I can't see your pics but a CB350F is a four cylinder engine. Is it a four banger?
I can't see your pics but a CB350F is a four cylinder engine. Is it a four banger?
2 pipes = 2 cylinders.
OP, if you don't buy it, I will.
Well, here's the deal. The bike is his son's who hasn't lived at home for 3 years. His son bought it 4 yrs ago for around $800.00. It looks good, pops out of the right pipe, and was hard to start, and is horribly out of tune, but nothing internally wrong I don't think. I dont' think $350.00 would get me the bike, and I think $400.00 is about all its worth tops knowing it will need new rubber, carb kits, full cleaning, some electrical work, etc. I didn't offer anything and he's going to talk to his son about it some more, but I did let him know it would be going to a good home and would take care of it. Both the man and his son like the bike, but are mulling over selling it. I also found out there's another interested party in the area.
Also found a 2k ninja 250 locally for around a grand. Might be a better deal in the long run.
I'd cafe the hell out of it. Would be much cooler than a ninja 250.
Personally I would too.. He's looking for a good starter bike though, to get his feet wet. This is def a project imo..
I owned and rode a '79 Honda CB750 up until a few short years ago. Single disc front brake, drum rear, heavy as hell. I bet this bike stops better than mine did once he gets it all sorted.
Bah, he sounds knowledgeable enough to get it street worthy in short time with minimum investment. It's not as though this bike will be a death trap once properly sorted. Hell, it made it from the early 70s to now. I say ride it for 6 months and then sell it or buy another bike and cafe the hell out of this one.
I owned and rode a '79 Honda CB750 up until a few short years ago. Single disc front brake, drum rear, heavy as hell. I bet this bike stops better than mine did once he gets it all sorted.
It may not be a death trap, but it certainly wouldn't stop anywhere near as well as your '79 with its front disc. I've owned a few of those old Hondas with drum front brakes and their stopping power is less than stellar....or ideal.....at best marginal given what you can find today.
And given the OP is going to learn riding on said bike, I'd almost recommend that $1K Ninja he found. At least the stopping power will be decent at a minimum, something that was never said about drum/drum setups. Learners need all the advantages they can get and that old Honda's only advantage is its low price.
I can't see your pics but a CB350F is a four cylinder engine. Is it a four banger?
That bike is a perfect starter bike. Small, lightweight, easy to ride, easy to work on. You people telling him it is a death trap, can't ride it on the freeway, etc. are just plain wrong. That bike had a claimed top speed of 110mph when it was new. Might as well claim that the Ninja 250 shouldn't be ridden on the freeway...
since i have owned one of these, i think when i say i avoided the freeways, i did it for a reason. yes, it would handle the freeway just fine. it isnt a big enough bike to take it for long tho. i rode mine from mesa to phoenix many times, both freeway and back roads (when i had no insurance/ license). the engine easily can handle the freeway, it was the braking, handling and sheer nakedness you feel when running at 65 next to a semi trailer. way more apparent on that bike than it was on any other bike i ever rode. also, the rpms were up to a point where you werent saving any money, and it gets hot here in az easily.
It will definitely blow you around a bit more but it wouldn't be any better on a Ninja 250. Just because a bike has plastics doesn't make it any less susceptible to cross winds or buffeting.
You get used to the brakes. People have been riding these bikes for decades. It's like saying old cars shouldn't be driven on the roads because they only had drum brakes. Will they stop as fast as a new car? No, but you get used to the stopping distances and ride accordingly. At least he doesn't have to worry about locking the front wheel up right?
Looks like a nice bike. Seems to have most of the original parts (other than the exhaust). Does the inside of the gas tank have any rust?
I had a new '71 CL 450 Honda and a new '73 S2 350 Kawasaki. Both of which had drum brakes. While dual leading shoe brakes can be difficult to adjust, I always found them adequate.
No doubt that the Ninja that you looked at would be a better highway bike. But for around town, and the occasional highway jaunt, the CB would be great fun.
Can't speak to the value aspect. Though, $600 for a machine that has trouble starting, needs new rubber, needs seat recovered, as well as carb work seem high... Don't know if I would keep that exhaust either... Dent in the tank and lack of stock exhaust also hurts resale.
Can you get a new old stock gas tank and exhaust? If you can, what would they cost?
Price wouldn't seem be out of line for a better runner. But that's not what you have here. 11,000 miles isn't very much. But it calls into question how frequently the fluids were changed...
Suspect that it would take a lot of labor hours to get it where I would like it. That said, this looks like one of those potential projects that has about three levels of ifs...
But certainly that bike appears to have potential. The questions seem to be do you have the time? And can you get it for the right price?
Best of luck,
Uno
$600 for that bike is way too much. A few years ago I sold my '76 CB550 for $700 but it was nice, needed nothing as I fixed it up, maintained it in the 12 yrs I owned it. I originally paid $100 for it from a guy at work who thought it was too old and just wanted to get rid of it. I adjusted the points, carbs and it ran great.
Haven't looked in years but $600 use to buy you a fairly decent used bike and one with a larger engine, better brakes, etc.