motorcycle talk: 1970 Honda CB350
 

seems the bike bug has been biting lots of us... I've got a potential deal to trade some snow tires/wheels belonging to a volvo I no longer own for a 1970 Honda CB350. That's a no brainer...
It's currently not running, but the guy says he's got the parts to make it go.
Where do I start!?! (besides taking a class to learn how to ride it)
I checked google for a forum but came up empty-
any chance of finding oldjapanesebikesshop.com?

Cheers,
Kevin

This pic is what this bike is supposed to look like... it needs a little help at the moment...

Start with www.vjmc.org. There's got to be a specific forum - there's a forum for everything these days. See if Clymer still sells a manual for those things; if it's out of print, find one on ebay. Next time you're at Borders or Barnes & Noble, check the motorcycle section for the Motorbooks Buyer's Guide to Classic Japanese Motorcycles - it'll have some information on these, plus give you context for what else was out there at the time. Good luck!

Those bikes are pretty much bulletproof. As long as the motor still turns over you are good to go. Parts are pretty much available.

It is true you can get just about any part for almost any Honda motorcycle. I shudder to think how many Honda bikes are out there. Most of them lack collectability though because they were produced in very large numbers. Notice there is a difference in a bike being collectable and desireable.

That is a good solid bike and they built over a million of them, first bike to hit that mark, IIRC. I just bought some parts for my 1984 CR125R and prices are shocking. Availability is questionable, they sent a couple that don't fit. My bike is not modified either.

The 350 is a more solid choice than a 450. Rockers and cams can be an expensive problem on a 450. 450 has an interesting valve setup if you have never seen one. Rockers open and close the valves with torsion bars instead of coil springs.

Is that like desmodromics?

Jorg

Nope...desmdromic motor (older Ducati Twins certainly used this)
the cam opens and closes the valves......there is no form of spring (torsion bar is a spring) to close the valves....which means you can't float a valve on these.

Ask me all about it. I'm in the process of doing a valve adjustment on mine.