Mousetown, my own 73 CL350

Cycleranger said:
Looking pretty good!
I've been working on my CL for almost a year.
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Thanks, it still has plenty of warts up close. The planned pragmatic approach did hit a few major detours, frame swap, head/valve re-do, re-spoke and lots of parts bike parts cleaning (that I didn't really use). Getting carbs was kind of a biggy. Home stretch is coming up though.

How is yours doing BTW?
 
Waiting on painted parts, mainly the fork ears and headlight bucket, is holding up final assembly.
I can understand why Honda went to chrome for the ears and black for the bucket.
It was probably cheaper and faster while streamlining their inventory and making it a lot easier for dealers to change colors.
 
Cycleranger said:
Waiting on painted parts, mainly the fork ears and headlight bucket, is holding up final assembly.
I can understand why Honda went to chrome for the ears and black for the bucket.
It was probably cheaper and faster while streamlining their inventory and making it a lot easier for dealers to change colors.
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I like the looks of the K4 and earlier painted parts, the black buckets started even earlier but the paint matched buckets are nice. Yours is gonna look great.
 
The oil is pumped up to the head and the fuel don't leak from the Scrambler petcock or kitted carbs.

These pipes were sandblasted so will never be shiny, but I gave a VHT Caliper Clear coat (900degrees) on them to help preserve their medieval lustre.
Plus, the welded repair areas may be prone to rust, IDK, maybe it will burn off or last.
They are, at least, complete and the hardware is painted.

Finally getting close to pressing the music button.
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Finally, a roar was heard in Mousetown.

I was so astonished it started right off and idled nice, I forgot to turn off the choke but became concerned that it wouldn't rev much over 6K. After that it went right to 9K.

Man, these pipes are a pain to fit. I'll get the side covers and heat shields on then test ride.

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I wire brushed the corrosion off the seat rivets then clear coated them too. Got to preserve that patina.
 
That didn't take long at all, at least compared to my pace. Congratulations on the first startup and be careful with the throttle wrist while those delicate choke flaps are engaged. (But you know that!) :eek:
 
Tom awesome !!!!! Knowing where this thing started and how it sits now...!!!!!

can't wait to see it make one of your weekly "postal runs".
 
ballbearian said:
Finally, a roar was heard in Mousetown.

I was so astonished it started right off and idled nice, I forgot to turn off the choke but became concerned that it wouldn't rev much over 6K. After that it went right to 9K.

Man, these pipes are a pain to fit. I'll get the side covers and heat shields on then test ride.

I wire brushed the corrosion off the seat rivets then clear coated them too. Got to preserve that patina.
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Looking really good Tom. It was a long road but well worth the drive.
 
Congrats, obviously!!!

Your statement about a nice idle off the bat has me thinking… I have a modern EFI bike (2016) that obviously has no choke, but requires use of the fast idle circuit on all but real hot starts or it will not hold idle and stall. My one running CB350 also requires throttle for a minute or so before it holds idle after a cold start. So my thought is, if it idles right away on a cold start, wouldn’t that say it is way rich? Or is that perhaps because the new rings aren’t bedded to the cylinders yet?
 
ballbearian said:
Finally, a roar was heard in Mousetown.

I was so astonished it started right off and idled nice, I forgot to turn off the choke but became concerned that it wouldn't rev much over 6K. After that it went right to 9K.

Man, these pipes are a pain to fit. I'll get the side covers and heat shields on then test ride.

I wire brushed the corrosion off the seat rivets then clear coated them too. Got to preserve that patina.
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Take the test ride before you do the side covers, you're about to find out about the joys of CL side covers. The pipes have to come loose to fit the left side.
 
RockReef said:
Congrats, obviously!!!

Your statement about a nice idle off the bat has me thinking… I have a modern EFI bike (2016) that obviously has no choke, but requires use of the fast idle circuit on all but real hot starts or it will not hold idle and stall. My one running CB350 also requires throttle for a minute or so before it holds idle after a cold start. So my thought is, if it idles right away on a cold start, wouldn’t that say it is way rich? Or is that perhaps because the new rings aren’t bedded to the cylinders yet?
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It did have the choke on, at the first click, IIRC.
No new rings, only valve and head work. I did a leak down test and guessed it was mostly valves that were losing compression.
 
LongDistanceRider said:
Take the test ride before you do the side covers, you're about to find out about the joys of CL side covers. The pipes have to come loose to fit the left side.
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I've been thinking about using a pair of CB headers for the initial testing on my 350 project to avoid a possible headache with the CL exhaust.
 
stl360+450 said:
I've been thinking about using a pair of CB headers for the initial testing on my 350 project to avoid a possible headache with the CL exhaust.
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I was thinking maybe on that too, but not sure if the footbar would cooperate.
And Jim's right, I get to pay the 'do-over' fine for being impatient. :rolleyes:
 
Flat spot in revs from 3-4K, then very good. Winker relay is tired, so maybe open and clean it's tiny contacts, or just replace.
The pipes darken near the ports when hot bur lighten up when cooled.

Overall, I like it.
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I should try swapping to some other slides with good diaphragms, just to see. I don't think it's the kit needles because they really looked identical.
If that makes no difference then I'll try a 68 instead of a 70 jet. I'm a novice on these 722A carb jets, so suggestions are welcome.
 
stl360+450 said:
Looking good! These are the thick diaphragms? And modified slides? It's hard to keep track with the number of 350s on your shop.
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Yes, the scrambler diaphragms are only 0.1mm thicker and I opened the slide holes as PJ suggested, but he didn't give a finished size for them.
 
