Here we go - 1971 CL350 Restore

The rats nest is all connected.
I hooked up the battery and surprisingly it all worked, although I have the starter disconnected.
Not ready to spin it just yet.
Needs to be tidied up a bit and I'll stuff in the headlight and see what quits working.
I've got the bracket for the flasher on the way. Should arrive soon.
(A lot of stuff was missing in the coil area along with the air boxes when I got this bike.)
71_CL350_150.jpg
 
Got the headlight crammed in and everything still works.
So I imagine the speedo cable is supposed to go in that flimsy clip on the fork ear?
I mean, it's right there. I know the later bikes had an actual bracket that attached to the bolt.
71_CL350_151.jpg
Also, I forgot that this was a thing. Probably because I've never seen a cotter pin there on any of the old bikes I've worked on.
Front brake cotter pin.jpg
And went to install the air boxes today and realized I never ordered any clamps to connect them to the carbs. Dammit.
 
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My 1971 CL350 has its original cables, all except for the clutch. That clip should be deep enough from front to back that it will accept both the front brake cable and the speedometer cable.
 
fxray said:
My 1971 CL350 has its original cables, all except for the clutch. That clip should be deep enough from front to back that it will accept both the front brake cable and the speedometer cable.
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My replacement cables are thicker than the originals. I don't think they'll both fit. That clip is pretty weak, I am reluctant to bend it much.
 
Cycleranger said:
My replacement cables are thicker than the originals. I don't think they'll both fit. That clip is pretty weak, I am reluctant to bend it much.
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If your brake cable would fit the clip, you could put it in there by itself, then ty-wrap the speedo cable to to the brake cable. OTOH, you probably don't need to clip either of them there. Try it and see how it works out.
 
fxray said:
If your brake cable would fit the clip, you could put it in there by itself, then ty-wrap the speedo cable to to the brake cable. OTOH, you probably don't need to clip either of them there. Try it and see how it works out.
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I looked at some photos of other 350's. It does appear that both cables are supposed to go in that clip.
When I was looking for replacement fork ears I noticed that clip was broken on most of them.
I can see why Honda added a separate holder on the pinch bolt later.
I'll figure it out.
 
Ok well it's been a couple of months. I got pulled away from this by some other more pressing chores around the house.
Anyway, got the point today where I thought I was ready to give the engine a spin for the first time to verify I had oil to the top end.
Hooked every thing up and hit the starter button...aaaand the starter clutch isn't engaging. :mad:
I have several spare rotors if I need one but dammit.
 
Cycleranger said:
Ok well it's been a couple of months. I got pulled away from this by some other more pressing chores around the house.
Anyway, got the point today where I thought I was ready to give the engine a spin for the first time to verify I had oil to the top end.
Hooked every thing up and hit the starter button...aaaand the starter clutch isn't engaging. :mad:
I have several spare rotors if I need one but dammit.
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If it ain't one thing it's another.
 
Cycleranger said:
The next question is do I pull the rear axle out of my CJ parts bike which is kind of apita or do I go to the hardware store and look for a bolt.
Decisions...
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Depends on how far that hardware store is. If it were mine I'd be pulling the axle, free aside from your time. Nearest hardware store to me is 12 miles, that's a couple gallons of gas in my 350 V-8 :rolleyes: (round trip, of course)
 
Ah, well, the hardware store is out anyway because I realized they wouldn't have anything that large and the Store of All The Bolts which is ~25 miles away isn't open on the weekend.
So axle from the CJ parts bike it is. If only Honda hadn't saved what, like a $1.50, by not including a center stand..
I mean I could use the 350 axle but it's busy right now.

Update: Well that was a waste of time. The CJ axle bolt fought me every inch of the way out and it was for nothing, that rotor is stuck tight and I know when to stop and go get the proper tool before I get pissed and break something.
So on Monday it's off to the Store of All The Bolts for the proper bolt and I'll pop it off with the air gun.
For now I gotta put the wheel back on the parts bike. bleh.
 
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I bought one because I'm too lazy to dig out my parts piles.

My K0 only has the speedo in the painted clip. My 73 has a separate clip on the lower triple pinch bolt for the brake and speedo but maybe a separate for your brake like that would be best. The K0 had the brake running behind the lower triple and both went trough the chrome fender loop. The 73 has both in front of the lower triple and both through the rubber fender loop.
 
In hindsight I should have been more lazy. But I did put the wheel back on the parts bikes. In the right way too instead of how I found it.:rolleyes:

Ok, I'm sold. Amazon says they can deliver it tomorrow. And it saves me a trip into town. :)
As far as that clip, it looks like on the early bikes Honda intended for both cables to go through that flimsy clip. But they obviously felt the need to change that on the later bikes.
 
