It all began with a roundabout drive home through a part
of my neighbourhood I don't often go through.
Rounding a corner I caught out of the corner of my eye a”FREE”
sign. Always up for something free I
backed up in my car and eyed a sign on the side of a motorbike. After the two guys already kicking the tires
had confirmed they had to go ask a wife if they could have it. I immediately
stated, “Don't bother, I’ll take it”.
I secured the ownership from the guy with it up for grabs
and drive the short distance home to tell my wife while she was driving me back
to pick up the bike. I pushed it the two
blocks home and beamed at my newly acquired ride. I felt like I hit the lottery. I took pictures while my wife wondered what
she had just abetted me in bringing home.
A 1972 CB350 K4. No pipes, broken
side cover, rust dirt, and many other missing or broken parts.
That was the start of a 20 month odyssey into the vintage
Asian bike world. With no time on my hands
that summer I stored the bike in my shed till November. Dragging the unlikely suspect to my garage I
marvelled at all the stuff I hadn’t noticed before. More missing parts, jury rigged parts, and
aftermarket changes to the original model.
As I had rebuilt four Honda PA50 Mopeds vintages from 1979 to 1982 my
first instinct was to strip all the parts down and see what I really had.
Month 3. After
pulling the tank and a few other parts, the thought occurred to me that I might
have more on my plate than I bargained for.
I decided to see if it would actually fire and ensre the engine was in
principle in working order. Pouring some
gas in the carbs and getting some juice to the starting circuit, I prepared to
kick it over. With no pipes or manifolds
now on the bike after two kicks I was scared ****less by a roar I had not
expected so easily
Fire shot out of the cylinders and lights came on! I screamed with delight! I ran in a got my wife to film the next blast
on our digital cam. It’s still on my
facebook page. I finished the strip in a
couple of days setting aside the parts which definitely needed replacement, and
listing others I would replace anyhow.
Tired but satisfied with work well done.
Little did I know of the
availability of parts for this bike?
Once the bike was stripped and the motor was on a working mount, I
started visiting my local Honda dealer.
Encouraged and discouraged at the same time. Necessary parts No Longer Available (NLA),
many parts still in stock; I started piling up the new parts in a box. The remainder of the bike now in six large
boxes with assemblies in zip-lock bags.
My winter challenge would be the motor. First stripping it down and refinishing
it. I determined that the tranny or
lower part of the motor was fine with only 20,000 miles on it, if the odometer
was accurate. The kids went together and
bought me vintage rubber for Christmas. Refinishing,
buffing, painting all the parts as close to the spec of a new bike. New pistons
and many other internal engine parts. By
the end of January the motor was finished and ready for the frame.
Month 5. The frame
was sent to a powder coater. While I
knew this was not original, I knew the finish and final result would be
superior. Now with the motor finished
and spring coming soon I started to clean and replace the remainder of the
parts. My buffing wheel and solvent well
were working overtime. Every night from parts
soaking the radiant aroma of solvent permeated the lower half of our
house. I really needed the frame so I
could determine more fully if I needed more parts.
It took more 5 months.
The powder coater had problems with his furnace and delay and threat
turned into more delays. In the mean
time I amassed the chrome parts needed to be rechromed, and the list of NLA
parts grew. I started searching the
internet and Ebay. I knew all the vintage and Bike parts dealers in a 200 mile
radius and on line. Parts dribbled
in. Some were not the original parts and
had either to be discarded or resold.
Month 10. Chrome
was the easiest. Thank God as I was
getting tired and discouraged just looking for parts. With the best parts I had from several
sources I delivered the mass of partially restored parts to the chrome
shop. The quote was in ($900) and the
delivery day set (six weeks exactly). As
I continued to wait for the frame and get smaller brackets and parts painted or
rebuilt, I also had to start considering the colour painted parts. While I would let any good paint shop work on
the gloss black bracket, I wanted a paint job on the forks, tank and side
covers to exactly match the showroom.
There are many paint shops who said they would do it. Few which would consent to OE paint standards,
and none which would do hand painted pin striping.
After the mid to late seventies most of the Asian bikes
were using decals for stripes and shapes on their tanks and covers. Mine had to be old enough to need that
special touch. Too many shops saying
they paint are simply guys wanting to be artists and have no knowledge of the
craft of painting. Word passed around, I
strolled bike shows and cruise nights. I
no longer visited the shops; I simply phoned and asked if they could do the
original. Finally one shop said yes and
I brought the pieces by. Another $900
quote and a promise for a completion date in six weeks. I okayed both.
