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Looking around at bikes, and I keep finding myself drawn to the Yamaha SR400 retro scrambler. I am over the sport bike thing and looking for a taste of nostalgia. But then, while searching Craigslist last night, I found myself looking at old Hondas...CB350's and such. I know a bunch of you older guys had them, and maybe some of the younger guys as well, for a starter bike. What is your opinion of them? Were they fun to ride? Dependable? How were the brakes? (Please specify if yours had a front disc or drum). I'm just looking for a good crosstown commuter.

 

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How old are we talking?

Back when they were new-ish they were sturdy, reliable bikes. And now after they're properly gone through they are sturdy, reliable bikes. But that's the rub.. at this point most of the bikes from the 70s and 80s need some work and reconditioning to get them back to that state. Is that something you will enjoy doing?

I have found a few early- to mid-70's Hondas in very good condition, in the $1500-$3000 range. One, for instance, was a 1971 CB350 that looked very clean. The seller said it was in very good condition and ready to ride, but just needed one side cover. It was $2800 but I think it sold.

Another was a 1973 CB350F in good shape, a great runner, but had lots of "patina." $2500. https://seattle.craigslist.org/tac/mcy/d/1973-honda-cb-350-four-watch/6595070865.html

Just to clarify, while I would love to restore bikes, it's not in the cards right now. I am looking for something I can buy and ride

 

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I have, and regularly ride, a '70 CB450. It starts right up, and runs as smoothly as any newer bike. But then, I've been servicing bikes for a long time, and made this one run this way. If you're at all handy, it's nothing you can't learn, but there is a learning curve. I have replaced the dual points with an electronic ignition, which helps with the smooth running and reliability, and I just went through the carbs to balance them properly.

Very fun to ride, but longer rides (greater than 200 miles) can get tiring, because of the vibration. Brakes are very strong, with a front disc and rear drum, but the older models with front drum brakes can be adjusted to stop as well.

That's cool WintrSol! How easy is it to convert to electronic ignition? If I plan to use the kick starter regularly, would this influence my decision whether to do this or not?

How about converting drums to disc? Difficult? Expensive?


I can turn a wrench and am decent as far as mechanical aptitude, but I don't have much experience with motorcycles.

 

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All the seventies Honda street bikes were good. I rode every one of them. My favourite around town bike was the 400 four.

UK

That doesn't surprise me at all UK!!!! You definitely love your old bikes

 

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I had a brand new CB-350. It was a great bike, but I quickly moved on to bigger things.
I now have a '76 Goldwing and a '77 Trail 90. Both are great bikes.
The CB-350 had drum brakes, but it was a light bike and the brakes were more than adequate.
Same for the Trail 90. I can almost lock the front wheel on that one. One day I stopped so quickly that my brother almost ran into my ass with his Sportster. LOL!!
The 76 Goldwing has three disks. It stops very well. But of course brakes have improved over the years.
My '99 Goldwing stops much better even though it is quite a bit heavier.

Good stuff OC! Was your CB350 the twin or the CB350 four? I have read good things about both

 

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I was wondering who was going to mention the vibration!! I used to ride 70's and 80's Honda street bikes, and on longer rides my hands would get numb from the vibration. And even my backside...

YES they were a LOT of fun to ride, but today's bike are much smoother and more comfortable. Well, all things considered and equal, that is. I don't find the sport bikes where you have to lean far forward very comfortable to ride...

Yeah, I read that in a few different reviews. I'm not concerned with that, as I plan to just ride to work (at this point)(see what I did there?). Work is something like 7 miles from home

 

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I have been looking at different bikes all afternoon. I like a lot of them. I am starting to get a crush on the CL models, like this one.

https://eugene.craigslist.org/mcy/d/amazing-quality-1974-honda/6600931996.html

I really like the exhaust going to one side and raised higher. My understanding is that these were designed this way for off road scrambles back in the day. It's a cool look. Other than this, are they pretty much the same as the CB450?

That is good to know about the drum brakes WintrSol. Sounds like they work well as they are. Top speed on my ride to work would likely be around 40 mph anyway.

 

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UK, I bet you had a blast back in the day didn't you? Riding all those brand new bikes!!! What were some of your favorites?

 

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No kidding, didn't know that.

I liked the four cylinder Honda 350's and 400's.
The 400 was way cool with its four into one pipe going up and out one side.
A friend of mine had a red one. He sold it not long ago.

