Author Topic: help me identify the year of this CB350  (Read 14819 times)

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Offline westondc

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help me identify the year of this CB350
« on: June 14, 2010, 01:40:32 PM »
So i was looking at this CB350 on craigslist and emailed the guy. he came down from $1000 to $600 for it. it runs with title and 14500 miles on it. he says its a 71' but i'm thinking 68' or 69'. i emailed him again asking if he's sure of the year. no reply yet. any ideas what year it might be?

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Rider no. 115 on the 2012 SOHC/4 Honda World Tour
Rider no. 274 on the 2011 SOHC/4 Honda World Tour
1972 Honda CB500k1
1971 Honda CB350k3
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just be a vagabond, living out of a backpack on a little Honda, cruisin all over the damn place....
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Offline Johnie

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Re: help me identify the year of this CB350
« Reply #1 on: June 14, 2010, 02:05:45 PM »
This should help you out. Honda CB350 Super Sport:

CB350K0
Sell Date: 1968-69
Rel Date: 02/29/68
Product Code: 287 (Middle number of Honda part numbers)
Frame number: CB350-1000001
Engine number: CB350E-1000001
Colors:
Candy Blue/White
Candy Red/White (shown)
Green/White

CB350K1
Sell Date: 1969
Rel Date: 05/01/69
Product Code: 287 (Middle number of Honda part numbers)
Frame number: CB350-1020596
Engine number: CB350E-1045165
Colors:
Candy Blue/White
Candy Red/White (shown)
Green/White

CB350K2
Sell Date: 1970
Rel Date: 02/10/70
Product Code: 317 (Middle number of Honda part numbers)
Frame number: CB350-2000001
Engine number: CB350E-2000001
Colors:
Candy Blue Green /White
Candy Gold /White (shown)
Candy Ruby Red /White
1970 CB750K0 - Candy Ruby Red
1973 CB750K3 - Candy Bacchus Olive or Sunflake Orange
1970 Chevy Chevelle SS396 - Cortez Silver
1976 GL1000 Sulphur Yellow

Oshkosh, WI  USA

Offline MickeyX

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Re: help me identify the year of this CB350
« Reply #2 on: June 14, 2010, 02:16:02 PM »
From the paint, the style of gas tank, the headlight and the side covers, I'm thinking a '68/69. Actually, they didn't really make '69s as a separate year model, they just sold the leftover/later # '68s. You won't find parts fiche for a 69 specifically. It may say a different year on the title but back then, many states titled it whatever year it originally sold in. So if it sat for a few years at the dealer, it may say it's a 70 or 71. Definitely not older than a 69 though from what I see. If the frame/engine says cb350-1xxxxxx, it is definitely a '68/69 model. Each year after that went up 1 number for the 1st digit in the VIN. i.e. CB350-2xxxxxx, 3xxxxxxx etc.

Depending on where you live and what kind of shape it's in and what it needs to get it where you want it to be, show bike or ratty or daily rider, $600 may be a bit much or just right for a starting price. No more than that though unless it's cherry. We have 2 CL350's, which is the scrambler version of this bike. Parts are everywhere and these bikes were some of the biggest production bikes made by Honda so not rare or anything. Selling price should reflect this. Some parts are almost impossible to track down though.

Make no mistake, you will probably need to put quit a bit of $$ into it and spend some serious time setting it up so it runs right. They are very touchy carbs and many people end up putting on other ones that are easier to deal with. Having said that, Paulages set up our '73 for us but it took many ultrasonic cleanings, much messing around, much resetting, many pissed moments and scratching of heads to get it running really well. Paul has done 100's of these and still had a rough time until it finally fell into place. I'm not saying they aren't good bikes but they do take some serious dedication to get them running smoothly.


For carb rebuild, we just went with the o-ring sets from Honda for $11 as I recall, no new jets since the bike has around 5k miles, tire sizes are hard to find for these, so many go with Avon Roadriders 90/90-front and 100/90 rear. The air filters are pretty expensive, at $35 each, depending where you go, over $42 each. The cables usually need replacing and if the front brake one is toast, good luck finding a new one. They no longer exist. They have a electrical wire connected in the middle of it on a switch for the rear light. The years after '68/69have it separate and the right handlebar pod is different. When you do find one, it will run around $80-100 for the correct one.

