Here's my '75 Honda CB360 Project
In 2010 there was an ad for a CB360 that caught my eye, so I went to take a look.
It was in pretty rough shape and barely ran, but it looked
like fun so I bought it for
$500. I wish the kid I bought it from could see how it looks now.
Because it had no title and needed parts, I bought a
second one (with title).
It looks pretty good in the photo, but had a seized engine and a lot of rust,
plus hornets had built nests in the airboxes. Not bad for $250. A lot of the
leftover parts were sold on eBay and the rest (in boxes) sold for $250, so
all of the salvaged parts were free, plus a little profit into my pocket.
Here's how it looks after six weeks of very hard work and a fistful of cash.
It was stripped down to the bare frame and virtually everything, like cables,
bearings, etc., was replaced.
Compare this to the pic at the top of the page. It's hard to believe it's the
same bike.
There were a lot of modifications along the way, some for performance and
others for style. At the moment,
the engine is stock but that's going to change in the future.
The battery and starter were eliminated and all of the electronics were
hidden beneath the seat. I used
OEM style bullet connections and multi-pin blocks everywhere possible. The seat
can easily be removed
and the components changed without cutting, The corrugated covers make the wires
disappear.
Nearly all of the wiring was run through the frame. If you're going to do
this yourself, I strongly recommend
you run an extra wire or two for future use.
It's little details, like with the brake light switch, that make all the difference.
Without turn signals, starter, solenoid, and a lot other electrical stuff, I created my own wiring diagram.
Click HERE to download a crisp
and clean PDF copy of your very own. Here's a quick explanation
of how the diagram works: As seen above, the electrical is stripped down to the
bare minimum.
The battery was replaced with a "battery eliminator," which I think it just a
big capacitor and it doesn't
work as I'd hoped. I wanted to be able to take things apart later without having
to cut wires so I used
stock-type barrel connectors (the little rectangles) and a couple of multi-pin
connectors (the larger
black rectangles). I put dashed lines around various area, such as the stuff
beneath the seat, just to
keep everything grouped together. The headlight & horn switch came from an
online vendor - it was
designed for an ATV. There it is. If you have questions, feel free to
e-mail me.
The stock hand controls looked ugly and had problems, so they were replaced
with modern parts.
The front brake assembly was the worst because of the two-piece hose and the
brake switch on
the lower triple clamp. Kawasaki Ninja parts look better and were cheap on
eBay.
The clutch lever assembly was the ugliest. More Ninja pieces made a big difference.
Getting rid of the two-piece brake hose allowed me to cut off the mounting
bracket, as
well as the handlebar lock. The upper clamp was sandblasted to reveal the
beautiful
aluminum alloy beneath. The bottom clamp was painted black at this point, but
later was
painted silver for a close match.
Here's how it turned out. Honda should have done this from the beginning.
The horn originally hung beneath the fuel tank. I wanted to hide it behind
the headlight, so
I needed a custom bracket. Here's the cardboard template and the final version.
Here's the bracket and an aftermarket horn. Much nicer.
The key switch was also beneath the fuel tank. I tucked it beneath the seat
and blended it into
the frame. It looks like it came this way from the factory.
Like so many old bikes, the tank was full of rust. Instead of lining the tank
with Creme (a common fix),
I found a great trick online: use a weak solution of Arm & Hammer Washing
Detergent, then suspend
a piece of steel to act as an anode (I used a carriage bolt). Connect the
positive clamp from a 12-volt
battery charger to the anode and the negative clamp to the tank, then let it go
for a couple hours.
I gave the exterior a faux aluminum finish, along with an emblem a friend designed for me.
Since my name is Ace King (really), using a pair of cards was a natural. Here's a closeup.
The rear fender was bobbed, with the license plate covering the open end. The
brake light
was a $10 eBay item and I made a bracket to hold it all together.
The original engine vent hose was falling apart and Honda doesn't make a
replacement. You
can get rubber hose from your local parts house, but it doesn't bend the way it
should, so I
came up with a way to mold it. I used a piece of plywood and shaped the hose
using little nails,
ran a steel cable thru it to prevent any kinks, then used my heat gun to soften
it up. After a few
heat and cool cycles, it came out perfect. Cheap and easy.
Here’s list of everything that was replaced or added:
Front wheel bearings
Fork seals
Fork dust boots
Fork gaiters (aftermarket)
Speedometer cable
Brake caliper seals
Brake pucks
Head bearings
Clutch cable
Front brake hose (custom)
Throttle mechanism (aftermarket)
Dual throttle cables (custom)
High/low headlight switch and horn button (aftermarket)
Engine kill switch (aftermarket)
Horn (aftermarket)
Bar-end mirrors (aftermarket)
Fuel filler gasket
Fuel lines and filters (aftermarket)
Padded café-style seat (aftermarket)
Rear wheel bearings
Chain
Plug for the starter motor hole (aftermarket)
Clutch plates and springs
Tachometer cable
Engine vent hose (custom)
Exhaust gaskets at the head
Muffler gaskets
Pod air filters (aftermarket)
Plug wires
Petcock o-rings
Various rubber parts – shift lever, kick lever, handgrips
Carb insulator boots (Honda $tock)
Headlight brackets (aftermarket)
Bulbs for the instrument indicator lights
Discarded: centerstand, tail light assembly, front fender,
chain guard, starter motor and chain,
starter solenoid, battery, turn signals, air boxes, side covers, passenger
footpegs, tool kit box
and probably a few other things I forgot.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Here's my previous cafe racer, a highly modified Yamaha RD400. It came this
way and even
though it was licensed for the street it was way too high-strung and far too
loud. I rode it a few
times at a local track and it scared the shit out of me. Honest.
Just for reference, here's my shop, some of my other bikes
and a glimpse of the Playboy
centerfolds that line the walls. It's the ultimate man cave.
Here I am as a kind, probably 12 years old, with a contraption built from a
riding lawnmower
sulky and plastic wheels from a patio chair. Back then it was a wild
ride. You can see
some of my other crazy creations at the
Ace Design Lab.