I had Kawasakis back in the 70's...
750 H2 Triple
KZ 650

That H2 was very popular around here, I remember my dad's coworker had one back in the day. He let my dad ride it and he said it was fast...but not as fast as his other friend's Z1. He said he took off across Aurora (a big 6 lane highway) and by the time he got to the other side he was doing 50. Nothing special by today's standards, but in the mid-70's that was really something!

 

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Fisken and Semi.
My most favourite around town bike was the 400 four, with the 4 into 1 pipe. They had a low seat height which was nice for folks with ducks disease. I owned more than one of these. RE Smith got charged and convicted for dangerous riding on one of them. Cops claimed he was doing 120 to 140 mph. I appeared as an expert for the defense. Told the judge none of them could exceed about 95.
My previous favourite around town bike was a 500 BMW. Was very comfortable and handled awful.
The nicest and smoothest of the Honda fours, was the 500 and then the 550. Alan Cuthberston ( famous BC jockey ) bought one from me. And so did the guy who worked at the Spaghetti Factory. ( Famous thief )
The best highway bike was the 750, and later the Gold Wing. Ticker Ted bought the first one.
The 750 with the auto transmission was the same pretty blue colour, of the earlier CL350 with the high pipes. The dealers thought they would sell well. We were wrong.
The CM400 which went back to a twin was a nice bike. Not as fast as the 2 stroke Yamaha or the four stroke Yamaha that replaced it. But a nice bike for around town. Has three valves per cylinder I recall.
The CB650 had some problems with the overhead cam. Not sure of the details. I know where there is a low mileage 74 CB750. One owner. Sitting in the basement for quite a while.

I used a CB750 master cylinder on one of the race bikes, and it worked well. Had a big Lougheed disc on front.

I have a CB450 torsion bar in my tool box. Will post a pic when I get back to my Island.

UK Forgot. I also rode all of the Kawasaki 3 cylinder 2 stroke bikes. 350, 500 and 750. The previous twin cylinder 350 was a better bike IMO. Had one in Hawaii in 68. The 250 twin was the favourite bike to ride in the 250 production class, as there was much room to modify and cheat, with the ports and rotary valve. I also owned a half share in an H1R which was the factory 500cc race bike. Sold it to Alex George in Glasgow.

When I read stuff like that I get all warm and fuzzy and think, the good old days really were something awfully special

I am pretty sure I have decided that the CL with the high pipes on one side is what I want. There are a few nice ones in the area, although Portland has more than Seattle, and they are cleaner. There is a gorgeous CL450 in Eugene for $4050, the seller says it is spotless. There is also a beautiful CL350 in Portland for $2600, except it has a dent in the gas tank. Can those be fixed?

There is also a guy in Eugene with a pair of CB350 fours in what appear to be collector condition, and he wants $4500 for the pair. That is tempting. I bet in Seattle I could sell one of them for darn near enough to come away with the other for free. Decisions, decisions.

 

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Hey UK...did the CL's change much over the years? Two of the ones I am looking at are 1970 CL350's, one is a 1973 CL350, and another is a 1974 CL450. Is there any advantage to buying the newer model, like a known problem in the earlier models that was addressed and does not exist in the later years? Between the 350 and 450, is one or the other a better bike? If one has engine issues, would it be easy to rebuild, or would you be better off just finding a new motor? Thanks

 

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I had a 1973 CB 350 Hand me Down from my dad back in the day. Great Bike!

Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk

Nice! What color was it?

 

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It was actually purple and white but I was Kool with that since I was still in Highschool and those are my Highschool's colors.

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Nice!!!! Purple is the greatest color ever...GO HUSKIES!!!!!!

 

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There were no mechanical issues that I am aware of. The 450 is a more complex engine than the 350, but not an issue. The CL350 I recall had the pipes high on the left hand side. And they did not interfere with your leg, the way the high Triumph pipes did.
The 450 bikes were mostly green, the 350 mostly light blue. Forgot what year they all got disc brakes. I would opt for a disc brake bike rather than a drum brake.

The early bikes had roller steel balls in the steering head. Sometime most bikes changed to better bearings. There is nothing wrong with steel balls. They just need to be inspected and greased, and adjusted. If they get dry and rusty, they may change shape. Replace them.
One of my track bikes ( the fasted one ) had used steel balls. I used balls for a CB750, in a Reynolds Featherbed frame. England builders used them for many years.

UK

Good to know!!!! I was showing my coworkers a couple of the ones I have been looking at, and both of them said, "Boy, I bet you'll burn your leg on those pretty pipes!!!!" Is this the case? Do the pipes heat up and burn holes in your jeans?

 

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So a kid had a Honda 305 scrambler.

