There’s something melodiously pleasing about the sound of a twin cylinder motorcycle, what with its putt-putt from da’ butt-butt. Today’s Nice Price or Crack Pipe Honda is just such a small twin. Let’s find out if its sound, and its condition, make its price music to our ears as well.
Honolulu Camry fans had a lot to like with yesterday’s 1987 Toyota Camry wagon. It was after all, brown, a longroof, a stick shift, and apparently came with a collection of different wheels in case you were wavering on which ones you liked best.
One aspect that didn’t go over very well was the price, as evidenced by the 60% Crack Pipe loss it took home... to Hawaii. After that island girl Maserati of a week or so ago, I’m starting to think that perhaps Hawaii isn’t an untapped cornucopia of automotive values.
Seeing as that is evidently the case, let’s head back to the mainland for today’s 1969 Honda CB350. In fact, let’s go to Southwest Michigan as that’s about as main-land as you can get.
Honda introduced their CB350 in 1968 in replacement of the smaller but more grandly named CB77 Super Hawk. The bikes were wildly successful here in the States, selling more than 300,000 over the course of its six-year production run. Add in the high-pipe CL350 Scramblers and more that half a million of the twins found homes in the U.S..
The CB350 started that run with 36 horsepower out of its 325-cc SOHC upright two cylinder engine. Yes, the 350 was actually a 325, go figure.
Despite potential truth in advertising lawsuits the 350 sold in droves, potentially due to its flingable nature. It sported a five-speed (one down/four up) gearbox and the whole thing weighed-in at a lilliputian 328 pounds. Like I said, sporty!
Drum brakes front and rear offered stopping duties, but not in the manner you might expect if your experience is limited to modern hydraulic disc systems. Suffice to say, don’t expect the bike to exhibit any heroics.
This one exhibits a good bit of wear and age, but much of that is made up for by its possession of a sissy bar. The idea behind a sissy bar was to provide some protection for your passenger from falling off the back when you were popping wheelies. It’s other function was to look badass.
Badass also describes the custom paint scheme on this vintage two wheeler. The seller says that the bike is complete but not completely original. The side covers are from a later bike and the Speedo has been switched out at some point making the mileage suspect, but it does come with the original key!
That patina of the ‘70s lifestyle that is seemingly engaging when you first lay eyes on the bike turns to a realization that while all there it’s not exactly all that. The custom paint is pretty tired. The chrome looks to be down to the nickel pretty much everywhere it isn’t corroding, and the seat looks like it needs both a new cover and a new base. The forks and shocks are likewise probably worn to the point of needing replacement.
Still, that sissy bar is awesome.
Mechanically things aren’t much better, but again, it seems perfectly serviceable. The seller says the engine kicks over and runs, but that the Keihin carbs need a “tune.” That usually means they need to be rebuilt, but with only two to do. That’s not too bad, right?
The bike also comes without a battery which indicates that the seller is really not interested in making any investment in this bike at all. That means he might take less than the $2,000 he’s asking for it. He says he’d take a trade, but since we don’t traffic in such less liquid assets we’ll have to go with his current cash-in-hand asking. What do you think about this preserved project CB350 and its $2,000 price? Does that seem like a deal to ride easy? Or, is the bike in too rough a shape to ask that kind of cabbage?
You decide!
Southwest Michigan Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.
H/T to The762Finn for the hookup!
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