'72 CB350 - Some Assembly Required

[.RJ]

The offending gasket



Turns out, the boot wasnt very flat on the flat side.  I had to hit it with the flat edge of a file and then it seemed to seal just fine.  Of course, after resolving this I am running the bike and cant fucking figure out why its still shit - the left side pipe was hot while the right side was cool, still.  Pull the plugs and the left side was rich (expected, revving it in neutral) and the right side... uh... sparkly clean.  I had put new plugs in as part of this exercise.  The power lead for the right side coil had pulled out.  Oops.  Now idles really nice, good throttle response.  I have enough time with these old things to know when it feels right, and I think we're close.

Have a few small things to look at tomorrow or sunday - not sure if the clutch adjustment is correct as it didnt want to drop into gear very well and I'm going to put my new tank on and ride it back out of the yard.  The front brake switch is still broken but I'm going to ignore that for now as the rear works.  Plan to go get some tags Monday.  

Not too exciting to watch a motorcycle idle, but I feel like I'm over the hump here.

[EclipseTurbno93]

I live for this thread. Looks to be coming along nicely! Sounds really good for such a small motor.


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[Senor_Taylor]

Hell yeah!

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[.RJ]

Afternoon today was spent getting the clutch adjusted, again... its fickle - running fuel lines to the carbs, again, I didnt like how I routed them before and I bought some better (IMO) fuel line and some small adjustments here and there - rode it out of the yard and around the neighborhood, felt amazing.

The clutch adjustment isnt great, but I can keep working on that.  I'm missing some small things like tank badges and a part of the rear fender mount but I can source those as I ride it and the indicators dont blink.  Going to go get some tags on Monday though!

[V1GiLaNtE]

YASSSSSS. Now swap a modern fork to it and get some clubmans.

[.RJ]

Lets see what next winter brings. I really have thoughts of taking it down to cognito moto next winter and having the frame cleaned up, seam welded, and a modern front end/shocks installed.

[Senor_Taylor]

How would these forks differ from modern forks? Or does that include the shock/spring setup?

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[.RJ]

Like this -

[Senor_Taylor]

Oh boy. So everything. Do it!

[.RJ]

Tags acquired. Going to ride it tonight, I hope, if only a mile to the town center. Why is it so fucking cold in mid-April?

I hate how I'll get to the DMV 30 minutes early, I'm 3rd in line and then I still have to wait 20+ minutes while a dozen people go to the windows ahead of me. I know they have some system but it defies logic...

I had a few minutes to squeeze in last night and I swapped out my pilot jets from a #20 to #25, the motor seems much happier coming off idle, well, as happy as a roundslide carb can be. Also, my "better" fuel line is seeping, so... going to need to go back to what I used before.

I'm happy that I can go out and get it fired up without any fuss after having it sit for a few days.... that gives me hope it wont leave me stranded somewhere.

[ScottyB]

Can't wait to really hear it rip. Such cool bikes.

[.RJ]

well it made it to the gas station and back, and up to reston town center and back.... brahp! its loud AF for 40hp. surprisingly fun.

[Beej]

I mean I’ll chime in here on the “fuck carbs” train, but I’ve always meant to tell you how good looking that last bike was. Tasteful, different, well thought out, classy. Seriously a cool machine. I’m excited to see where this one ends up. 

But still fuck carbs.

[.RJ]

Yeah, I'm not going to tell you they're easy to live with. There's a reason they've gone away. Here's a fun thing, the choke levers are on the carbs and the right one is a pain in the ass to get to... I need to retrofit them to a cable.

Its 40-ish degrees here, and the bike is proving pretty damn fickle until it warms up, but its a 'sunday rider' bike. Let me get some time on this while the weather is nice this year and I can scheme on how to strip & rebuild it.

[Senor_Taylor]

Saw this bike yesterday and I approve so much. Sounds so awesome.

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[HAULN-SS]

You should help me rebuild that Aermacchi HD I have sometime. I need a motivational partner.

[.RJ]

You should help me rebuild that Aermacchi HD I have sometime. I need a motivational partner.

I'm down.

I last rode the 350 about 2 weeks ago, before going on a vacation.  Right when I put the side stand down, it died.  No electrical... assumed either the main (only) fuse or the key switch.  It was the fuse - its between the + terminal and the only power wire to all the switches - the connectors I had replaced, one came loose and had rubbed on the frame rail, shorting the battery so the fuse did its job.  I was able to grab a new fuse holder for $3.89 at autozone, back up and running well.  I got my historic plates in the mail and put in my new flasher relay so the turn signals work now.

Cold starts still suck, but nature of the carbs.  I need to switch the choke from a lever to a cable, still working out how to put that together.  Runs well once its warm which doesnt take long now that its warm.  That's the next project.  The fueling also stumbles when going from 3/4-Full throttle, i'm not sure if the main jet is too small (unlikely) or the needle needs a different profile (more likely but harder to pin down the right size).

I think I'm going to get up early and hit up cars & coffee tomorrow AM.

[.RJ]

So, not much to report here other than riding it back and forth to work 1-2 days a week and tooling around town. Its been as solid as a 45 year old bike with round slide carbs can be.

But, its ratty. The front brake blows. The clutch plates are still sticking although they've been slowly freeing up and still kind of judder releasing the clutch off the line. The gauge seals are toast so they're full of condensation. The fork tubes are rusty. The tires are 8 years old. But it does run well and the motor is solid and the frame is straight.

I'm a little torn on what I want to do next. I had long term planned to break it down this winter, get the frame painted and rebuild it back up with a modern front end and minimal aesthetic... where any of the cosmetic issues it has wouldnt matter because all those parts go in the trash. Kind of torn if I want to continue down that path, or keep some of the original parts and just replace them with better condition used... and do something simpler and get started now. I like this look of this one -







I'd swap the gauges, different headlight bucket, rebuild the forks (or 'upgrade' to cb550/750 with a disc brake), and build a new wiring harness.

I'd keep my same twin pipes and probably not paint my tank.

[JPolen01]

Oh thats hawt

[V1GiLaNtE]

Do that but, with modern forks. More hawt.