Front and rear drum brakes. :( Only 1 fuse on the whole bike.  ;D
 
Some parts are good for all years but not all obviously. Good luck.  :)
« Last Edit: June 14, 2010, 09:40:19 PM by MickeyX »
1969 CL350 Scrambler... almost done!!! Well, until something else goes wrong. :)
2006 HD 883 Sportster, stock. No use changing it, it's still gonna be a Harley.

Offline kirkn

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Re: help me identify the year of this CB350
« Reply #3 on: June 14, 2010, 03:34:16 PM »
Jeez, what difference does it make?!?   $600 for a running, titled 350?  Sheesh, around here it'd easily fetch DOUBLE that!!  What are you waiting for??

And, I'd have to respectfully disagree with Mickey's overall assessment and tone - the 350s are cake, easy to work on, and parts are as plentiful as any vintage bike you could want.  (Although, I'm definitively NOT a stickler for originality and nearly ANY vintage Honda bits and bobs will do (switch pods, etc) ).  And information?  Available by the truckload!!

:)  :)

Kirk

Offline westondc

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Re: help me identify the year of this CB350
« Reply #4 on: June 14, 2010, 04:01:43 PM »
i got a reply back from the guy. he insists that its a 71'. i think the only way to know for sure is to go there and match the title with the frame and engine VIN. the bikes about 2 hours away and i hate to drive all the way there with a trailer if i endup not buying it. he said the tank was off and the inside was being sandblasted  :-\. i also noticed that the OD reading in the picture doesn't match what was originally stated. is something starting to smell fishy here...
B.O.X.N.I.F.E. Hospital fund https://www.everribbon.com/ribbon/view/8352
Rider no. 115 on the 2012 SOHC/4 Honda World Tour
Rider no. 274 on the 2011 SOHC/4 Honda World Tour
1972 Honda CB500k1
1971 Honda CB350k3
the project http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=64499.0
Trip/Project Blog http://easterntowestern.blogspot.com/
Quote
just be a vagabond, living out of a backpack on a little Honda, cruisin all over the damn place....
"As your attorney, I advise you to buy a motorcycle. How else can we cover a thing like this righteously?"

Offline westondc

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Re: help me identify the year of this CB350
« Reply #5 on: June 14, 2010, 04:03:49 PM »
i have a good understanding about these 350s. i bought a non running 72 cb350 as my first bike two years ago. i spent a summer working on it and rebuilding the carbs. bought it for $350 and put another $300 in parts and such. after i got it running (lots of time and work) i rode it for a year and sold it to my friend to buy my current 72 CB500. well i want a CB350 twin again. here's my old cb350 before i sold it. (it came with scrambler pipes)
B.O.X.N.I.F.E. Hospital fund https://www.everribbon.com/ribbon/view/8352
Rider no. 115 on the 2012 SOHC/4 Honda World Tour
Rider no. 274 on the 2011 SOHC/4 Honda World Tour
1972 Honda CB500k1
1971 Honda CB350k3
the project http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=64499.0
Trip/Project Blog http://easterntowestern.blogspot.com/
Quote
just be a vagabond, living out of a backpack on a little Honda, cruisin all over the damn place....
"As your attorney, I advise you to buy a motorcycle. How else can we cover a thing like this righteously?"

Offline mlinder

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Re: help me identify the year of this CB350
« Reply #6 on: June 14, 2010, 04:28:59 PM »
Might help. Could very well be a different tank, I mean, easy enough to swap that crap around from year to year.

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Offline Johnie

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Re: help me identify the year of this CB350
« Reply #7 on: June 14, 2010, 04:32:48 PM »
So doesn't he have the tag on the steering stem neck which tells the year and build date? Or was that not on the bike in that year? If he has the tank off he should be able to see it real easy if it is on there.
1970 CB750K0 - Candy Ruby Red
1973 CB750K3 - Candy Bacchus Olive or Sunflake Orange
1970 Chevy Chevelle SS396 - Cortez Silver
1976 GL1000 Sulphur Yellow

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Offline westondc

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Re: help me identify the year of this CB350
« Reply #8 on: June 14, 2010, 04:50:56 PM »
So doesn't he have the tag on the steering stem neck which tells the year and build date? Or was that not on the bike in that year? If he has the tank off he should be able to see it real easy if it is on there.

that's what I'm thinking, the date should be stamped right there on the frame. i don't know if the guy is just going by what year is on the title or if he's just not willing to really look into it. could very easily be that someone switched the tank and sidecovers from an earlier 350, but in that case i wouldn't really be interested in the bike.
B.O.X.N.I.F.E. Hospital fund https://www.everribbon.com/ribbon/view/8352
Rider no. 115 on the 2012 SOHC/4 Honda World Tour
Rider no. 274 on the 2011 SOHC/4 Honda World Tour
1972 Honda CB500k1
1971 Honda CB350k3
the project http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=64499.0
Trip/Project Blog http://easterntowestern.blogspot.com/
Quote
just be a vagabond, living out of a backpack on a little Honda, cruisin all over the damn place....
"As your attorney, I advise you to buy a motorcycle. How else can we cover a thing like this righteously?"

