[Bruni]

Looking into my options and humbly ask for some sage wisdom.

I'm working to restore a '71 CB350 and while I feel confident in the mechanical puzzle that will be the rest of the bike, I think I would rather save time/sanity and have a professional take a look at the engine.

The engine itself, as far as I know, is in ok condition. the engine itself turns with the crank, and I have compression, but the throttle and clutch are both stuck.

what ballpark am I looking at to rebuild the engine? I do plan on removing the engine itself from the rest of the bike first.

 

[Boomer343]

I would suggest 1500 to 2000 but have seen higher bills than that.

Parts have gone up and finding a knowledgeable builder is not easy.

 

[PoiPio]

Compression test first. This either closes the wallet or opens it. The nickel and dime is all about that compression number. Clutch is as easy and pulling the clutch out and swap friction plates around. Carb is more a can of NAPA carb dip. This is a 20 minute dip, no rubber or it swells the part. There is a large rubber gasket that the cable runs into, is the spinning top cover that the cable goes thru, so you dip the carb up to the top cover. This more or less will unlock the slide, wash in water, the cable pull should show the slide is now loose to spin the top cover off.

 

[DD23]

Hi bruni, as boomer says " be prepared " !

I assume you have been looking on here for info on your bike ?

I assume you have seen comments like " valves can and do stick, open usually, an unconsidered kick over of a viable engine can turn it to scrap in one stroke " and " stuff like piston rings, clutches and brakes can and do stick ".

Low and behold a stuck carb turns up, not a first for me.

So, you have kicked the engine over over, hopefully you have not used the starter motor, so any potential damage has been done, let's hope you got away with it, but you do say the engine has compression, on both cylinders ?

If you got away with no valves being stuck, go and do the lottery.

Have you bought the bike, know of its history, seen where and how it's been stored, and found no water in a cylinder. You say the carb is stuck, cable solid, butterflies themselves solid, and how does the tank look inside ?

 

[DD23]

You know of CMSNL.com, partzilla, davidsilverspares and various other bike parts suppliers ?

Go and have a look so you know what's involved and have some idea as to costs and availability.

Lub cylinder bores, check for bent valves, drain engine oil, inspect for glitter and black rubbery bits.

Also check contents of the centrifugal oil filter, how full is that ?

Stuck clutch, I wonder how etched the steel plates are, and how thick the friction plates are, is the cable solid ?

Stuck carbs, cables solid, butterflies solid, how are the rubber diaphragms on the dash pot pistons i wonder.

All gears select, none jump out of gear ? You won't really know that for some time yet.

This is just engine stuff.

How is tank and sediment trap ?

Brake shoes, cables, chain and sprockets, tyres, and stuff like a butchered wiring harness etc. Etc. Etc......

See how this stuff mounts up and we haven't got to rust and paint yet !

Battery, mirrors, saddle, lenses etc. Etc. Etc...

So, have you purchased the bike and have all the paperwork ?

Be prepared is all I am saying....just like boomer has said.

But before spending lots of money, get the engine to turn over and have no valve issues.

Then a considered engine start up, but many things to check/sort out/fix and buy before you attempt a start up.

If you take this project on, the more items you do yourself, the more "economic" the bikes resurrection will be, depending how many things you break in the process.

You have a suitable work space and tools ?

Only you can decide if this bike and it's needs is for you.

A longish journey but you will learn so so much in the process, your next bikes resurrection will be "easier".

Pictures pictures pictures, a considered rebirth but most of all ENJOY !

 

[Yendor]

I think a lot of the suggestions on this are over thought. You say both Throttle & Clutch are stuck? Is this just as simple as rusted cables inside the casing? If you go to the 350 Section there are what's called STICKY Threads that contains FAQ type posts and answers. One of those is called THAT NEW TO YOU BIKE. Is has a lot of great info on what & how to check over a bike to determine condition and requirements for safe running.

 

[Yendor]

Actually it is in the 4550 Misc Section but here is the link:

Basic Checklist for that New to You old Bike

This was originally written for the SOHC's but much of it still applies Congratulations, you are the proud owner of a Honda Twin :D . One that may or may not have been maintained properly :o . Of Course, the previous owner (PO :evil: ) told you that everything is absolutely perfect and the oil...

www.hondatwins.net

 

[Montanabill]

What's your budget? Many times I have had people bring in a bike and say "I can afford to fix anything, I got the bike for free" .
Such is not the case sometimes. My advice if you don't know what you have is to take it to someone who knows older bikes (as rare as red haired unicorns) and have them see if it is worth fixing. Agree on a price before hand and see what you have.
If you brought it to me I would clean the carbs, check the points for spark, verify the engine turns and has compression then hook a fuel bottle up to it and a jumper battery and see if it runs and shifts. Yes I have driven around the block with a jump battery bungeed to the seat and a test tank hanging from the handlebars to feed the carbs.

