Topic: 1970 CB350 Twin Project

[Chicago550]

I know it's not an SOHC4 but I hope you'll give me some slack I just got this bike with the intention to fix it up for my girl friend to learn on. It was a deal and I thought I might give it a go since I've had experience with my CB550. One thing that's already strange is that it's a 1970 model but has a 73 tank, side covers and seat (hinges on left side vs. back).

The tank's definitely not original but what's up with the seat? I really like the look of the look of the 70-71 tanks and would swap the tank but will that work with the seat set-up? I've looked at some fiche and it just seems wrong. Any ideas???

[mikebarg]

Those small twins are cool. I had a 76 CJ360 back in the day. I had a lot of fun riding it.

[DollarBill]

The seat looks a little bigger than stock...  Mine is a 73 with the stock tank and seat.  The 70 model had a narrower tank I believe but was basically the same size. 

What it looked like when I bought it:
http://detejas.com/images/photos/caferacer/cb350-lg.jpg

What it looks like now with the exception of reverse cone exhaust...got rid of the side pipes:
http://detejas.com/images/photos/caferacer/CB350-Cafe.jpg

They are fun bikes and easy to work on.  Good luck with yours!

[DollarBill]

The side cover may be a 73 but the badge on it is not.  It's looks smaller than the 73 I have.

[Chicago550]

Well, since I'm waiting for parts I decided to sand the sidecovers, strip the paint off the tank and prime. I've still got to take the fork ears/covers and headlight bucket off. That will have to wait until next week.

There are a few minor dents on the tank that I want to fix. I thought about getting one of those suction pullers but do they even work? I don't have welding gear and don't have experience with body work. How much would a shop charge just to pull the dents? Anyone have this done?

[Chicago550]

So, I was able to get quite a bit done on the bike last week. New tires, battery, rebuilt petcock, new fuel lines w/in-line filters, new gas cap gasket and lock, cleaned brakes, lubed cables, cleaned/greased electrics, blew out air filters, new plugs, new front fender, fixed dents, painted all the body parts (rattle can & spraymax), and changed the oil several times (it was milky). Basically got her back in decent shape.

She's running and even idles but will definitely need some tuning. I am noticing that the front brake is a little funky. The shoes looked fine so maybe I just need to adjust it some. I'm hoping to have everything sorted out by next week so I can start teaching my girl friend to ride it. I'll post some before and after pics soon.

[Chicago550]

This is how the front end looked.

[Chicago550]

I'm really surprised at how good it cleaned up so far.

[DollarBill]

Nice work!  It looks great and I love that blue color!

[Chicago550]

Thanks, the photos didn't come out great since it was so bright out. I'm happy with it so far.

I took her for a spin today and need to play with the idle adjustment and brakes (revs way too high and the front brake is still sketchy). Does anyone know what would cause the horn not to work (besides it just being broken)? I checked the wiring in the headlight bucket and took the handlebar switch apart, cleaned it up—seemed fine there. I probably wouldn't care too much about this but since it's for my girl friend I want everything to work properly.