Topic: CB350f rebuild in Mumbai, India (yes thats right.....)

[rohit]

guys i am about half way through my rebuild. and its been tough. not so much the mechanical aspect, as I have a friend who is helping me out there, but the parts have been really difficult to come by here. since i have just joined the forum, i will be starting this thread mid way through, but i hope you all find it interesting and stay in tune with whats happening. I have also learnt a bunch of stuff the hard way. hope to list them all soon.....

comments, advise and ideas are very very welcome

Thanks Matt for the thread guide to this place. I am still finding my feet on this site. Its great to suddenly have friends on this project while earlier it was only me and my buddy....

Rohit

[Hush]

Are there many Honda 4's in India?

[rohit]

Hush,

Quite a few Honda 4's here. But India being what it was (before liberalisation in 1991.......) imports were difficult and tedious.....but yes there are a few. I know of 2 mint cb750 k2 and k4. There are quite a few dohc 4's as well as 400f and surprisingly 350f's as well. Condition of most of them nothing really to write home about. You should have seen the state of the bike when I picked it up.....anywhere else it would have been broken and sold. Now things are starting to pick up slowly. There are quite a few imports prickling in. All grey market, as it is very expensive to import officially. In India the duty on new bikes is 110% of invoice value. So the Yamaha R1 officially imported by Yamaha India costs 25000 USD + local taxes....... Yup there is no typo error there. What most people do is buy brand new bikes in Singapore or Dubai or wherever, break them down into parts, bring it in as kit (14% duty) and put it together again here.......

The 2 most popular imports are the 600rr and the R6. Sad because you cant ride those bikes here.....Our country is a lot more suited to the naked/retro/street bike

Ro

[bgfootball67]

Ro throw up some pics of your build!  With the help of this site and a few buddies I was able to put together my bike.  People on this site are an incredible resource of information.....

[rohit]

I am trying to figure out how to cut and paste some snaps. I am a bit computer challenged......but i am trying should have it up soon
Ro

[rohit]

Okie guys,

Here is the 1st pic of my rebuild. I have been trying to attach snaps directly, but havnt been able. Just cut and paste the link below. And please dont laugh guys.......



http://www.kodakgallery.com/Slideshow.jsp?mode=fromshare&Uc=tk39fyt.b0v5ql9l&Uy=-xloirc&Ux=0&UV=504823436133_742124116209

[Hush]

OK that works Rohit now show us something interesting!
What's ya chrome like?
What condition are your pipes?
Paint job options?
You are now part of the international family of SOHC 4 owners, with that title comes responsibilities!!!!
You gotta keep us amused with your rebuild photos.

[rohit]

I knew you guys would be laughing...... and i will put up more. The hubs, fork lowers and engine covers are being buffed right now. I have my fingers crossed they come out good. took the trouble of importing the buffing bars from japan. i have also downloaded the correct dupont refinish formula for the 3 coats of paint that have to go on the tank, side covers and fork uppers (candy bacchus olive). will have the snaps up tomorrow

[bunghole]

Rohit,

I give you serious kudos for undertaking this build where you are.  I can imagine how difficult it will be to source parts.  It is hard enough here in the U.S.

By the way, I travelled around Rajasthan by car (with hired driver) a few months ago and I would be afraid to drive a car there...much less a motorcycle.  Be careful!

Were you affected by the bombings in Mumbai?  Edit.  Mumbai hasn't been bombed since '96 I don't think.  The recent bombings were in other cities I believe.

[UnCrash]

Great to see that you're dedicated to bringing this old bike back to the road!

Here's my photo recommendations ---> Sign up for www.photobucket.com  It's very easy to attach a digital camera to your computer and upload directly there.

The service is free! 

Once the pictures are loaded there you can easily click on the place where they list the forum link for the photo and paste it here then click on the Insert Image icon in the icon row here in the post reply icons...

I'll post your wrapped frame photo for you.



All the best of luck with your efforts~!

[rohit]

thanks for the encouragement guys..... i will sign up to photobucket

rajasthan is fantastic. i am working on a couple of hotel projects there and go often..... the roads in rj are some of the best we have and still very dangerous relative to what you guys are used to. riding is obviously even more difficult. but we are careful. since the roads are not so great and driving conditions even more so riding is not a lifestyle activity here. we are in the minority. most people here ride econobikes. they are 100cc to 150cc and return economy figures of 190 miles per gallon on an average. they entry level bikes cost less than a 1000 usd. india makes and sells these bikes by the million annually

because public transport is lousy in most parts of the country, people have to rely on 2 wheelers for all of their transport needs

we havnt had a bombing in Mumbai for a while now. the last was a couple of years ago. no city in the world in immune anymore.....i guess

anyway cheers guys and thanks for all the help and encouragement. i hope my buffed parts come out well enough to show off to you guys

Ro

[Kwality]

I've spent a bit of time riding (scooters) in India.  In '97 my travel mate and I bought a couple of Bajaj Chetak scoots (Vespa clones) and rode them from Delhi to England.  I'd not ridden outside Australia before, and Indian road rules and customs were a little challenging.

Three fundamental rules:

(1) Might is Right.  If it's bigger than you, get the hell out of the way.

(2) Use the horn.

(3) Use the horn.

I don't recall seeing many Honda's.  In '97 there were a few rebadged/remade RD350's (under the name Rajdoot) and some locally made Jawa knockoffs called Yezdi which were interesting.

India is a top spot, and so is Mumbai.  I'm looking forward to our cricket team returning victorious from their forthcoming tour.

Anyhoo - good luck with the build and keep us posted!

Leigh

[mattcb350f]

Good to see the project thread started Rohit 

I linked the image for ya below. When you get the 'photobucket' album started and pics uploaded, you can paste a direct link to you post here on this website by copying and pasting the picture url.

When you click the 'insert image' button on the 'post reply' page which is below the "U" button one of these will appear on the screen: {img}{img}

Insert the url that photo bucket gives for a 'direct link' between the [img}IN HERE{/img]http://and when you post, the picture will appear.


Here's Rohits 350F build:



 Matt.

[rohit]

okay photobucket here i come