It all started with a fifty quid hack. A rough old CB360 that'd been discarded when the camshaft bearings had started screaming in protest. Stored in the guy's front garden for a couple of years, rust had attacked most of the chassis and the engine alloy was buried under white corrosion. My wife thought I was mad to pay fifty quid for the pile of rust but I'd checked that the engine was still full of oil and turned over. I was convinced that I'd bought a bargain even when the seat fell apart and one of the shock's studs sheared off. Other bits of the rear subframe looked ready to rust through.
My welding kit was employed to weld in some extra sheet steel for added bracing (and make up a new seat base). My 22 stone friend was instructed to leap up and down on the back of the bike - it survived so was obviously strong enough. The wiring looked good. New oil was added, then a gallon of fuel. A car battery was attached to the existing one, which was devoid of acid and full of white muck. Sparks shot across the new set of plugs when I gave her a kick. Plugs in the engine, 15 kicks later the mill burst into life. Seconds later I turned the ignition off; the noise from the top end rattled windows!
Breakers just laughed when I enquired about good cylinder heads. Eventually, one reckoned he could sleeve the head for sixty quid. One week later I reassembled the engine, full of anxiety and worry that I'd been ripped off (again). The state of the guy's workshop was straight out of Steptoe and Son. Six kicks later I was in seventh heaven.
The engine almost purred, a marvellous mechanical rustle that would put many modern bikes to shame. A blip around the block revealed vague but light steering. Power was far from fear inspiring, it just seemed to gradually gain velocity the more the throttle was opened. Bland but civilised.
I nearly died when a cager shot out of a drive. The brakes, a front disc and a rear drum, hardly worked but a quick twirl on the bars got me around the pillock, who tooted his horn in celebration. Okay, then, time to do some serious work. Caliper taken down, cleaned, and new pads fitted. 10 years worth of brake dust removed from the rear drum and new shoes fitted. Spokes and rims wire-brushed and painted silver. Replacement seat and mudguards from the breaker. New chain and sprockets. Used Avon Death-master tyres (a quid each!). Polish the engine, paint the cycle parts and fit replica exhausts.
Total cost almost £200, including the initial purchase price. During the next ten years I've done 33000 miles in addition to the original 16000 on the clock. Many minor problems but nothing major from the engine. Things like the vibration making the fuel line fall off, a weeping cylinder head gasket, a starter motor that broke its clutch, a chain that broke and scored the back of the crankcases, and carbs that kept cracking their diaphragms.
The chassis was more troublesome. The tank started weeping fuel and had to be replaced with a new (but heavily discounted) one. The sidepanels kept falling off (and are almost impossible to find cheaply) until I riveted on some new latches. The swinging arm bearings were crap, lasted for less than 5000 miles. I had to fit an old TLS drum front wheel as the disc was appalling in the wet. The mudguards rusted through again.
The suspension started out weak and soon ended up mushy. Girling shocks and heavy-duty springs in the forks sufficed, though there remained a passing resemblance to a pogo-stick on neglected country roads. I eventually fitted a complete, used front end off a GS450E, which was out of this world in comparison. Handling was amusing sometimes but rarely dangerous. The frame was strong and the mass relatively low. The back end wallowed in a friendly kind of way, down I'd say entirely to the poor swinging arm bearings. The front was vague until the GS bits were fitted, when it settled down to being merely imprecise.
The handling wasn't much hassle because top speed was effectively only 80mph. On a long downhill stretch, with a howling gale to my rear and my head in the clocks, 100mph was on the speedo. Normally, when trying for high speeds the engine could best be described as totally gutless! Up to 80mph it was quite acceptable if never going to strain my arms...more throttle just made the engine note deepen and the clock refused to budge unless the aforementioned conditions were met!
As it'd cruise at 80mph for a couple of hours, the strange lack of extra speed was only a hindrance when I tried to overtake cars that were bubbling along at 70 to 75mph - they always speeded up a little as I came alongside, perhaps responding to the brutality of my baffleless silencers. It may just've been the lack of the baffles leaning out the carburation at high revs, although putting on the choke just stopped the engine dead.
In fact, 80mph equated to just half throttle and if I contented myself with the mild velocities the engine was willing to give, 60 to 65mpg was turned in with gratifying regularity. During motorway work, the oil level could go down to the minimum within 200 miles. Dead easy to end up with an empty sump on a long trip. Oil changes and servicing were done every 500 miles in deference to the machine's age and alleged fragility! Absolutely essential on these simple, old Honda twins.
The bike still runs as mildly as ever. However, it's been supplemented by two other Honda twins. The CB350 turned up when I was looking for a replacement front end for the 360. The TLS drum was ideal to my mind. The guy was selling a load of old Honda parts and an original, 9000 mile CB350. This was in 1987 when old Hondas weren't too popular. I bought the bike and the parts for £300. A bargain as far as I was concerned.
The CB350 was a 1974 model, shared a lot of its engine design with the later twin (save for the latter's troublesome top end). The 360 was mugged by emission and noise laws, the 350 was a much freer revving if rawer twin. 90mph came up on the clock with ease, 105mph possible if I was willing to push it and sustain the grating vibration.
Such speeds pushed the chassis, which was running stock suspension and a worn set of Deathmasters (they last for ever). The weaves and mild wobbles weren't too disturbing, but the way the centrestand dug in and hurled the back wheel off the ground, did have me scrabbling for my heart pills, wondering how I'd explain the dirty underwear to the wife. She was still smarting from the fact that I'd sold my car to fit the second Honda and parts in the garage! Stronger fork springs and Koni shocks, plus a set of grippy Michelins, were fitted. The centrestand was removed.
