[ninadm]

I have been itching to get on the road since I probably hold the record for the slowest build here on HondaTwins. So I have been checking craigslist every now and then, to see if anything interesting pops up, that I can ride while I complete my CB350 restoration. So I am now the proud owner of a 1968 CL350 in running condition. And its actually the rarer general export model which was not sold in the US
First the pictures

About the bike (as I got it):
- PO claims it has about 2500 miles. Speedo was replaced at some point in time and shows 1100.
- Bike was parked in 1980 by PO's friend. He bought it and got it to run and then sold it to me.
- Compression is solid (170 psi in both cylinders)
- It runs with just a couple of kicks when cold and 1 kick when warm!
- Transmission is solid. Goes through all the gears.
- New tires. Correct size Duros.
- Carbs were cleaned and new gaskets were replaced. New fuel lines.
- UNI air filters (side covers have been removed but I have them)
- Seat cover was probably custom made in the 70s - its very similar to the original cover, but its red (or oxblood red if you were specifying a fancy car interior). Pan and red foam is original.
- Tank, headlight shell, fork ears and side covers were painted silver (poorly!) - but this gives the bike a cool bare metal survivor look right now.
- New brake and clutch cables
- New rear brake shoes
- New chain (chain guard is missing though)
- All electrics work great, even the electric start (just takes the slightest press of the button )
- New battery
- All chrome bits were cleaned and look in great nick!
- Original mufflers in great shape! One part of the heat shield has broken off though.
- Handlebar grips are aftermarket and not the correct size
- Rear brake lever is a little bent
- I have signed CA pink slip from last registration in 1980

Interesting thinga about the general export model (differences with the US model):
- Tank knee pads (wow!)
- Front and rear mudflaps
- Optional skid plate under the engine is installed
- Turn signal stalk are flatter and have an oval cross sections compared to round ones
Can you guys see any more differences? Any one out there know more about this model? Please let me know.

And one final thing: Woooohooooo!

 

[Simo]

I think Steve officially has the longest build ( I'm up their too)
Didn't you just say ' now I need a cl350', nice find For under a $k
I'd keep the seat but repaint the tank/covers and bucket
The indicators/turn signals are the same as cd/ca175 k3~
The heat shield looks wrong is it upside down?

& one one final thing.... Very Cool

 

[ninadm]

Simo: I'm a man of my word
Yea the seat looks very nice, like it was made by Honda.
Thanks for the info on the turn signals. Should help if I ever need spares.

 

[yasir]

Wow look at this seat excellent purchase

Sent from my LT26i using Tapatalk

 

[dtsmjr8dan]

Really coming along nice. What is the tab on the lower pipe at the engine? Looks like it should have a bolt in it to something.

 

[ninadm]

Thats where the broken off portion of the heat shield would bolt on.

 

[Znabb]

Great find! Really like the red seat cover.

 

[ctrider]

Really looks nice!!
Great rider, Congrats.

 

[ninadm]

Pulled off the carbs, disassembled and let them soak in pine sol over the weekend. Put them back together and installed them today only to find that the battery was completely drained. I realized I had left the key in on position Now the battery is at 0.8 volts(!!) and wont even charge on the trickle charger because it cant detect it. Is this expected for a bike left in the key on position for 2 weeks? I'm wondering if there are some electrical issues that might have caused the battery to get so depleted.

Meanwhile I cleaned up the seat the best I could and it looks even better now. The red really pops out.
Before:


After:


The color has faded a bit over the years (as you can tell by the missing belt area), but I think it will look great once I find a belt to put on it. Will probably get it refoamed in the near future too.

 

[HerrDeacon]

Very nice find, bike looks great. I love the seat, very unique. Looks to be well made too. Did the PO rejet for the Uni filters? If so, would you mind posting the sizes and how it runs once you get it on the road.

Don't worry about the slow build either, mine has been on the go for five years

 

[66Sprint]

Ninad, Check your coils as well.....Leaving the power on can "burn-out" a coil IF it was energised for a long period of time....
That may also be the "drain" that "emptied" the battery......

 

[ninadm]

Did the PO rejet for the Uni filters? If so, would you mind posting the sizes and how it runs once you get it on the road.

Yes the PO did rejet the carbs to 60/110. The float height was about 25 mm. These are 3C carbs and stock is 70/110 with 21 mm float height. I set the float height back to stock for now to see how it runs. I'll let you know how it goes. Eventually I plan on using stock air filters as I try and bring the bike as close to stock as possible. Will probably need to go back to stock jetting then.

 

[ninadm]

Ninad, Check your coils as well.....Leaving the power on can "burn-out" a coil IF it was energised for a long period of time....
That may also be the "drain" that "emptied" the battery......

