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!

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!