1974 Honda Work Log

Message

Iain · #1 Unread post by **Iain** » Wed Sep 21, 2005 5:11 pm

I decided to post this work log here, and not sign up in the blog section as I wanted to have people reply and offer advice and input along the way. Even a "wow, what a great job" or posts like that really help motivate you, and peoples oppionions do mean alot. So if I'm breaking any rules by posting a log here, please let me know or move the thread to a more appropreat spot, and accept my appology for messing up.

Alright here we go, I just recently I bought a 1974 honda CB350 for 200$ canadian. It was an awesome price for a starter bike, and although it needs work, it's mostly cosmetic and shouldn't be too hard to get running. I don't plan on riding it untill next spring, but that gives me all winter to work on the bike. The log may get slow at times, but I'll try and make sure to regularly update as I get things done. So to start out some pictures of what I've done so far and what needs doing.

First of all, I have removed the seat and gas tank, so I could repaint the frame, and also have an easier time cleaning it.

As you can tell from this picture, it does need some cleaning, as there is rust in spots, especially on the pipes.

There is some sort of make shift job done in this picture. It is filled with some sort of rubbery material, it will probley need to be aluminum welded as I don't trust the job done on it.

You can see the evidence of it being dropped in this one, as some of the fins are cracked. Hopefully there is no internal damage.

The tank has a fairly big dent in the side, and it rusted very bad on the inside, so I may have to replace it. Although there are products to remove the inside rust, I figure it will probley cost me just as much to have the dent removed and it cleaned, as it will to buy a new one.

The seat will need some work as well. The is a rip in the cover, and the foam is drying out and falling apart in some spots. I think I will cut out the bad piece of foam, replace it, and order a new seat cover. It's cheaper then making a whole new seat, and looks better then recovering it myself.

Thats all the pictures I have right now, but I'll take more as I get work done. Tonight I worked on the wireing a bit, and managed to blow a fuse, becuase the guy who owned it before me, rigged some sort of weird wiring system up, and while trying to figure out what was going on, I shorted the positive terminal of the battery on the frame. I also spent the afternoon taking the front end apart as much as possible, so I could clean everything up.

Iain · #2 Unread post by **Iain** » Thu Sep 22, 2005 10:01 am

Ok, so today my friend was over, and we got all the electrical working. But the job the guy who had it before me did, makes me a little nervous, so I took a trip to Canadian tire and picked up some supplies to at least redo his make shift job. I might replace some of the other wiring, I'll have to take a closer look at everything, I'd rather not redo anything else if I don't have to, as everything is nice and color coded right now.

You can see in this picture the horrible job that was done. There are 3 different pieces of wire, all differnt gauges, just twisted and taped together. The gauge dosn't even feel high enough to be able to handle 12 amps. The piece that the fuse fits in is in really rough shape, and dosn't stay together well, so I will replace that as well.

This is what I picked up today, I got the wire to replace the stuff he had, plus new ring terminals and butt connectors. I also got a new fuse casing and light bulbs to replace those that illuminate my tach and speedo.

Thats all my progress for now. I have to figure out a way to get my tach and speedo apart so I can replace the labels and repaint the outside. The problem is its sealed together with some sort of chromed band. I'm not sure if I want to just cut it open, or what. I'll see what people say and find out if I'm daring enough.

TechTMW · #3 Unread post by **TechTMW** » Thu Sep 22, 2005 11:00 am

The speedos are supposed to be tamper proof - so if you open them, you probably won't be able to close them again

Iain · #4 Unread post by **Iain** » Thu Sep 22, 2005 11:48 am

Thats very true, kinda of dumb of me not to think about it. I wonder if I can get replacements anywhere cheap. Old bike barn seems to be the only site I can find that has parts for a CB350, and eBay is very hit or miss. I will have to look around.
As a side note, I just finshed putting together my new wire and I'm about to go test it out, and see if those new light bulbs work.

Iain · #5 Unread post by **Iain** » Thu Sep 22, 2005 12:26 pm

Alright, so the wire I made worked which makes me happy. Now onto my next task. I've taken some pictures of the speedo and tach so you can see the condition they are in. I figure I might as well take a crack at redoing them myself, even if I ruin them, I still need to get new ones.

As you can see, the decal or sticker or whatever labels the inside of both, is cracking and pealing off. Also the glass is cracked on the speedo. The both need to be repainted as the paint on the outside is chipping off. My plan if i can get them open is to get some of that sticker paper you can get for your printer, and reprint the insides, except change it to Kilometers on the speedo. I'll try and buy the best grade sticker paper i can get, as I do want it to come out well.

The back on either of them shows no way of getting them open, other then what I guess are rivets of some sort.

But even if I drilled out the rivet things, I still have this band all the way around each to deal with.

So any suggestions I would love. I know it has to be possible to redo them, or at least on some bikes, as a friend had his sent off and redone, but it cost him a few hundred dollars. Which I refuse to pay.

BuzZz · #6 Unread post by **BuzZz** » Thu Sep 22, 2005 9:50 pm

The only way I know of to remove those banding clamps holding the houseing together(those rivits just hold the internals in place inside, drilling them won't help open it), is to carefully pry underneath the clamp with a small screwdriver or similar and work the clamp open. It is thin and easy to work, but easy to mess up too. Then reverse the process to reassemble. It will look like craap. But you might get lucky and get a decent seal.... maybe.... stranger things have happened....

If you do a really nice job, I'll send you my Gixxer clocks, they need new front glass and it's held on with the same kind of clamp.

polarelf2003 · Tue Sep 27, 2005 5:03 pm

I know you said ebay is hit or miss, but it's a great solution to your speedo problem right now. There's currently an auction for $8.99, both speedo/tach, with no bids. The tach looks like it'll get thrown in the trash, but the speedo looks to be better condition than yours and you dont got to take the darned thing apart.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Honda-CB ... enameZWDVW

Iain · #8 Unread post by **Iain** » Tue Sep 27, 2005 6:24 pm

Hey, thanks, nice find, but I'm thinking I'm gonna try and get this thing open. I'd like to get it looking new. Or as new as possible, that one still looks like it has some slight crackling on the inside. I wish there was more time on that auction, becuase if I end up ruining the one I have I'd like to get that one, but I don't think I'll be working on those tommorow, as my dad just got home from helping out with Katrina relief, so we will probley try and get the bike running tommorow.
Thanks again though, I didn't think anyone was really following this, and got discouraged from taking pictures and posting as I did work, I'll update if I get any work done tommorow.

TechTMW · #9 Unread post by **TechTMW** » Tue Sep 27, 2005 8:47 pm

I'm interested in your progress

If I may make a suggestion - Lose those electrical butt connectors and buy a soldering Iron.... lean how to splice/solder wires. Much better solution.

Get the bike running and in perfect condition mechanically,. and THEN worry about the looks. Nothing's worse than spending all your money on cosmetic only to discover you need some major mechanical work that you can no longer afford

#10 Unread post by **cb360** » Wed Sep 28, 2005 4:24 am

I know folks who have gotten those Honda speedo/tachs apart and got them back together. It's a tough job, but it can be done.

Also - there's a company in Ohio that'll sell you brand new ones... I remmeber calling when I was fixing my cb360 - they wanted something like $150 for the tach by itself! Probably n ot a crazy price considering the age... but I only paid $350 for the whole bike so couldn't justify it.