First Day of Spring

Happiness is the first warm days of spring when you can drag all the snow blowers, snow shovels, hockey skates, and whatever out of the garage entrance and get to the stuff that's been hibernating all winter -- specifically the CB350. Finn and I found a spare hour or two, wheeled the bike into the drive, then mounted the new aftermarket tailpipes. After checking the crankcase, and giving the battery a charge, we added a bit of fuel to the tank in preparation for turning it over. Just before I pressed the starter, Finn yelled, "Dad, she sprung a leak." And he was right. Gas was running out of the petcock like sap from the maples. After messing with it for a minute or two, I realized there was nothing I could do -- "on", "off", "reserve", the fuel ran steadily off the bottom. Pressure on the switch seemed to diminish the flow, but it seems a new petcock is in my future. So we soaked up the fuel, then wheeled the bike back into the garage. 'Looking forward to that next afternoon in the drive.

What Happened?

I just noticed that December came and went without a post. Was it the holiday season and my mind simply pushed the 350 out of mind in order to deal with all the logistics of Christmas and New Years? Or is it the weather, and I'm in the midst of some type of mental hibernation? Honestly, I have no idea. I do know that I wasn't completely shut-out on the motorcycle-theme present front. Sure, Santa didn't leave a red, white, and blue, "Easy Rider"-era helmet under the tree for me, but biker buddy Andrew did score me some handlebars that could be the solution to my currently bent pair. I know it wasn't much, Andrew, but it meant a lot.

Benefits of a Buddy Bike

Had a few spare moments and pulled out the K4 this weekend; popped in the battery to check the electrical system and found the horn, light, and starter work. Finn liked the horn in particular. Nice rich blast. So good to hear this thing coming back to life.

Despite the 45 degrees, the late afternoon sun made that bike glow. It also revealed a few more things to resolve, like a missing cover of some sort just below the side cover. I also got to pull out my new mufflers and look at how they mount. Looks like i'm missing mounting brackets and perhaps a few other parts.

Lucky for me my buddy Andrew, who turned me on t this bike, also has 72 CB350K4. Makes it easy to see what I'm missing and what I need to fix. That's his bike above, just before he bought it. Andrew, I'm coming by tonight to stare at your bike. 'Hope you don't mind.

Charged Up

I'm slowly making progress. Bought a battery this past weekend and charged it up. Haven't hooked it up yet, but I am itching to hear this bike turn over. Must be patient...

Moto Mojo

In the few short weeks that I've owned the CB350, I've come to realize the special following this bike has. Not that I'm going to be bartering this any time soon for a tattoo, but I thought this Craigslist ad summed up some of that passion (thank you, 2Bike, for sending it my way). Sure, it makes sense that as perhaps the most popular model motorcycle ever sold in the states it would have the most fans. But there is more to it than shear numbers. I think people love this bike because:

1. Nostalgia: It was probably a lot of motorcycle owners first bike (being a smaller bike and all)
2. Value: It was relatively inexpensive to buy and maintain
3. Timeless: It looks good and is still an economical ride
4. Mojo: Some things have it, some don't; I think the CB350 has got a magical essence to it.

Perhaps I have a CB350 tattoo in my future? Not likely. Katie and the kids come first. But it is kind of fun to think about.'Wonder if he'd be willing to do a tatt or two for some old hockey equipment...

Pipe Dreams

Back from a long weekend with the Katie and the kids in Florida, I was greeted this morning by the arrival of a package to my office -- my tail pipes from Sirius Consolidated in Canada. Perhaps it was the backdrop of Toy of the Year winners featured in Disney FamilyFun, my wonderful employer, that gave it a Christmasy kind of feel, but pulling those shiny chrome mufflers out of their respective boxes made me feel slightly dizzy.

Here I am with my new pipes...

The Good Book

Yesterday, I felt a bit closer to actually getting started on the restoration project with the arrival of my Clymer manual. The book is as advertised -- simple, straight forward, not a lot of extraneous information.
After I put the kids to bed, I plopped down on the couch and started reading. Torque pressure, gaps, you name it, everything is covered. Lots of handy illustrations about things like the drum brake assembly, etc. 'Gets me itching to to start breaking down the bike.
But this is all part of the preparation. I need to get the space ready, get a few parts together, and then jump into it.