He let me ride it on the beach one day.

The heat shield for the pipes was missing.

I nearly dropped it in the sand but managed to catch it.

Probably wasn't smart to ride that bike wearing cutoff jeans.

I still have the burn scar on the inside of my leg.

I don't remember much about the bikes you guys are talking about but I do remember that 305.

Interesting. I too have a scar from an old Suzuki endure, a 1971 TS250 if I recall. I wonder if you would get burned wearing jeans, and if the heat shield was still intact?

A friend just told me about a 1970 CB450 that his friend has for sale. It runs and needs some TLC, but looks really clean. He is asking $1000 for it. I am going to look into it. I still love that CL more...but this might be an inexpensive avenue to get it

 

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Hi there Mr. F.

I had a Honda CL360 a Scrambler back in mid 70's, side by side twin 6 speed, ran great ! both front and back were drum type brakes, never had a stopping problem, My brother had it for a while and said it was not running good, put in new points an condensers, back to running great. about the only thing we ever had to do was change oil, clean air and fuel filters and keep tires up, I know we had brake shoes changed a few times but other than this, a fine bike.

Another great testament to these great old bikes!!!! I am feeling more confident about them

 

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I still have one. A first generation CB750. A '76 model. It's been in my family since 1977, the year I was born. Was my dad's. Mine now. Will be my son's one day. I love the bike.

That's great Lurch!!! I love hearing stuff like that

 

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I picked up a 1976 GoldWing for $300.00. Cosmetically very nice, but mechanical condition unknown. It is a bit more to work on than the 70's twins. When you have oil and water separated in some cases by nothing but an O-ring, then a bike that has sat around for years can be more of a challenge to work on. I had to pull the engine to get to the oil screen because the screws were cross head and not coming out with the frame in the way. It was worth it to see the bottom of the engine had no bits of metal inside that would spell trouble later on.

So this second 'Wing shows up. People who know me and like me think I just have to have it. $1250.00 is a steal for a bike already running very well and all the hard bags and paint are a 9 out of ten. It weighs a hundred more than the '76, but is very comfortable and dependable with no need to adjust the valves.Most of the bikes on Craigslist are double the money and not nearly as nice.

At the very least, I will ride the new one and feel free to fix the old one and do it correctly. I at first thought that the '76 was a paperweight bike because of poor compression. A bit of love and valve adjustment and the compression is identical and within factory spec across all four cylinders so now that 300.00 bike is very exciting to have around. It does fire, but the carbs still need work before it runs. If I cannot make it run well, this bike is worth shipping the carbs to a pro. The PO lost the fuel pump assy. and a few parts, but that bike will never lose me money.

There are a lot of buyers going around the country buying old Japanese bikes and shipping them overseas. There are still bargains around but the price keeps climbing as the supply dwindles. If you do buy an old Japanese bike, take apart each and every wire connection, clean it, and apply some silicone grease to the connectors. also, put a 5 or 10 amp fuse between the battery and the wiring harness for testing purposes or while working on the wiring. Once repairs are made then go back to the standard fuse. Smoking wires or burned up coils can take the fun out of things

Wow, that's great! I love that you have another runner that allows you to fix the old one up on your terms.

And a great tip about the connectors. I had already been thinking that it would be worth the time and a few bucks to go through whatever I buy and put good connectors throughout

 

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The high pipes were not a burn problem. A sweet and pretty girl bought one in Vancouver, and never complained about the pipes. The CB450 may have got a disc brake before the 350. I thought they were all 5 speed during the seventies. I may be corrected. Having points ignition, offers a variety of ways for adjusting them. You can use a dial gauge and set a degree wheel on the crank, use a light to determine when they open, and so on.

UK

That's great!!! I was hoping to hear this!

I wasn't able to tell from the photo he sent, as it just barely cut off the front wheel, but I think the CB450 has a front disc brake.

 

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I am not suggesting that you REPLACE all the connectors, just remove some corrosion and apply silicone grease. A 17 caliber gun cleaning brush is just about right to clean a Japanese female connector. There are companies that can furnish OEM style connectors for wiring harness multi-pin connectors.

BTW, i do have some older Honda twins CB100,175,350,360, a Nightwawk 450, and CB550 Four and a DOHC750. Each and every one was bought for short money.

Wow, that's a great collection!!!! This one that I am looking at is a 1970 CB450 DOHC. The guy is asking $1000 and it is clean, just needs some TLC...but no rust or body damage. My friend that knows the guy said, "I would offer him $650 and go from there."