Hi all-
New to the forum. Thought I'd post a bit about a 1973 Honda CB350G that I have been working on for quite some time. It is nearly done. So, three years ago I bought the bike. It was in good condition but was starting to show its age.
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It had about 17K miles on the engine and was all completely original. The gas tank had been creamed, it had flaking chrome everywhere, rust showing through. It needed some love. And the project began.....
First we did the step that everyone does first, clubman bars...
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I may have also put on steel braided brake lines for the front that I found on eBay. Great lines, look great and work well.
Then I decided to get serious and started taking it apart.
![Image]()
First I started working with a shop in San Francisco, Charlie's Place. Great place, does excellent work. He had sown me some other bikes he had worked on that I loved. We started doing some modifications to the frame. He cut out the battery box and electronics attachments and moved them to right under the seat. He also had worked on a seat that I liked. He cut the back off of a gas tank and welded it on to the back of the original seat pan. Sounds a bit weird, but check out the photos and see for yourself.
![Image]()
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I had located a second tank that was in decent shape to replace the one I destroyed making that seat cowl. I took it and the seat to a painter and, after much work and several repaintings, ended up with this...
![Image]()
In the mean time, I took the completed frame, fenders (the chrome was all flaked and ugly), swingarm, and all the other metal bits to West Coast Powdercoating. They did a spectacular job cleaning up all of the rust and putting a beautiful high gloss powdercoat on everything. I was truly impressed with the look and how quickly it was all done. I highly recommend powdercoating for everything except the tank and cowl. Very cost effective too.
So, we started the assembly. I bought new rear shocks from Hagon shocks. They do a great job finding the right shock for your needs. My only complaint is that I am going to have to engineer a modified chain guard. The shock and guard try to occupy the same space.... So, I put the shocks, swingarm and the front forks on to the bike. Yes, that is a crib in the background. I needed to get this bike assembled before my wife and I have twins!
![Image]()
Then my boys came over for a little assembly party. I had spent a lot of time working on the engine. Charlie's Place took care of the internals, new cam chain and tensioner, new rings, new seals, etc... In the mean time I polished all the metal bits by hand. Three different grits of sand paper and then mother's polish. Let's not discuss how many hours that took. I also did the same with the fork lowers. So, we got the front wheel on...
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Rear wheel on...
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Prepped the frame for the engine (big hint, take the bolts that hold the exhaust on before you try to put the engine in)
![Image]()
And got the engine in...
![Image]()
Taking that photo felt really good....
Next I took the seat in to an upholsterer for recovering. While that was going on, I started putting everything else back on. Chain, suspension, brakes, levers, etc.... I was not going to do the wiring as a completely new wiring harness was built to deal with the fact that we moved the battery and other essential bits. Charlie was taking care of that. But I did want to get everything else that I could possibly get done finished before I delivered it to him for final assembly. Then I got the seat back....
![Image]()
That is the current status of the bike. Charlie has the control units, so all the wiring and cables are just sort of hanging free. I should be riding it home in the next few days. I do have some projects still to take care of. The speedometer and tachometer are dinged up. I also at some point need to find someone to hand paint the control units. They are powdercoated solid black right now, the lettering is not painted anymore. I also have to clean up the back wheel a bit. Still ugly....
So, that's my project. Love to hear comments and happy to steer people in the right direction if they have any questions for their own bikes. It's taken a while, but it has been fun.
New to the forum. Thought I'd post a bit about a 1973 Honda CB350G that I have been working on for quite some time. It is nearly done. So, three years ago I bought the bike. It was in good condition but was starting to show its age.
It had about 17K miles on the engine and was all completely original. The gas tank had been creamed, it had flaking chrome everywhere, rust showing through. It needed some love. And the project began.....
First we did the step that everyone does first, clubman bars...
I may have also put on steel braided brake lines for the front that I found on eBay. Great lines, look great and work well.
Then I decided to get serious and started taking it apart.
First I started working with a shop in San Francisco, Charlie's Place. Great place, does excellent work. He had sown me some other bikes he had worked on that I loved. We started doing some modifications to the frame. He cut out the battery box and electronics attachments and moved them to right under the seat. He also had worked on a seat that I liked. He cut the back off of a gas tank and welded it on to the back of the original seat pan. Sounds a bit weird, but check out the photos and see for yourself.
I had located a second tank that was in decent shape to replace the one I destroyed making that seat cowl. I took it and the seat to a painter and, after much work and several repaintings, ended up with this...
In the mean time, I took the completed frame, fenders (the chrome was all flaked and ugly), swingarm, and all the other metal bits to West Coast Powdercoating. They did a spectacular job cleaning up all of the rust and putting a beautiful high gloss powdercoat on everything. I was truly impressed with the look and how quickly it was all done. I highly recommend powdercoating for everything except the tank and cowl. Very cost effective too.
So, we started the assembly. I bought new rear shocks from Hagon shocks. They do a great job finding the right shock for your needs. My only complaint is that I am going to have to engineer a modified chain guard. The shock and guard try to occupy the same space.... So, I put the shocks, swingarm and the front forks on to the bike. Yes, that is a crib in the background. I needed to get this bike assembled before my wife and I have twins!
Then my boys came over for a little assembly party. I had spent a lot of time working on the engine. Charlie's Place took care of the internals, new cam chain and tensioner, new rings, new seals, etc... In the mean time I polished all the metal bits by hand. Three different grits of sand paper and then mother's polish. Let's not discuss how many hours that took. I also did the same with the fork lowers. So, we got the front wheel on...
Rear wheel on...
Prepped the frame for the engine (big hint, take the bolts that hold the exhaust on before you try to put the engine in)
And got the engine in...
Taking that photo felt really good....
Next I took the seat in to an upholsterer for recovering. While that was going on, I started putting everything else back on. Chain, suspension, brakes, levers, etc.... I was not going to do the wiring as a completely new wiring harness was built to deal with the fact that we moved the battery and other essential bits. Charlie was taking care of that. But I did want to get everything else that I could possibly get done finished before I delivered it to him for final assembly. Then I got the seat back....
That is the current status of the bike. Charlie has the control units, so all the wiring and cables are just sort of hanging free. I should be riding it home in the next few days. I do have some projects still to take care of. The speedometer and tachometer are dinged up. I also at some point need to find someone to hand paint the control units. They are powdercoated solid black right now, the lettering is not painted anymore. I also have to clean up the back wheel a bit. Still ugly....
So, that's my project. Love to hear comments and happy to steer people in the right direction if they have any questions for their own bikes. It's taken a while, but it has been fun.