It may take me awhile to figure out the 3-4K rpm flat spot, but it will, at least, look done.

I have just the rubber grommets for these side covers, but I got some with the chrome caps coming. It looks like they go in from the front with the caps on..

The rattle can Duplicolor medium quasar metalic blue kind of matches so I'm happy enough.

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Hopefully it won't rain continuously till Thursday, like "Lying Lou" or local weatherman said.
 
Cycleranger said:
Are those new badges or did you repaint them?
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They are repops from 2Fast moto and the covers are from RetroCB, both purchased many moons ago waiting for me to get this project going.

jensen said:
Yes, they are, but when heated up in hot water and use dish wash soap on the rubber, they will slide easily.
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I hope the metal caps won't scratch the paint, but I couldn't see how to put the caps on after the rubber is in, rather than installing the rubber first. Both approaches seemed difficult.
 
ballbearian said:
They are repops from 2Fast moto and the covers are from RetroCB, both purchased many moons ago waiting for me to get this project going.


I hope the metal caps won't scratch the paint, but I couldn't see how to put the caps on after the rubber is in, rather than installing the rubber first. Both approaches seemed difficult.
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Caps on the rubber first then install to cover.
 
My brother has the exact same bike and color in Denver. Hasn’t run in 10 years so it ought to be interesting.
Hey maybe I can learn phone pic fu.
 
I just sent my brother links for battery, rotor puller (I'll just bring mine), JIS Impacta, starter clutch rebuild kit and a cheap gasket set.
He says the tank and petcock are good, so maybe the carbs just need cleaning.

Time for an intervention and something for me to do between Mom time.

If I can learn to post pics from my phone, I'll do it. Heck, I'll just get him to join the forum.
 
In mile high Denver the air is thinner and so was our tinker time on brother's long languishing '73 CL350. A twin to my twin (Mousetown), the same color even.
New battery and plugs removed showed both spark and functional starter clutch. Oil clean, so spun it some to 'raise the sap'. I did forget to pull the tell-tale bolt next to the points cover :oops: .
The tank was clean and dry, so off to HF for a nitrile Oring stash to mount the petcock.
The carbs were obviously much out of synch, so I crudely set cable tension with throttles maxed on both sides, then checked lift off from idle screws (they looked even). Amazingly, this seemed to be in or near the ballpark. With the hassle of airfilters and exhaust in place, it seemed a worthwhile shot in the dark.
Removed bowl drains and sacrificed a pint of fuel to flush whatever out. Very loose clamps on half petrified intake boots might have contributed to prior 'carb problems'.
Added fuel. One side leaked at overflow. Turned off petcock. Moment of truth, punched starter and VOILA!
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This grateful bike rewarded us by quitting it's leaky overflow. It didn't even smoke. Idled smooth but gagging over 4k, so carbs need cleaned. Ran out of time to try the new HF strobe or anything else. Drained tank and bowls so brother can play boat guy this summer and not worry about it.
He is under strict orders to ride the snot out of the Minitrail and the TW200 (I shouldn't talk).
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ballbearian said:
Just a couple shots of the side covers finally on it. The paint is darker on them, but doesn't clash too much for me. C'est la vie.

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The Tygon has gotten so expensive, maybe time to quit being so contrary and just get the Honda fuel line.
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This is what I am using lately and it was very inexpensive but I notice now it is currently unavailable. Anyhow, here is the link, it contains some info that might help you hunt down a similar affordable product.

 
ballbearian said:
I just bought the 5 footer for $9.95 with spring clamps. It says CSM, NBR+PVC. Worth a try.

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Yep that's it, exactly the same right down to the markings. You might find you don't need clamps, I didn't.

Let us know what you think of the hose when you get around to trying it. It has been in use on my sons cb350 for about 10 months with no probs.
 
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ausman1000 said:
You might find you don't need the clamps, I didn't.

Let us know what you think of the hose when you get around to trying it.
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Ok. The 1/4" tygon does get real soft when very warm so clamps are helpful then.
This is cheap enough to replace periodically, if it hardens, We'll see.
 
No birthday cake for me but a slice of humble pie might be in order.

After 7 miles at speed, it looked like rain, so at home found a furious oil leak from under the points. I found the intake rocker shaft locknut loose and seems to be the leak source.

I'm now wondering if I neglected to replace the Orings on the shafts. New ones don't come in the gasket kits and ICR if I ordered them. I may have just grabbed some from the HF nitrile assortment pack.

I could only adjust the valve and see if that fixes it, but maybe remove the cam bearing and put new Orings in would be better.

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fxray said:
Well, that's demoralizing, but at least you know how to fix it, and you did have those seven miles at speed. Don't forget those seven miles at speed!
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Well, 60mph max, limited by traffic and CL gearing, but I did shift at redline (skinny cam 9.5k rpm).

Just ordered 8 rocker shaft Orings from DSS and fork seals for Mr.Greenjeans (CB350G), no rest for the wicked.
 
ballbearian said:
Well, 60mph max, limited by traffic and CL gearing, but I did shift at redline (skinny cam 9.5k rpm).

Just ordered 8 rocker shaft Orings from DSS and fork seals for Mr.Greenjeans (CB350G), no rest for the wicked.
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It's OK, you can admit it here. You might like working on the bike almost more than riding it.
 
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