Offline MickeyX

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Re: help me identify the year of this CB350
« Reply #9 on: June 14, 2010, 09:39:45 PM »
I'm not sure what "tone" you thought I was typing. It was just black and white letters to me.  ;)

Nothing I've said is false or embellished. Some of the key replacement parts for the '68/69 are simply not made anymore and are very hard to track down. I specified which ones I've come across or ones that are a bit expensive. All verifiable fact, not opinion. The carbs can definitely be a pain and also verifiable that many people switch them out with a better setup. As Paul says.... sometimes you just have a bad carb. Nothing to do about it. No way to fix it, just get a different one or set and move on. Not my made up hollywood-ized version of a story, just the truth.

I like the bikes. I have 2. Most of the parts are plentiful. We had no problem getting any part we needed for the '73, but with the '69, we ran into issues on specific parts. Nowhere to be found. I waited and waited and waited until something emerged online for sale. I'm still needing some stuff but no one has any for sale yet. So I wait. That 1st production year had some unique stuff that was changed in the '70-71 years and after.

Think what you want. I don't really care. I can only go by what I've experienced for a bike of the '68/69 years and the collective experience from local guys who've worked on 100's between them, built racers, stocks, etc. The CL and CB are completely compatible, just a few things like the exhaust looks different but still fits the same.

If you get it, I hope you have as much fun as we are riding ours. It's a tiny and light blast compared to our CB650.

Here's our '73... we put on a new cafe seat and a used tank off of a '73 "G" bike. We kept the stripes and bedlinered the rest of the tank and fixed a huge creased dent.



 :) :)
1969 CL350 Scrambler... almost done!!! Well, until something else goes wrong. :)
2006 HD 883 Sportster, stock. No use changing it, it's still gonna be a Harley.

Offline MickeyX

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Re: help me identify the year of this CB350
« Reply #10 on: June 14, 2010, 09:51:17 PM »
Btw, unless they changed the headlight bucket, the top tree, the carbs, the taillight, the fork ears and the seat  (besides the tank and the sidecovers), it's a '68. Beware if this guy is giving you multiple stories on the year or isn't sure for some reason. That is a very complete '68, right down to the slight difference in the carbs.

Oh, and the oil cover looks biffed. Might want to check for leaks or cracking around that area. Maybe have a peek in there to be sure.  :)
« Last Edit: June 14, 2010, 09:53:42 PM by MickeyX »
1969 CL350 Scrambler... almost done!!! Well, until something else goes wrong. :)
2006 HD 883 Sportster, stock. No use changing it, it's still gonna be a Harley.

Offline westondc

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Re: help me identify the year of this CB350
« Reply #11 on: June 14, 2010, 11:48:14 PM »

Hey MickeyX, i've seen pictures of that 350 of yours and i love it! that seat looks great. i was going to ask you how you painted the original tank decal over that black?


Btw, unless they changed the headlight bucket, the top tree, the carbs, the taillight, the fork ears and the seat  (besides the tank and the sidecovers), it's a '68. Beware if this guy is giving you multiple stories on the year or isn't sure for some reason. That is a very complete '68, right down to the slight difference in the carbs.

Oh, and the oil cover looks biffed. Might want to check for leaks or cracking around that area. Maybe have a peek in there to be sure.  :)

thanks, thats the reply i was looking for. oh you forgot to mention the '68 front fender  ;D
« Last Edit: June 14, 2010, 11:51:10 PM by westondc »
B.O.X.N.I.F.E. Hospital fund https://www.everribbon.com/ribbon/view/8352
Rider no. 115 on the 2012 SOHC/4 Honda World Tour
Rider no. 274 on the 2011 SOHC/4 Honda World Tour
1972 Honda CB500k1
1971 Honda CB350k3
the project http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=64499.0
Trip/Project Blog http://easterntowestern.blogspot.com/
Quote
just be a vagabond, living out of a backpack on a little Honda, cruisin all over the damn place....
"As your attorney, I advise you to buy a motorcycle. How else can we cover a thing like this righteously?"

