1972 Honda CB

CB350401186

Up for auction is a 1972 350 twin. I just finished this a couple months ago and have been riding it around since. It shows 12,000 miles in the pics, but will have a few hundred more by the time the auction closes. It runs great and is reliable to a fault now. The exhaust sounds AWESOME, and gives a deep roar when you roll off the throttle. I didn’t know a CB350 could sound this good.The Ride:The engine starts up on the first or second kick. The electric start works, but I just kick it. After a minute of listening to the idle, it is ready to roll, although you can start riding right away if you leave the choke on for twenty seconds or so. Once it is going, everyone knows you are coming. It isn’t too loud on the bike, but it has a great roar when you roll on and off the throttle. When you shift between gears and the engine RPM drop, it lets out this wicked growl. I seriously love this bike! Bumps are no problem, and the seat is surprisingly comfortable for a café seat. Seriously, I’ve ridden quite a few cafes, and none of them have comfortable seats… except for this one. I took it out for a 50 mile ride down highway 1 and back up the interstate the other day, and I could have stayed on it for another few hours. It ran perfectly the whole time, and had plenty of power on the interstate. Tank: I decided to go after a vintage look and mounted a Beneli Mojave tank. It comes with the stock orange paint, which is HOT! The original stickers and emblems are still on the tank. The Beneli 260 emblems can be swapped out with Honda Wings if you want. I finished the tank off with a stock Beneli Mojave fuel cap and two stock twist knob fuel valves. One valve to feed each carb and they don't leak! I made sure the tank was mounted solidly with a clip in the rear, locaters up front, and one bolt to hold it all down. It is easy to install and remove, but holds on tight once you turn the bolt. Seat: The seat fits the tank perfectly, and is possibly mounted even more solidly than the tank. I have seen way too many crappy seat and tank mounting jobs to waste my time on weak supports. Seriously, who wants the seat or tank falling off while they're riding? So, I made sure these guys were staying in place. The seat is held in by a clip in the rear and two wing nuts underneath in the front. Super solid, surprisingly comfortable, and it fits perfectly. I also added a little height to the seat when I mounted it so that I’d be comfortable. I’m 5’ 9”, and it fits perfectly with plenty of space if you are taller, and probably comfortable down to the lower 5’ range. The seat was painted with VW black and clear coated. Frame and Powder Coat: The frame was pulled completely apart, ground the tabs off for the center components, and then powder coated the whole thing including the swing arm, chain guard and maybe some other bits. The powder coat is tough as nails, and looks great. Wheels and Powder Coat: The wheels were pulled apart and the hubs/rims were powder coated black. Everything was reassembled with new spokes, and the wheels are true. The pics don’t really show how good the wheels look. I installed brand new Avon RoadRiders, which are the perfect tire for this bike. Engine Rebuild and Paint: The engine was pulled apart, bored out, new pistons, rings, circlips and timing gear. I replaced all of the gaskets I could, and checked the lower end bearings. I also lapped in the valves (which seat perfectly now), and replaced all of the top end gaskets. Everything looked great, so I bolted it back up. All of the original paint was stripped off, and the engine was repainted. Carb Rebuild: The carbs were rebuilt with all new internals and I also installed new carb boots and gaskets. The new boots are soft and pliable, and they seal perfectly to the carbs. The diaphragms were new, so I left them alone, although I did replace the needle while I was replacing all of the other internals (the floats are fine and are original). Ignition Replacement: The ignition was questionable, so I replaced everything. New Dyna coils, new points, new condensers, new handmade leads from the points to the coils, new plug wires, new plug caps, and new spark plugs. It is all new. Electrics: All of the old electrics were relocated underneath the seat. I also welded up a battery tray underneath the rear hump that holds the battery very securely. The rear lights are LEDs that are mounted at the edge of the rear lip of the seat. They blend in until you turn them on, at which point they are super bright. Handlebars and Controls: The handlebars are a beautiful set of new 33mm clipons that shine as much as the polished upper triple tree. The headlight ears are also new. Everything up front fits well, and the clipons have plenty of clearance to the tank. The front controls work great, and the headlight does not flicker at idle! I also installed a bar end mirror on both sides. I only have one shown in the pics. They fold inward to take up less room when stored. Exhaust: The exhaust pipes are the originals with VHT paint cured correctly in an oven. I mounted shorty mufflers up to the headers, and they sound amazing. Suspension Refurbish/Replace: The front fork tubes were replaced with tubes from "Forking by Frank" (who makes better tubes than the originals), cleaned out and filled with new fork oil... and the seals don’t leak. The rear shocks are brand new Hagons, and the rear swing arm is tight and smooth. The steering head bearings were replaced with tapered roller bearings from All Ballz. Brakes: The brakes were in great shape when I got the bike, so I left them alone. Everything Else: I’ve replaced darn near everything else on the bike too. Throttle cable, brake cable, clutch cable, front brake light switch, speed cable, tach cable, yada yada. The throttle tube is new as are the grips and footpeg rubber. There are loads of other new bits and pieces too, but you get the point… this bike is damned near new! If you want to change: I left the front fender alone because I like the look. The chrome is a little rough, but I can paint it the same black as the seat using automotive 2-part catalyzed paint if you want. The paint will be tough, and will be clear coated so it won't fade. I can do this for free if you want. The Beneli Mojave emblems can be removed and replaced with Honda wing emblems if you want.Shipping:I will work with your shipper, but you must arrange it. I've seen $200 pretty regularly from San Francisco to Los Angeles, and I had a quote a few months ago for $300 to Texas. Check out this site if you want an estimate: http://motorcycles.uship.com/california/san-francisco/On May-19-11 at 23:45:20 PDT, seller added the following information: I just added my favorite pic of the bike. Check it out, it is the last one in the list. It represents the color much better than the other pics! I'll hopefully add in a youtube video link tomorrow. On May-24-11 at 13:38:48 PDT, seller added the following information: I want to point out one item about the engine work I did that I think is critical. These engines were known for soft cylinders from the factory. They would harden from heat cycling in the first few thousand miles, but were ovalized by that point because the pistons and rings had worn them oval. This creates a situation where the pistons rock in the bores and don't allow the rings to seal well. Also, installing new rings will be like putting a round peg in a square hole because the new rings will be circular and the cylinders will be oval. So, unless you plan on reusing the old rings, and are sure you can get them perfectly situated, you will need to bore out the engine to replace the pistons and rings to get full power. It is an expensive lesson to learn, so I thought I'd pass it on... This engine was bored out and done CORRECTLY! I'm also replacing the rectifier tonight with a new solid state unit. The battery charging voltage is a little lower than I want with the original rectifier, so I figured I'd replace it to keep the charging system up to snuff. I'll include the old regulator/rectifier with the bike in case you want to go back to the original system. I took the bike out for a ride this weekend too, and it ran like a charm. I've attached a pic of it next to a CB750. On May-24-11 at 20:57:44 PDT, seller added the following information: I swapped in the new regulator/rectifier tonight, and it worked like a charm. The regulator/rectifier cleans up the electricity coming from the alternator that runs the bike and charges the battery. The originals weren't very good, but the new one I put on is a modern technology solid state unit that is used in modern vehicles. Anyway, the long and short is that the charging system is working even better than before.