Totally transformed the feel and handling. Better, in fact, that the later bikes. I was so impressed by the rugged running, and more than adequate performance, that I added a handlebar fairing and set of panniers. The 350 became my touring mount whilst the 360 did the everyday chores.
The 350 did about 5000 miles every year for five years until I bought a CB500 four for the long distance work. I received some strange looks from fellow travellers on superbikes, especially on the ferry to Calais. However, the old twin valiantly fought its way through France, Spain and Italy. Sometimes it'd cruise at 90mph but most of the time 80 to 85mph sufficed. 55mpg was normal for high speed work and 65mpg possible under mild usage.
Overall impression was a sensible but far from boring motorcycle. The one area in which the 360 was superior, but by no means perfect, was the transmission. The final drive was much smoother and the gearchange action much more likely to attain the required ratio. Other UMG contributors have described old Honda's that have gearboxes that are excellent anti-theft devices. I think they were being kind.
The 350 liked to be wound up through the box until the cruising speed was attained but had sufficient power to hold 80 to 90mph without needing excessive footwork. Also, the engine ran hot in town, which warped the clutch plates, leading to enough drag to stall the mill at junctions. Luckily, the electric starter still worked and would churn the engine back into life. The bike was also a finicky starter, needing much choke juggling for the first ten minutes.
I could certainly see how Honda had civilised the 350 in making the 360 but they had also lost a lot of its soul. With about 35000 miles on the clock, the engine lost a lot of its zip. Smoke out of the breather pipe suggested worn bores. Engine out, split the camchain and off with the head and barrels. The latter was heat-welded into the crankcase, needed an excess of hammering to free, with several broken fins for my pains.
I had a set of new barrels and ordered new pistons (and gasket set) to suit. The crankshaft was wonderfully hefty and in good shape. The chassis was given a respray and good polish, alloy and chrome shining brightly. I'd picked up new bits when they became available cheaply and the bike ended up looking very nice, in its mildly classic way. At one point, the Honda decals on the tank were missing, causing quite a few old codgers to gasp in admiration because they thought it was an old Brit. Embarrassment all round when the truth dawned.
The bike's rolled out in the summer, kept in excellent shape now that it's a bit of a pose to ride around on twenty year old Japanese motorcycles. I've been offered £800 and £1200 for the 350, which I've refused. True, some nice US imports are turning up for around £750, but this bike and I go a long way back and we are old friends now. They were best sellers in the States where they didn't have the limitation of the 250 learner laws. It's easy to understand why because they are cheap to run and have enough performance to stop the rider falling asleep.
With the garage already full of old Hondas, it was a bit mad to pay out £400 for a CJ360T. Especially as it had 22000 miles on the clock. But it was in very good nick and I just liked the way it looked. All the usual suspension mods had been done. The CJ was very similar to the CB360, except that it lost the electric starter and had neater styling.
The 2-1 exhaust, with a modicum of baffling in the silencer, helped the engine rev higher, though it was still gutless even compared to a 400 Superdream I've recently bought (should I seek help for this obsession with old Honda twins?). On a very good day I might see 110mph, normally the engine turned asthmatic as the ton was approached. 90mph cruising seemed possible except that I was aware of the fact that the cylinder head had the same potential camshaft hassles as the CB360.
In reality, most of the damage to these kinds of engine's done when they are revved too harshly from a cold start. Oil needs time to circulate to the cylinder head - simply don't use full power for the first ten minutes. Most Honda twins like to be revved hard when accelerating, even the gearbox action becomes more precise.
For some reason, maybe because it'd had only one previous, mature owner, the gearchange was sweet, a real pleasure to rush up and down the box. Whilst the CJ had most of the performance of the 350, it lacked a lot of its gruff character but not the secondary vibes when taken into the red.
Handling and flickability were excellent. The taut, non-standard, suspension gave it a feel not that far off an old Triumph twin and I was impressed by the way I could feel the tyres reacting with wet road surfaces. I often surprised modern fours with the speed I could clip along in the rain.
Only when I had to hammer the front disc in the dry, going into bends on a trailing throttle, did I find anything frightening within the chassis. The front wheel reared up, redirecting the CJ across rather than around the road. I had no time to scream, had to struggle its mass on to a new, safer line. It happened several times as I often found myself travelling 10mph faster than I'd thought, coming into bends far too fast. At least it woke the cagers up!
The only problem I had with this bike was from the rear wheel. First, the spokes started breaking up when I had the wife on the back. For sure, she's a touch hefty, but ending up with an egg shaped wheel was something of a surprise. Rather than buying a used one I had a new rim laced on to the old hub.
400 miles later, the back drum locked on solid. I knew the shoes were a bit worn but the over-camming came as a shock. I relied on the plausible front disc for a while until the handling became dire - the hub was cracking up! The bike was off the road for six weeks until I found a replacement. I've only had the CJ for three years and 8000 miles, so not much else to report.
I like all my old Honda twins The CB350's my favourite and I'd recommend one of the reasonably priced American imports. The CB360G5's a bit too slow and lacking in character to be of much use as anything other than a hack. The naff cylinder head design means you'd be a fool to pay serious money for one - I've been waiting for mine to go ever since I had it fixed (those frequent oil changes have saved it). The CJ360T seems a pretty good bike, though again the top end's suspect. Cheap, cheerful fun's what these old twins are all about.
Adrian Turner