1973 Honda CL350 Cafe Racer

It is no secret that I love, I LOVE!!! Honda 350’s…and I’m not the only one. The CB is by most accounts the biggest selling motorcycle of all time…hell, I have four of them! CB,CL and SL models. A couple run, one’s a parts bike and the other is in boxes, milk crates and hanging from the rafters in my barn.

My love affair with the Honda twin began in 1971 when I was in a ‘one-upmanship’ contest with my friend Eddie. Even though I was riding a BSA 650 most of the time, the contest revolved around smaller bikes. Eddie won a couple of times but when I got my first SL350, his ‘little’ Yamaha DT1 250 was left in the dust…literally.

I eventually sold the SL350, after I had slogged it through the deserts of Southern California for a couple of years only to regret it a few years later. So…the search was on for another. I ended up with a 1972 CB350 that had been sitting out in a back yard for something like 10 years or so. That little 350 looked pretty bad, but it was all there and the price was right, a hundred bucks. On to my trailer it went (flat tires and all the spiders you could want, plus a dead mouse in the right side airfilter) and home it came with me. I still have it…25 years later.

Once home, some basic service, a lot of elbow grease and a few (?) new parts and I was back on my favorite little Honda twin. Over the years I put a mild cafe treatment on the bike, lower bars, changed the exhaust, moved the pegs back a bit, upgraded the suspension, I even put good tires on it. Now it is waiting for the big bore kit I recently acquired to be installed.

Building Cafe Racer out of a Honda 350 nowadays is a pretty easy thing to do. Parts are available easily; tanks, seats, controls,suspension, you name it and with a good credit card you can have it delivered to your door the next day. But here is the thing about building a vintage cafe racer,if you’re going to do it right, it ain’t gonna be cheap and it ain’t going to happen over a weekend. The time,effort and money you put into it is for your own pleasure…when time comes to sell it, don’t set your hopes too high.

So, on that note, I found a super sweet CL350 that has a whole lot of nice parts and a lot of love put into it and is being sold at a reasonable price (so far). This CL motor has been gone through, it didn’t need much it only has 4837 miles on it, carbs rebuilt, new electrics, etc, etc. Then we get into the really cool stuff.

The bike was stripped down and everything was either powder coated, painted or polished. The wheels got new spokes, bearings and tires. Suspension was all redone front and rear, nice handlebars, rearsets and the exhaust, which may be a bit loud but it sure looks good. I really dig the instruments and the headlight arrangement. I think I’m changing the vision I have for my own new 350 project.

This is a really nicely done Honda 350 that will last for a long time both mechanically and styling. Click on the pics below for more info and more pictures.

Oh and one last thing, the Honda advert says top speed is 100mph…don’t believe them…maybe 95mph is where it tops out. But with a very little work, the little 350 will ‘Do the Ton’. Have fun.

1973 Honda CL350 Cafe Racer

1970 Honda CB350 Cafe Racer

There isn’t much that needs to be said regarding this bike. It is just plain beautiful. This is pretty much the epitome of the small-bore Japanese cafe racer. There’s a ding on the tank, but the seller seems to be very honest about the bike. The price is only at $2K with 24 hours left in the auction, and reserve has been met. It might be a good chance to get a well done cafe racer for a reasonable price…

1968 Honda CB350 Cafe Racer

Here’s a beautiful bike (nice job! to the builder). It’s a 1968 Honda CB350 twin that has been crafted into quite the well-done cafe racer. And check out that seat! I admit to never having seen one like that before with the narrow front to match the frame rails, and then the wider back section. I would guess that with a rider on it, the shape becomes perfect. Overall, a nearly flawless buildup that doesn’t appear to be a trailer queen.

On to business. The seller’s feedback appears to be good, and the price is at $2,000 with 5 days left. Given that there are 4 bidders already, I would guess that this bike will go up in price before the auction closes. Buy-It-Now, which is set at $3,250, will disappear if the price gets close, so if you think that’s a valid price (I do), you might want to consider that option. Good luck to everyone who’s interested in this bike!

Interesting seat!

1968 Honda CB350 Cafe Racer

I’ve got one of these in my garage right now taken apart down to the smallest part, and I can only hope that I am able to finish building it into something like this. Mine is actually an SL350, but same difference pretty much.

This particular cafe racer has some nice upgrades both aesthetically and mechanically. The most obvious things are the tank, seat, and paint. I’m a fan of brightly colored frames with fairly muted paint on the bodywork, and this bike delivers. The only issue is that it shoes off the lack of side covers and the placement of the seat on top of the subframe.

However, the lack of side covers does show off one of the mechanical upgrades, and that’s the Boyer electronic ignition. No points is cool! It also has new Mikuni carbs, and the motor has been gone through with new parts and a valve job. The rearsets are made from RC-51 parts, and the wheels appear to be 18″ front and rear, but no verification on that in the seller’s description.