Cycleranger said:
In hindsight I should have been more lazy. But I did put the wheel back on the parts bikes. In the right way too instead of how I found it.:rolleyes:

Ok, I'm sold. Amazon says they can deliver it tomorrow. And it saves me a trip into town. :)
As far as that clip, it looks like on the early bikes Honda intended for both cables to go through that flimsy clip. But they obviously felt the need to change that on the later bikes.
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Laziness is an important trait, when used correctly.

I think Outobie didn't want to chip paint or break that tab on the K0, so he just ran the thicker brake cable behind the lower triple. I think adding the clip on the bolt would be good on your nicely painted fork ears if only for the brake cable.
 
Cycleranger said:
In hindsight I should have been more lazy. But I did put the wheel back on the parts bikes. In the right way too instead of how I found it.:rolleyes:

Ok, I'm sold. Amazon says they can deliver it tomorrow. And it saves me a trip into town. :)
As far as that clip, it looks like on the early bikes Honda intended for both cables to go through that flimsy clip. But they obviously felt the need to change that on the later bikes.
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You can use that Amazon flywheel puller w/ an impact(grease on it too)gun & it'll zip that rotor right off,no problem.
 
Late to your thread Cycleranger and it is a good one for sure. I do like the purple colour choice you used on the tins. Those rotors can be stuck after such a long time on there. I enjoy the progression from bringing it home or next up from the fleet to almost done. :)
 
Well that was a lot of fuss for not much. With the proper tool the rotor was removed in mere seconds.
The starter clutch was just a bit dry and sticking. So I cleaned everything up and lubed it a bit and for now it's working fine. The springs are a bit compressed so I'm going to order some new ones for future use but for now I just wanted to get on with it.
With the engine now cranking I was able to verify that the oil pump is working and there is oil in the top end. After that I started messing with the exhaust system because it's almost that time.
71_CL350_152.jpg
71_CL350_153.jpg
 
Cycleranger said:
Well that was a lot of fuss for not much. With the proper tool the rotor was removed in mere seconds.
The starter clutch was just a bit dry and sticking. So I cleaned everything up and lubed it a bit and for now it's working fine. The springs are a bit compressed so I'm going to order some new ones for future use but for now I just wanted to get on with it.
With the engine now cranking I was able to verify that the oil pump is working and there is oil in the top end. After that I started messing with the exhaust system because it's almost that time.
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Genius little hose adapter for the oil flow check. (y)
 
Fitted up the exhaust loosely today. You can't really tell from the photo but the center support bracket is bent and twisted.
Someone has been there before me trying to "straighten" it and didn't do it any favors.
Even after I worked on the bracket it's still not good. Tightened up, the bracket sits way too close to the side cover and the pipes don't seat right. Might have to look for another.
(Also, I'm not too keen on how the bracket attaches to the swing arm pivot bolt. Not the best design Honda!)
71_CL350_154.jpg
 
Hopefully a new bracket will help the issue with it being too close to the side cover. The CL175 I did a few years ago the side cover was too close to the exhaust pipes as someone had previously installed the bracket incorrectly. It melted the plastic side cover to the point where I had to source a replacement.

I can relate to the shop FSM schematics over the project work area. Being somewhat OCD I went to Dollarama yesterday and bought a few small D ring binders to capture those papers all together. :)
 
Yes, I'm not having that bracket scratch that paint!! Even properly mounted that bracket sits really close to the cover and makes me nervous.
I usually print out pages only as I need them.
The exhaust diagram is printed from CMSNL because the only CL350 parts list I have is printed from fiche and looks terrible.
It's fine for part numbers but the pictures are tiny.
I actually have the original fiche but no one has a fiche reader/printer any more.
 
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I remember having to get the rearmost muffler mounting set before finally adjusting the bend for that middle clamp bracket. I got a bit more than a 1/2 inch between bracket and side cover. Probably 3/4 inch between rear shock and muffler curved inner surface.
 
That's kinda what I was trying to do as well. Only a 1/2 inch between the bracket and the side cover?
Hmm, maybe my bracket is straighter than I think but damn that's awful close to my shiny new paint!
 
The left cover on a 73 is clearanced for the high pipes as well. i couldn't quite tell if it's that way on yours.
tcAvuLQl.jpg
 
Nope, no clearance. Same covers as the early CB's.
Obviously they knew it was an issue since they designed a new cover for '72.
 
My 71 CL (parts bike) had lost it's CL exhaust and I'm not sure it has it's original covers, but they are the same left/right. Not sure if there were other changes to the early pipes or brackets either. Still a pain since the paint phase, for you, was hopefully all done. I bought my 73 CL covers from retroCB.
 
Well poop. I thought I could get by for a bit but no, it's a good thing I ordered those new springs for the starter clutch 'cause I need 'em.
 
