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1969 CL350

5K views 11 replies 9 participants last post by  go_hercules 
#1 ·
Just wanted to show my CL350 I refurbished. It's pretty much original except for the seat, tires, and a few odds and ends. The seat had been redone poorly so I made this one from scratch - foam and all. The '69 models had a pleated seat but I did this one smooth like the '68 because I like the looks of it better. I did all the routine maintenance and replaced the carb diaphragms. I bought the diaphragms from Sirius. Some guys pull the diaphragms out and somehow wedge the new ones in place. What I did was uncrimp the top of the slide where it pinched the diaphragm into place. I pulled the diaphragm and plastic collar off, then chucked up the slide in a lathe and turned the remaining metal down slightly for a clean edge. Then I installed the new diaphragm, and collar, and recrimped it with a tool I machined up. Looks and works great. Before I installed them I tested them by sucking air through them with my ShopVac and operating the butterflies. I only have a few rides on it so far and it runs great.
 

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#4 ·
Hi, the tires are Cheng Shins, nice and skinny. Went for a long ride this morning and everything seems to work fine. I did notice after coming off the freeway some oil vapor coming from the breather hose. I don't know if this is normal for these bikes or not.
 
#8 ·
Great job Rhett!!

I took mine out for a ride this morning with Beth on the back. I'm starting to get some oil seepage out of the points area. Originally I thought it might be a head gasket but it's getting bad enough now that I can see it leaking along the wires from the points area. It looks like I'll have to do some investigation.

Be careful on the fuel usage. Mine is a '68 and maybe it had the smaller tank but I only get about 80 miles per tank and it takes right at 1.8 gal to fill it up. I went on reserve once one the highway and promptly ran out of gas about 12 miles later at 65 mph.
 
#9 ·
MNellis said:
Great job Rhett!!

I took mine out for a ride this morning with Beth on the back. I'm starting to get some oil seepage out of the points area. Originally I thought it might be a head gasket but it's getting bad enough now that I can see it leaking along the wires from the points area. It looks like I'll have to do some investigation.
If you remove your points plate, you will find the oil is leaking from your cam seal. At least that is where it is coming from on my 71 CL350.
OIL SEAL (22X35X5)
91251-KM1-003
My buddy says it can be fixed without pulling the cam but, I don't know because I never did it.
 
#10 ·
Nice to see another Daytona Orange `69 CL! I'm biased but that's a really great looking bike. Did you take any photos while you were putting on the new diaphragms? I'd love to see the process. Mine are in good shape and I have a spare used pair in good shape but I would really like to put on a new set some day. Just for peace of mind.

And good work on the seat too. I'm guessing you have an industrial sewing machine and some upholstery experience? I need to redo mine. It's in decent shape but I'd like to put the HONDA logo on the rear (I have a stencil already) but there's not enough room with it's current cover. The pleats are sewn in and I think they were molded in on the originals so these must have been made up at some point and the area on the back where the logo would go is not tall enough.

Anyway...good job!!
 
#12 ·
Hi Kenny, sorry I didn't take pictures of the diaphragm process. The pleats on the '69 seats were originally embossed not sewn. I actually manufacture a pretty full line of reproduction seat covers for the old Bultaco motorcycles. I have all the patterns and do all the cutting, logos and embossing. I have someone do the final stitching. Even on the original '68 and '69 seats there wasn't a lot of room for the logo, especially since the stainless trim piece seemed to fit different on each seat. I've seen some originals where the logo was almost covered by the trim piece. Talk to you later.
 
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