the strobe has a poor pattern. I'm not going to touch it tonight, but any suggestions would be helpful if I take a look at it tomorrow.

Thanks. BTW I'll fastbroshi and hs2k007 I'll get back to you asap on those questions and links.

[Jim]

SD39
I have spare speedo and tach. They are better than on mine as are less faded in the face (and lower mileage on the speedo). Before u think of replacement however you should consider the wheel hub and mechanism within. I had the same speed jumping problem and discovered resolution was with a tab washer (need to refer to manual for correct name) which serves to operate the cable at its base. $7 replacement fixed it ... was only worn out at the tab. I discovered it by putting an electric drill on the cable at the hub to isolate it. At all speeds of the electric drill the speedo worked well so i concluded the problem was in the hub. Disassembly there made the problem obvious. You may wish to try that. If not... PM me about the gages if you are interested.
Don't loose faith.
J

[strangedaze39]

Thanks Jim, thats a good idea. I never thought of it actually being on the engine/wheel instead of the cable tachs. I'll do some testing with a drill and see if it's the gauges or somewhere else. If you could look here:
http://www.bikebandit.com/houseofmotorcycles/honda-motorcycle-cb350f-1972/o/m9197

and tell me what number part it is, because their is a couple different washers and collars.

BTW I haven't looked at the bike today but I was just so tired and fed up last night, but I'm feeling more cooled off about it today. Hopefully I'll have it fixed soon.

Any ideas why it would go from running great to basically not running?

[Jim]

Look at front tire and Part 13. Box Assy; That should dissemble.
Inside is a washer with lug which turns a light gear which turns the cable; the lug will wear off.

My Haynes manual (hardcopy) shows that "box" as a part with internals.

Dont know about the loss of power. I reviewed your thread, could be anything but the solution will come. That kind of thing jhappens to me all the time.
J

[strangedaze39]

Got my tached fully restored with OEM parts and my new Mivvs 4-4s in there, and a ton of other parts. I'll take some pics ASAP.

 This is kinda weird. Last night I decided to take it down the road just to see if I could get something in the engine "unstuck" and it wouldn't go over 3000rpms, so I open the throttle all the way up and hold it there for a couple seconds and then COUGH COUGH speeds up for a second. Repeat, same thing speeds up for longer, and on the 3rd time it runs a 100% like normal.

My buddy kept suggesting I might have a sticking valve or piston ring. I really don't know but this is the 2nd time this has happened and want to get it fixed sometime this winter. Maybe just a good carbon cleaning would help. Or does this sound like something else? Quick FYI, I noticed the compression in 1&4 was weaker then 2&3 before I got it coughed whatever was wrong with it out.

[hs2k007]

i had similar symtoms.  i think it was water in my gas, as i had just used the reserve.  put fuel system cleaner in and idled the bike while cutting grass.  runs better than before the water in the gas

[mattcb350f]

Sounds like either carb woes or.....well.......the carbs I guess, since you've had a look at the ignition.

Sometimes it's hard to tell whether the problem is lack of fuel or too much of it.

The trick I use to find out is when the bike is acting up, just like yours is, I put on the choke a little bit while it's acting up.

Putting the choke on (but not quite all the way, but nearly all the way) will enrichen the mixture.

If the engine then runs worse......than the engine is getting too much fuel.

If the engine then runs better (momentarily).....then the engine isn't getting enough fuel.


...also check the fuel cap vent........sometimes the best answer is the simplist 

 Matt.

[strangedaze39]

Well, this is way outdated. I'll try to fill you guys in briefly as possible with what's new. If you have questions on how I did something, I'd be glad to elaborate for ya.

What's new:
- I actually ended up hand pin striping the tank myself with stripe tape and it turned out great! Here's a shot of that.



Current shot:


Oh and for the post about the crappy running ages ago, ended up being a mix of a crappy intake and carb balancing   Been running like a dream since I've picked up on a lot of turning information (thanks to this great place)
I feel bad I let this thread drift so far behind, I'll be keeping you guys updated quite a bit now since I'm doing another overhaul after the hit and run crapdeal.

So what's coming up?
-New clutch *
-Front end rebuild
-Head replacement *
-New RK chain, still have the OEM one on there   *
-Seat rebuild foam/cover/chrome trim
-Finish the cafe seat, which I haven't even talked about yet. I'd be glad to help anyone else with a how-to for building one from fiberglass.

*=On it's way.


I also need to repair the right side Mivv 4/4 if I can't find another set someone is willing to trade + money or just sell a whole set. ( If anyone has or can help me find a set I would be extremely grateful, this might or might now be appealing but I'm also willing to trade my functional but dinged and scratched + $200+ for just a good right side. If someone doesn't care about the damage or would like to repair it themselves)

Hopefully I'll have some of the parts by next friday, so some real work can get done. I want to get a pic of what it looks like as it sits right now as well, it's torn down pretty good. Should be taking a lot more pics now that I have a useable digital camera.

Check out my parts wanted list, if you have any extra parts.
http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=52668.0

Edit: What do you think about replacing coils with new stock spec coils? The coils I have now work fine from what I can tell, but the coil wires that run to the plug are old and fairly dry rotted looking. Think it's worth replacing the whole coil or just trying to splice some new cables on there?

[hoodellyhoo]

There was a good thread that Raul made some years ago about putting new wires in old coils. I'll see if I can find it...

[strangedaze39]

Thanks hoodellyhoo, I actually was searching for post by Raul after your recommendation and stumbled across this thread he was responding to. Maybe this is the one your thinking of but just mistook the OP? Anyways check out the attachment on this post. It's quite a find
http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=10429.msg98088#msg98088

He actually does something unusual, instead of splicing the wires he goes to the root of the wire and completely replaces it. I'd rather not chop spend the extra time chopping them up, but I can see the point in it. We'll see.

I think I'm going to keep the coils and replace the wires, no point in getting new coils if the ones I have now are fine.