This is one of the more reasonably priced cafe racers to come up for sale on eBay lately. The Buy-It-Now price is only $2,000, and bidding is currently at $1,000 with only 2 days left. Good luck if you are interested in going after this bike!

1974 Honda CB350F Cafe Racer

While this is a repost here on the blog, it is also a relist on eBay.And this time it appears to be a no reserve auction which already has 1 bidder at $2,800. I’m sometimes skeptical of relists as I have no idea if it’s real or a scam. However…

In this case, I liked this bike so much the first time around that I decided to repost it anyways. And I even included the rest of the pictures I didn’t post last time. This is a very beautiful bike that truly stands out among cafe racers. Especially those of the home built variety. Here’s a link to the original post on 4/22/09. If you decided to bid this time, be careful, ask questions, and good luck.

I’m crying on the inside… (1972 Honda CB350F)

“And I find it kind of funny
I find it kind of sad
The dreams in which I’m dying
Are the best I’ve ever had…”
“Mad World” by Tears For Fears

(begin rant)
This bike is like one of those kids that Sally Struthers parades around on the television at 3am on a local channel showing reruns of “Perfect Strangers” for 4 hours straight. You feel very sorry for the child. You know they are probably very poor. And yet, you don’t call the toll-free number to donate less than a dollar a day to help feed, clothe, and school the cute tyke.

And now back to this motorcycle. Prima facie, a good find. A 1972 Honda CB350F for a reasonable B.I.N. of $400 on eBay. And then we look more closely at the photos. Dude! At least stand the bike up to take a picture. You could have even done that in the back of the truck. But hey, as the seller states, the throttle works. More power to you…
(end rant)

Honda CB Oil Cooler

So you’ve got a Honda CB that you’ve converted into a cafe racer? And you’ve got it pumped up with a big bore kit or a jet and pipe combo? Or maybe you just ride it like you stole it?

I found this oil cooler on eBay that will help your motor stay cool and survive for the long haul. And it’s vintage NOS for that proper look. It won’t work on my SL350 twin, so I will have to find another solution and leave the bidding to everyone else. It’s currently at $76, with just over a day left in the auction.

1973 Honda CB350 Twin Cafe Racer

Up for auction on eBay is this CB350T cafe racer that has been decently cafe’d. It isn’t in perfect shape, but the price is much better than some of the other cafe racers that get listed for sale.

One of the best features of this bike is that the mechanicals appear to be in great shape. The YouTube video shows an instant cold start (he grabs a header pipe to demonstrate the coldness of the motor), and the engine, exhaust, and suspension bits are nice and shiny. The paint with checked flag racing stripe appears to be in good condition, too.

So what’s missing? Rear-sets. And the seat is just a bit wonky. I think it is padded a bit too much, and perhaps a couple of inches too long for the rather diminutive CB350T. Although, on repeated viewing of the photos, I think my issue with the seat is entirely related to the height of the padding. The length would be okay with the padding halved in height so it lined up better with the tank. YMMV.

However, the best thing about the bike is the price. With less than 2 days left (1 day 9 hours as I write this), the bidding is only up to $127.50 with 3 bidders competing. The Buy-It-Now price is set at $2K, so the reserve is somewhere in-between. Regardless of your opinion (or mine) about the aesthetics of the seat, this is an opportunity to get a mostly complete and in great condition cafe racer for a reasonable price. Good luck if you go for it!

Seat for CB750 (that could possibly fit a CB350)

I recently posted the black and silver CB750 shown just below this, and Kato had a question about where to find a seat like this that might fit a CB350. I have an idea, but I doubt it will be a direct bolt on for a 350. So right below this paragraph is the original bike, and then continue on for the seats.

This is the seat Kato wants to fit to a CB350...

So in looking at that seat, I think I have found either the exact seat, or something pretty close. However, I suspect it might be a bit too long for the CB350.Here’s the specs, and then just below this I have posted a link in each photo to three of the Giuliari seats posted by the same seller on eBay. Each seat is slightly different and in a slightly different state of wear and tear, so please check each out in detail before bidding. And if anyone has any other ideas for Kato (or comments on these seats) please let us know…

1974 Honda CB350F Cafe Racer

Every once in a while a bike like this comes up on eBay, and I always feel lucky to be able to post something like this. What a beautiful motorcycle!

Even though words can’t do justice to a bike like this, the seller has written about a thousand word essay about this bike in his eBay listing. Additionally, he is throwing in http://www.cb350f.com (the url) to the winner. That way you can have a trophy site to go with your trophy bike if you are the winner of this nicely built machine.

One gripe before I sign off for the evening: what’s up with that taillight?