Topic: Restoring a CB350F

[jmcgill]

I'm close to buying a 1973 CB350F that is in need of restoration.  It already has a rusty aftermarket exhaust....and the only other bad areas of the bike are the paint, rusty handlebars and a rusted out seat.

Nice thing is that it comes with a spare motor and a box of extra parts.

Can anyone out there tell me what interchangable body parts there are for this bike?  Specifically, can you use seats and handlebars from other hondas on it?

Thanks,

Joe

[Kevin400F]

Various handlebars from other models would work, simply find one with the height/width/angles that suit your preference.   I believe the seat is specific to the CB350F, but with a bit of ingenuity you could probably adapt one from another model by modifying/relocating the hinge and latch hardware. 

[bender01]

The front fender can be had from a cb350g twin. Maybe the front wheel too? It has a disc brake also. New throttle cables are rare but I believe western hills honda had one more set last june. I have a new push cable I dont need.

[schwebel]

Any handlebar that is 7/8's will fit. I have "superbike" bars on mine, and they are great. Other seats will not fit, at least with a stock tank. I tried a 350 twin and 500f seats just for giggles and they do not fit. Good news is that just about anything from a 400f will fit. You could swap the tank and seat from one of those, but you are more likely to find a 350f seat cheaper. DavidSilverSpares.com sells repro seats with new foam, pan, and cover for around $200. They are across the pond but I have found shiping fast and reasonable. They also have some hard to find stuff. As far as exhaust goes. The factory or repro factories are very $$$. I made my exhaust from my headpipes and 4-2 silencers from a 500f. I had to mod it a little but it works and sounds great. If the headpipes are gone, there are still a couple options out there.

[jmcgill]

Thanks for the info.

I am a bit scared by the prospect of synchronizing the carbs on this bike, but I am sure I can do it with some practice. 

The pipes aren't gone on the bike, just rusty.  Worst case, I can paint them (LOL!). 

It probably needs new cables all around, but the wiring seems to be somewhat intact, the starter works, I heard that.   It may need new switches, though.

The seat may be save-able.....but I don't know.  It has no padding left, I know that.

If the title isn't too terribly hard to procure, I may go for it.

[Prospect]

I'm currently restoring a cb350f and can confirm that a lot of parts from the cb400 are interchangeable.  If you're unsure if you can use parts from other bikes then look up the part number online http://www.westernhillshondayamaha.com/ and compare the numbers from other bikes.  If the numbers match then they're interchangeable. 

Any Pictures?  What year?

[jmcgill]

It's not looking good now.  I probably will be hard pressed to get a title for it as there are at least two owners before me, and neither of them had a title.  At this rate, I'm probably going to pass on it and look for another Honda Four of some kind.

I'm OK with a project, but I don't want to have to get into a legal battle over the Title.

[SHELLFISH]

http://www.westernhillshondayamaha.com/ and

 There are less expensive OEM dealers out there.

[jmcgill]

I'm probably going to pass on that cb350F....I just don't want to deal with a title-less bike. 

I've got my eyes on two CB550's that might be very good projects, though!

Thanks for all the information and help.

[hoodellyhoo]

A cb550 sounds good too. They seem to make a very good all-rounder

[fmctm1sw]

I'm probably going to pass on that cb350F....I just don't want to deal with a title-less bike. 

It just got a lot more expensive getting a title too.  I have a thread here about it...

[jmcgill]

Well,

I ended up buying that CB350F.  I made the guy an offer of $300 for the bike, extra engine and extra frame, and he took it.  Its going to be quite a while until I get it on the road and I'll probably need all that time to get a title, so I'm going to start assembling the parts I'm going to need.

I'm definitely going to need a seat, first thing.  Other than that I'm going to wait and see what else when I take delivery. 

I look forward to all the advice I'll get here!

[hoodellyhoo]

Congrats on the new project and good luck withthe title. Hope it all works out.

[fmctm1sw]

re: title

Last I looked Broadway was $350, ITS was $250 and you need to send them copies of your drivers license, proof of insurance, a VIN inspection form and a vehicle inspection among other things.  I didn't have a chance to call Staab Agency yet but I did google them and found the owner was in jail for tax evasion or something a few years ago. 

[Gnat]

Titles..hmmmm. a problem yes?

I am building a 1974 350F-1 and have found that a whole bunch of parts arre interchangable. Honestly its not a worry e-Bay has almost everything you need and Craigslist has everything else. And you need to remember....Adapt,Improvise...Overcome.

My DNV in MS wanted a valid title. The bike was originally titled in TN. So I live in one and work in the other. I took the frame to my local Honda dealer and got a varification of the VIN number, the gave me a letter, took it and the frame to the TN DMV with the frame. Drug the frame into the office and TN issued me a salvage title. MS gave me one based on that title. TN was $13.50 MS was $20.00....

Title requirements vary vastly from state to state....but if you get one from one its easy to get one anywhere else..I'd check neighboring states.

Happy building I'm having a ball with mine!

Gnat

[jmcgill]

ITS quoted me $200.  Most likely that's the route I'll take....but why spend the cash now?  It won't be road worthy for a long time, and this is a long term, labor of love type of project, so I'm not picky about the title.  VA has other routes...but they're time consuming. 

There are a couple of seats on Ebay right now, and I may buy a CB400 seat and see if it fits.  One thing I won't be spending money on soon is engine parts, luckily.  I'm going to teach myself how to paint with a gun and compressor for this bike, so that I can repaint my tank and side covers. 

[fmctm1sw]

ITS quoted me $200.  Most likely that's the route I'll take....but why spend the cash now?  It won't be road worthy for a long time, and this is a long term, labor of love type of project, so I'm not picky about the title.  VA has other routes...but they're time consuming. 

There are a couple of seats on Ebay right now, and I may buy a CB400 seat and see if it fits.  One thing I won't be spending money on soon is engine parts, luckily.  I'm going to teach myself how to paint with a gun and compressor for this bike, so that I can repaint my tank and side covers. 

Did you get through on the phone?  What did they tell you to send them?  Did they say they were sending plates?

[jmcgill]

Talked to their rep.  Said that plates would be sent. 

I'm going to try Virginia first, but that'll probably fail.

[camelman]

If you are doing a full rebuild, and notice that your forks suck (they do, just accept it), then you might want to check out the CB360T forks.  Plenty on eBay, and they are much better than the stock 350F units.  I believe the 360T forks are the same as on the 400F.  I had my 350f out the other day, and boy did it have some wobbles.  I have new bushings and bearings in it, but the rear shocks are old and the forks are worn out.  I didn't exactly feel planted in the turns.

Camelman

[Andrew Schauer]

Before you sink a bunch of money in to a title-less bike, you might want to consider getting a title first.  You would not be the first person to spend money on a project, and then find out it legally belongs to someone else who wants it back....