[Saml01]

Well, I did it.

I picked up the bike August 2nd, spent the last month doing all sorts of maintenance on it to make sure its safe and ride-able and with my parents in another state, my balls safely expelled from my abdomen, I set off on my very first ride.

I was like this the whole time ""

No words can describe the exhilaration, especially after some comfort set in.

Sounds amazing, I definitely prefer the inline twin sound to the inline four.

For a 35 year old bike, its fun as hell. What it lacks in speed, braking power(dual drums yay), handling, and suspension it makes up for in pure uncontested soul.

Also, riding around Brooklyn wasnt as bad as I thought it would be. Everyone pretty much kept their distance, and gave me my space.

 

[gitoy]

old bike indeed...11 yrs older than you...so treat it with respect and baby it, or not...i think they made about a million of them?...

let's see some pictures...

 

[Saml01]

1974 C360 with 11480 miles.

Day I picked it up. Thank god for friends and pickups. Getting it in was easy, the guy had a ramp. Getting it out was hard, we used a 4 inch wide, 3 foot long piece of wood I found in my garage. But we managed to get it down.

First week of maintenance. The battery box, tool box, rear fender, tail light/license plate holder were all painted. Wiring harness was moved back to its factory position. I replaced the blinker relay, soldered a broken wire on the stator harness, re wrapped parts of the wiring harness, installed a new horn off a CBR600, adjusted the chain, and rear brake.

In this picture. I installed pod filters because the new mikuni carbs are shorter than the factory carbs and dont reach the factory airboxes. So I cannibalized the rubber tubes off the factory airboxes to attach the pod filters. Re-ran the clutch cable according to the shop manual, re ran the throttle cable on the other side of the frame, repositioned the rear brake and gear shift levers, installed a new rear brake switch, changed the intake manifolds, synced the carbs, and did some minor tuning.

Here I repainted the underside of the fender to prevent further rust, painted the lower fork bridge(not pictured), replaced the fork oil seals, uncluttered the wiring behind the headlight, changed the bulbs in the instruments, and adjusted the front brakes.

This is a video from the day I did the carb work.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orliMJnRrmc


Next week is a valve adjustment, oil filter cleaning and change, and then more carb tuning. Plus I gotta shorten the side stand, damn lowered suspension made it too long.

During the winter I plan to paint the tank and side covers to match my car; British racing green.

 

[Nightfall]

Beautiful bike, congrats and props.

 

[PCHbreeze]

I read a lot of messageboards and one consistency i've found...its not the bike but the rider.

what matters...you enjoy it, you're learning, and having fun. i wish, like many others, that I had kept my 'starter' bike.

 

[Jim Moore]

Dammit, that's cool!:cheers

 

[Saml01]

Dammit, that's cool!:cheers

Thank you.

-----

BTW guys. Here's a tip. Follow your bikes fastener torque specs, and if you dont have torque specs that doesnt mean crank it with the might of god. The previous owner felt that everything had to be torqued to the limit. I still cant get the points cover off, I have a feeling im gonna drill the head off the bolt and use vice grips to get it out. Fasteners hold by stretching, if you put to much stretch in them, they cant stretch and break, if they dont break, then they will heat cycle and become impossible to get out next time.

 

[PCHbreeze]

drilling the head and vice grips sounds extreme. try a bolt remover first...couldn't google a picture but basically it looks like a drill bit but you go in reverse instead of forward...its also tapered (gets b*****) so that eventually it'll pressure the bolt to turn.

and yeah, that's why i make time to do my own oil changes. i dont know if i've ever had someone do my own cars/trucks and not have them crank down on it like it was pandoras box. sometimes snug is best, sometimes a little mroe than snug...look it up if you're not sure, people!

 

[mrd1919]

Bike looks great! Enjoy it and ride safe

 

[Saml01]

drilling the head and vice grips sounds extreme. try a bolt remover first...couldn't google a picture but basically it looks like a drill bit but you go in reverse instead of forward...its also tapered (gets b*****) so that eventually it'll pressure the bolt to turn.

and yeah, that's why i make time to do my own oil changes. i dont know if i've ever had someone do my own cars/trucks and not have them crank down on it like it was pandoras box. sometimes snug is best, sometimes a little mroe than snug...look it up if you're not sure, people!

You mean an Easy Out.

 

[scythe08]

Man, That is totally Bad Ass!! Nothing beats riding, Nothing at all!
And Kudos to you for wrenching on it! My wrenching skills suck ass, but I'm learning to not be so afraid of screwing shit up and relaxing and enjoying taking care of my Baby

 

[acalliste]

Cool bike. Congrats and welcome to your new addiction. :cheers

 

[Saml01]

Man, That is totally Bad Ass!! Nothing beats riding, Nothing at all!
And Kudos to you for wrenching on it! My wrenching skills suck ass, but I'm learning to not be so afraid of screwing shit up and relaxing and enjoying taking care of my Baby

Just keep in mind that anything you break can be fixed, and you always have another mode of transportation at the end of the day.

I work on all my cars, and my parents cars. If its something truly major, or I dont have time, I have a shop I go to where I am allowed to monitor the mechanic doing the work. Thats the only way I roll.

 

[LobsterMagnet]

Sounds like the bike found a proper owner!
Enjoy those first rides and make sure to tell us about your first "oh shit" too.

 

[Scott_0]

very cool bike for sure, great work!

 

[Stick N Move]

Dont tell me what to do. If i wanna crank it with the might of god then i will!

Just kidding. That is in EXCELLENT CONDITION! Epecially that seat. How did he keep it in such great shape?

 

[Saml01]

Dont tell me what to do. If i wanna crank it with the might of god then i will!

Just kidding. That is in EXCELLENT CONDITION! Epecially that seat. How did he keep it in such great shape?

I don't know how he kept it in such good shape, didn't really get much info about previous ownership. But the guy had an impressive garage. Two ATV's, a 1962 Honda Motorcycle in show condition, a Ninja 250 and some red crotch rocket I didnt pay attention to. In his living room he was busy restoring a honda engine.

So he knew his stuff for sure.

 

[Saml01]

Man, That is totally Bad Ass!! Nothing beats riding, Nothing at all!
And Kudos to you for wrenching on it! My wrenching skills suck ass, but I'm learning to not be so afraid of screwing shit up and relaxing and enjoying taking care of my Baby

Btw. Heres a good resource for you.

Motorcycle Repair Course

 

[Nightfall]

Just keep in mind that anything you break can be fixed, and you always have another mode of transportation at the end of the day.

I work on all my cars, and my parents cars. If its something truly major, or I dont have time, I have a shop I go to where I am allowed to monitor the mechanic doing the work. Thats the only way I roll.

Not all of us have another mode of transportation so you can't afford to screw up the first time, I'm lucky I'm so methodical.

 

[Saml01]

Not all of us have another mode of transportation so you can't afford to screw up the first time, I'm lucky I'm so methodical.

Bike as the only method of transport?

Damn, thats dedication. What do you guys do in the winter? Studded tires?

I said "all my cars". I have only 1. lol.