By now I had to pick up the chrome, on time and to the
penny of the quote. Like new but with
more gleam and depth to the chrome.
Techniques have improved vastly.
But I still by this time had no frame and a garage full of carefully
rebuilt and restored parts and assemblies.
I so wanted to put this thing together.
I would return and watch the short video of the beast starting up with
gas poured down the carbs. More parts
from the New Old Stock NOS market, both from dealers who had parts but would
not ship out of the United States, and from others who would only deal in Cash
or certified cheques, as well as the ubiquitous Ebay account.
The frame shows up and I immediately drop the motor in
it. The slick shiny black contrasted with
the gleaming silvers of the power plant make me giddy. I slide on the rear fender for more
effect. Wow! Startling in its
simplicity. Assembly begins in earnest
without the painted parts.
While I am relatively able to assess parts and
assemblies, I missed the mark on a number of them both in terms of originality
as well as extent of rebuilding required.
So back to the parts guys and on line purchases. Over this whole time I have procured a CD of
the micro fiche for my bike so now I know all the exact original part numbers
and assembly tricks. I had also found
and kept many pictures of various bikes out there, noting wiring, cabling, and
tubing routes. I also noted those bikes
which were not original and in what way.
I could now tell at a glance if a bike was true to form very quickly.
Month 12. Late
August the paint is finished and the final assembly happens. Ready to start up and test drive I go over
the spec sheet and repair manual for anything I might have missed. Anything out of place or that might be
dangerous or unsafe. After all, this
bike would go a lot faster than the four Mopeds I had rebuilt. All seemed generally in place. I looked great! A few beauty shots in case the whole thing
blew up when I cranked it over.
I fired it up just before
a buddy of mine (a Harley owner) dropped by. Up the road one way, back past the
other. It died. I coasted home. Fuel or spark? I lay on the ground trying to see what I
could be. After a couple of hours I
slinked it back in the garage for an open book examination. I was to emotional out there in public to
think this through. With the manual open
and gauges and tools nearby, I marched my way through trouble shooting. A blown fuse and the spark advance plate
retaining pin out of place stopped me on my test drive.
More checking and more checking I was ready for another
ride. The bike started easily and
sounded great. Shifted well and pulled
like a horse. I was thrilled but it was
late in the year now, one week before the Canadian Thanksgiving week end. Oh well there is always next year. But maybe one last ride. I pull out and go shifting into third and the
motor just stops. I cruise back the shop
and go through the trouble shooting again.
Month 15. Out
comes the motor and I strip down the motor.
Getting into the cams I discover that the two bolts holding the cam on
the shaft have sheared off. 35 years old
and they just couldn’t handle loosening and retorquing. To compound the problem the wobble of the cam
chain has allowed the chain to chew through the inside of the cylinder
casting. A mad scramble for another
cylinder block and more cleaning and glass beading. Back on the road briefly before the snow
flies.
Little note from a
fact page about the bike. “The CB350 was
the highest selling Motorcycle in American history, shifting more than 300,000
units in its six year run. Add the CL350 and SL350 variants and the figure goes
to 626,000! The CB350 had a twin cylinder, over-head cam, air cooled engine. It
had two carbs, a five speed gearbox and an electric starter. It proved to be
very reliable, even without maintenance. It was truly an 'everyman' motorcycle
that appealed to a mass audience. It made 36bhp@10,000rpm, and weighed in at
370lb's.”
Month 20. The
spring arrives and I win the best Asian bike at The Canadian Vintage Motorcycle
Show. Kudos and stares at cruise nights.
Bike of the night at several places. A
dream to ride and pulling strong. Would
I do it again? You bet!
Differently. I would buy all and
any new bolts and nuts for any parts being stripped off or rebuilt. I would be more patient and give more lead
time for large items like paint and chrome.
I would automatically replace all rubber parts. A bigger better buffing machine and a
sandblasting area in my garage. In the
end I have a vintage bike everyone recognizes.
A bike which stops any passerby, and starts many a conversation. The CB350 K4 is a great starter rebuild with
many rewards along the way.
Mark Hull
Recent Comments