Offline kirkn

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Re: help me identify the year of this CB350
« Reply #12 on: June 15, 2010, 04:03:32 AM »
Uncle!  Uncle!  I give!  :)

All I thought was that your first post seemed pretty down on 'em.  I've never experienced the difficulties you have, nor ever heard others list 'em out either, so I thought maybe you had some one-off experiences and didn't want you to 'skew' westondc.

But, clearly, you're knowledgeable on the defects, and I must confess my own ignorance of the 68/69 difficulties you mentioned.  The 3 I've owned were all later 71/72/73s.  And, I'm nowhere near a stickler for 'correct'.  I'd have adapted and been done, rather than waited for something correct.

So, I didn't mean to offend, just voicing a different set of experiences.  Sorry 'bout that.   :-[

That said, I STILL think it's a good enough deal whatever it is and whatever flake the owner turns out to be.  As I say, around here, a titled runner would go for twice that amount.  As long as the title really DOES match the bike.  If the title has some odd VIN or things don't match, then all bets are off.

But, if it isn't what one wants, it isn't what one wants.  No harm there!

Kirk

:)
« Last Edit: June 15, 2010, 04:05:14 AM by kirkn »

Offline MickeyX

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Re: help me identify the year of this CB350
« Reply #13 on: June 15, 2010, 09:24:45 AM »
As long as the title matches, then I'd say not a bad deal. We live in a semi-expensive area for old Hondas around Portland. They are definitely getting more popular around here. We paid $450 for a decent '69 and $600 for a barely running/rideable '73 (no title but we've got one now) with tons of spare parts, but needed lots of upgrades on the cables, tires and such.

Since the OP lives in Nebraska, I'd say he has to weigh what things normally go for there and decide if it's a good deal or he needs to offer less. It looks very complete but the other thing to consider is how much of that original stuff is still safe to use and what he is willing to pay overall to get it the way he wants it. Ours still had the original tires on from '73.  :o I also think no one ever changed out the air filters that entire time.  ::)
1969 CL350 Scrambler... almost done!!! Well, until something else goes wrong. :)
2006 HD 883 Sportster, stock. No use changing it, it's still gonna be a Harley.

Offline MickeyX

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Re: help me identify the year of this CB350
« Reply #14 on: June 15, 2010, 09:29:13 AM »
sandblasting the inside of the tank?  :o Noooooooooo.

Well with the tank off, he should be able to easily show the VIN tag on the neck in a pic.  ;)

Oh, the seat will lift front to back, not to the side on a '68.
1969 CL350 Scrambler... almost done!!! Well, until something else goes wrong. :)
2006 HD 883 Sportster, stock. No use changing it, it's still gonna be a Harley.

Offline 754

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Re: help me identify the year of this CB350
« Reply #15 on: June 15, 2010, 09:48:26 AM »
I like the early 350s with the wing emblem.. and 2Tone paint.

It may just be a titled in year sold thing.. If I was buying, I would rather get tank as is, rather than have some FOOL blasting it.. UUGGGHHH.. >:( :(

 Carbs on 350s.. I found this..
 every 2 weeks or so, I would  turn in the mixture screws, then back out to proper setting.. they never seemed to be able to stay at their setting.

 Back in the day..I got a hold of a set of KO carbs and put 2 on my bored and cammed hotrod 350..

 MickeyX what early parts do you need?
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Offline 333

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Re: help me identify the year of this CB350
« Reply #16 on: June 19, 2010, 07:04:12 PM »
So, here's the poop on the year thing.  And it's somewhat understandable, since for us, a new model year starts a few months early, and the Japanese might only carry a model from anywhere up to 18 months, or as little a 8 or 9.  They got in sync around 74, or so.

So, for y'all who have these early bikes, it's important to know which K or F model you have when buying parts.  Sometimes they're the same, sometimes they're not.
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Offline MaaseyRacer

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Re: help me identify the year of this CB350
« Reply #17 on: June 20, 2010, 12:44:33 AM »
1969
1961 CB72
1961 CB77
1962 CB77
1962 CB77
1965 CB160
1970 Triumph Bonneville
1972 Honda CB450
1975 Norton Commando

Offline kos

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Re: help me identify the year of this CB350
« Reply #18 on: June 21, 2010, 04:36:51 PM »
That's an early one. Probably 68-69.  year on the title means nothing as dealers could get new titles issued by Honda for units that never sold and sat in stock. Thus a 1969 could become 1970, on and on.


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