Thanks Steve! I'll check the primary and secondary resistances of the coil.
Hopefully I can recover this battery. It like new and all the liquid levels are perfect. Will take it to autozone and see what they say..

 

[ninadm]

This bike seems to be sort of a unicorn and information on differences between this and the US model has been scarce. The closest relative I can find information on has been the CL250K0 general export model. But after a lot of searching, I was finally able to find a photo of this bike in stock condition:

My bike was also originally the same color - Daytona Orange. The PO has painted over the original paint instead of stripping it down. The side cover emblems are also the correct orange.
This shows a couple more differences in addition to the ones I found originally:
- Rear shocks are completely shrouded similar to the Honda 305 shocks. The upper shroud is painted with the primary color.
- The fork ears are painted white instead of the primary color like on the US model. This seems to be consistent with my bike, since it would have been easy to see traces of the orange paint under the shoddy silver paint job currently on there.

I eventually plan to make this bike as stock as possible, since it certainly seems more than worth restoring due to its rarity. So I will have to look for the correct shocks. Maybe I can pick up some 305 shocks and paint the upper shroud to match the color.

I am also inclined to go with the candy red these bikes originally came in. My color preferences on these bikes are candy blue, candy red and then orange. Since the CB is blue, I think red would go very nicely. I think I might be able to score a NOS tank from an eBay seller in Thailand, its a long shot and I'll have to wait and see how it goes. Thoughts?

And again, if anyone has any more info on this variant, or remembers seeing one please let me know.

 

[ninadm]

Finally got some time to work on this bike.

I cleaned the carbs and put in new gaskets since I had the correct kits lying around. I readjusted the carb height to 19 mm - the PO had set them to 25 mm for some reason. I left the jetting as is (60/110 vs. 70/110 stock), and the Uni filters on.

Now the bike starts up easy enough - 2 to 3 kicks when cold, 1 kick when warm. But it is idling a little erratically initially. But it gets steady once it warms up. Problem is the tachometer is beat so I have no idea what the RPM is. I'll throw on the spare one I have and check. I was also going to replace the tach cable, but the damn screw is stripped, so I'm going to have to extract it.

Anyway, the major issue now is that as soon as I pull the throttle it stalls. I have the carbs synced up as close as I can tell and both cables get pulled at the same time.
Can someone point me in the right direction on where I should start looking for this issue? I'm thinking of checking the valve gaps and timing next. I don't have a timing light so will be ordering that shortly.

 

[outobie]

if you haven't done so yet adjust valves, cam chain and then dynamically set points.

Also new air filters do wonders for steady idle.

also have you replaced all the carb orings?

 

[Mydlyfkryzis]

Leaving the key on will drain the battery. The light is only about 7 watts, or about 1/2 amp....12 a/h battery (that is not really an exact rating, but gets you close), so a fully charged battery might last 24 hours at that 1/2 amp drain rate. The actual time is a little less.

Once a battery drops below 12V, it is dead....below 10v (standing) it has lost a significant capacity....go all the way dead, and it is usually finished. Even if you get it charged, it will have very little capacity.

I bought a 12A12N4A From Batteries Plus for $27 plus $5 deposit on the old core....$32 out the door. That was filled with acid and charged.

Not all that expensive. keep it on a Battery Tender whenever you are not riding and it will last a long while. Only use distilled water to add electrolyte.

My cheapo battery is on it's 3rd season, still going strong.

I recommend the Battery Tender Jr. Available for under $24 from amazon.com. Works perfectly for this size pattery.

 

[ninadm]

if you haven't done so yet adjust valves, cam chain and then dynamically set points.

Also new air filters do wonders for steady idle.

also have you replaced all the carb orings?

Yes both carbs have brand new o-ring kits.
I will set the valves and cam chain next. I'll also throw on a set on brand new OEM Honda air filters and see if that helps. I'm not filled with confidence about this jet/filter setup to be honest, but it did run earlier, which is the only reason I have not reverted it to stock yet.

Richard: Yes the battery was done for. I got a new gel battery from BikeMaster - not exactly cheap, but dont have to worry about fluid levels, leakage etc. I'm now using a battery tender from Schumacher (1.5 A) that I got from Wally world. Seems to be doing a good job so far

 

[Mydlyfkryzis]

Generally, you should not charge a battery with over 10% of the ah rating. The battery tender jr is a .85 amp charger. Very safe. 1.5 a is a little bit high, but you should be ok.


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[Yendor]

Herr Deacon may have the record. Mine is only 18 (active) +\- months for the current one