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453 Posts
Hi guys,
I'm new to the site. I ride a 2015 Ducati 899 Panigale as my daily but just picked up a 1973 CL350 K5 that I’m going to fix up for my first restoration project. I'll chronicle the project here for my own reference and for any of you who want to follow the project and give me pointers. And please give me lots of pointers, because this is my first restoration/build project. I’m excited to tapping into the wealth of knowledge here on the site and learn more about wrenching on bikes.
A couple of things up front before I get into my first weekend tearing down the bike: The first time I rode it, the bike wasn’t getting much power and it felt like the gears were much shorter than they should have been. I would be in fifth gear topping it out at 35-45 mph (the speedo and tach are broken). Additionally, the bike would die if I gave it much throttle RPMs were high. After riding it for 20 minutes, it smelled like gas.
The next time I got on the bike (a week later), it wouldn’t start. Here’s a video that shows the sound the bike made when I pressed the starter. I tried starting with the choke lever in both positions, and I tried the kick starter as well as the electric starter. Nothing. The bike is torn down now so I can’t exactly troubleshoot, but I’d welcome any ideas as to why it doesn’t start now.
I'm stoked to be on the forum and get your opinions about the newest addition to my stable.
I'm new to the site. I ride a 2015 Ducati 899 Panigale as my daily but just picked up a 1973 CL350 K5 that I’m going to fix up for my first restoration project. I'll chronicle the project here for my own reference and for any of you who want to follow the project and give me pointers. And please give me lots of pointers, because this is my first restoration/build project. I’m excited to tapping into the wealth of knowledge here on the site and learn more about wrenching on bikes.


A couple of things up front before I get into my first weekend tearing down the bike: The first time I rode it, the bike wasn’t getting much power and it felt like the gears were much shorter than they should have been. I would be in fifth gear topping it out at 35-45 mph (the speedo and tach are broken). Additionally, the bike would die if I gave it much throttle RPMs were high. After riding it for 20 minutes, it smelled like gas.
The next time I got on the bike (a week later), it wouldn’t start. Here’s a video that shows the sound the bike made when I pressed the starter. I tried starting with the choke lever in both positions, and I tried the kick starter as well as the electric starter. Nothing. The bike is torn down now so I can’t exactly troubleshoot, but I’d welcome any ideas as to why it doesn’t start now.
I'm stoked to be on the forum and get your opinions about the newest addition to my stable.