Thats interesting that the exhaust pipe bracket actually bolts through the side cover? In your previous post it wasn’t clear, so that is a recipe for heat issues. I can understand why Honda changed and scalloped the later side cover on that side.
 
Flyin900 said:
That's interesting that the exhaust pipe bracket actually bolts through the side cover? In your previous post it wasn’t clear, so that is a recipe for heat issues. I can understand why Honda changed and scalloped the later side cover on that side.
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No the center span is supported by a bracket that comes up from the swingarm bolt. There's about a half inch of clearance between the muffler and the cover. It's basically impossible to remove the side cover without at least loosening the entire exhaust.
 
Cycleranger said:
So yeah, the new starter clutch springs are just a bit longer. :rolleyes:
View attachment 39056
Got those in no problem.
Got the shiny bits installed.

Getting close to adding some gas and see what happens.
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The springs are just squished. I tried once to stretch them back out and it did help but they probably wouldn't stay that way for long. You can tell that the fully compressed lengths would be the same.
 
Well, it runs! :)
First time since 2016.
Not bad either for just slapping in the old points plate and guestimating the timing.
The top end sounds good. No smoke, black or white from the exhaust.
The spark seemed to be a bit weak on the right side.
I've got new coils & condensers so it probably just needs points adjusted and the timing properly set. (Or better points, the PO installed good 'ol Daiichi.)
However the new springs did not completely cure the starter clutch issue..
 
My 305 bearing surface had a slight washboard surface and did not like grease at all, just oil. It still honks like geese once in a while. New springs used rollers.

Congratulations, redemption success.
 
ballbearian said:
My 305 bearing surface had a slight washboard surface and did not like grease at all, just oil. It still honks like geese once in a while. New springs used rollers.

Congratulations, redemption success.
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Thanks all!
Hmm, the bearing surface was smooth, I checked that. The rollers and caps looked good too. However I did use a bit of grease to hold everything in place when I reinstalled the rotor. Maybe I should wait until I run it a bit more and see if it improves. The starter is a luxury anyway, my CJ doesn't have one.
I also found the new spark plugs I bought last year and forgot about.. :rolleyes:
 
Cycleranger said:
Thanks all!
Hmm, the bearing surface was smooth, I checked that. The rollers and caps looked good too. However I did use a bit of grease to hold everything in place when I reinstalled the rotor. Maybe I should wait until I run it a bit more and see if it improves. The starter is a luxury anyway, my CJ doesn't have one.
I also found the new spark plugs I bought last year and forgot about.. :rolleyes:
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I remember when I posted in the old place that the Honda manual specifies to use only silicone grease for the sprag clutch. That was in 2014. Eight years later, a guy joined over there, found my old post, and gave me a rough time about it. You can read about it here. I answered him back and basically said it wasn't my fault that he had never read it in the manual. I quoted verse and chapter over there. It may be what you need, Cycleranger. :geek:
 
Interesting. The 1972 and '74 editions of the manual omit any mention of any lubricant for the starter clutch.
I do have some silicone grease.
I would imagine, however, no matter how robust the silicone grease it would eventually wear/wash away leaving only engine oil as a lubricant.
 
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Cycleranger said:
I do have some silicone grease.
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A very light bodied silicone grease. I first used an all purpose bearing type and it was not working. I then used some light silicone dielectric grease, which was better but finally carb sprayed that out mostly and gave a drop of oil. My parts were old though.
Fortunately Ray chimed in with this info. and it still mostly works.
 
I have done a few starter clutches in my time and always replaced everything and installed the new bits dry. The housing that holds the parts can also become worn slightly and cause issues with new parts not working properly.
 
That "weak spark" on the right side had nothing to do with the spark and because I'm an idiot I'm probably going to pull the carbs back off tomorrow.
Gee, what did I say earlier? Oh yeah..
Cycleranger said:
Doing a job twice is the best way to learn..
...to do it right the first time.
:rolleyes:
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Cycleranger said:
Interesting. The 1972 and '74 editions of the manual omit any mention of any lubricant for the starter clutch.
I do have some silicone grease.
I would imagine, however, no matter how robust the silicone grease it would eventually wear/wash away leaving only engine oil as a lubricant.
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I'd almost be willing to bet you that it is still called out in the manual, and you didn't find it. I don't have those manuals, but the CB450 Service Manual for 1968-1975 calls for the silicone grease. In that book, it is in the electrical section, on pages 132-133, in Section 5.5



 
The CB/CL350 manual is available from this forums library. I believe it's the '74 edition.
Perhaps I did miss it. Please go look for yourself.
I don't think it's incorrect to use silicone grease and I would have had I seen in the manual.
 
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^^^You're right, they changed the book to simply say that all the parts should be completely clean. I think this came up once (or maybe more) times before, and I had read that other manual. I just forgot. It's strange that they left it in the 450 book, which purportedly covers up through the 1975 models.
 
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