 

[Bill H]

Good advice from some great people. Last few I built before retiring were CB,CA, 160s, 95s, CA 77 and a couple of 350s. Costs run between $ 3,000 and $3500. I went all out on a CB 77 at about $6100. Spent way to much on a CB 400 A but loved that bike. As members stated depends on space, tools and skill level. IMHO. If this is a one shot deal hire out all you can. If planning on more in the future I would do everything except what I needed a machine shop for. Me I never fooled with checking this or that. As soon as the bike hit the shop it was degreased and high pressure washed. then torn down and rebuilt from the ground up. Grab a Honda FSM and have at it. Yes you can fool around and maybe get it to run but me I want to know every piece of the bike.

Bill H

 

[PoiPio]

Ah, camp teardown vs. camp compression.

Ok, for an all out, no looking back, money is no object, the public calls the market price, the better money is spent on a more original barn find. The all out repair is to kick it up a notch so take it to an over restored bike? That says the value is where as the wallet drains, vs the selling price the public makes?

So it's a shark attack price for that new old stock in a closed OEM wrapper, times the price peppered with NOS all over the powercoated prize that in the final tally says? It says going price is 1,500 in any condition, but poured in three times that when all is said and done. Labor not included.

Wear camp compression tallies the working number, or a teardown number makes the next move. So the next move would be the drain pan [if applies], or the slinger cup [for a better name] and that old style of seeing how the parts line up?

Wear the example would be dropping the pan, inspect for debris and where it shows a failure, or break-in debris, or zero debris damage needing a teardown.

Keeping the TD vs More original going, we now bring in a [value] points tally at say a contest for a trophy against the clipboard tally vs overstored and hardy touched. First set of points says so many points for originality:

TD: Tires - Replica
MO: Same - OEM came with the bike but needs new.

TD: Hardware - some hardware bought nuts and bolts.
MO: Same - original but patina'd.

TD: Wiring - some repair needed so blue clamp over two joining wires, flat male/female ends, not bullet style, shrink wrap, zip-ties for harness to frame mount. Seat lifted.
MO: Same - no repairs needed. Lift seat says unmolest bullet and plastic blocks, flat aluminum bands-OEM.

TD: Paint - The all out over restored new paint on the tin and plastic.
MO: Same - OEM original, sun faded.

Kind of see the auction block pricing is the pre-runner to a narrow class; says Japanese for this year to this year, and you both fall into the same category against the points tally?

This restore business is about hobby, commitment, some mechanical skills learned as you go, and as much in-house as Bill mentioned. Call whatever money it takes, you paid tuition for that learning curve of mistakes along the way. A disclaimer WARNING: It's very addicting hanging out in the garage and everything is splattered all over the place. Even my scattered mess knows where every piece goes.

Signed,
Only Goes Together One Way Club

 

[Jmack Montana]

I'm no master, but $3000 seems like way way too much. Doesn't sound like you're planning on doing a top to bottom, full engine teardown restoration . Sounds like you just wanna get that bad Larry ripping and roadworthy. Like someone else mentioned, could just be your cables, and those shouldn't run too much. These were pretty popular bikes. If the engine has decent enough compression and turns over, just clean the carbs, check/change your cables, maybe replace the clutch plates, and you should be off to the races! Shouldn't be much more than a few hundred Topps would be my guess. That might even be on the high side but who knows. Good luck!

 

[gogodirk]

My first cb350 wasnt pretty but ran good. It had a broken kick start return spring. The only way to fix it was to take apart engine. It annoyed me so much seeing that limp kick start lever that I got on you tube and watched videos and now I have taken apart and "rebuilt" 4 engines. If I could steal a line from Moneyball, "It's not that hard, Scott."

The best thing about taking apart motor and putting back together is while you're waiting for parts and fixing mistakes, you get to keep working on the body, gauges, carbs, wheels, etc......

My favorite guy was Saturday's Wrench, Great for first timer trepidation about engines