1973 Honda CB350F Restored - Hasn't Run in 30 Years!!

An overview of the restore process of my 1973 CB350F Honda Motorcycle.

[@DogMania]

I really love this video! So soothing and satisfying to watch everything you did on this beautiful restoration! You need to make more videos!!!!

[@bwiesman]

@@DogMania thanks so much, I’m glad you liked it!!

[@gerardorodas1854]

I had a color green one when I was 17 or 18 it was my first bike that I coul use to travel I am from Tijuana I took it to Mazatlan, Los. Angeles and San Francisco many times many bikes later that will always be my favorite bike. Great video, gracias.

[@bwiesman]

I bet you made a lot of memories on that bike! Thanks for sharing and for stopping by!

[@Vintageknight1]

I just picked one up for 500 bucks gonna restore it and do the same

[@bwiesman]

@@Vintageknight1 plan on another 6-8k, I bought mine for around $700.

[@zx9b2]

What a cool story mate. My dad and I were lucky enough to bring one of these home recently. Rough but original and complete. Looking forward to hearing it sing.

[@bwiesman]

Thank you for watching and good luck on your build!

[@neilcamilleri909]

Amazing story, Love the bike and the job you did there, hats off mate

[@danw1955]

Oh Gawd! I miss that sound!!! I had 3 of these over the years. I bought my first one brand new in 1974, and rode the wheels off of it until 67,000+ miles when it would hardly run anymore. The second one I scored in Florida and pulled the original engine and replaced it with a 550 bottom end, and an 810 Powroll big-bore kit. It was an absolute beast of a sleeper, that would easily take down the formidable Kawasaki KZ900's of the day! The third one was meticulously rebuilt from a wreck I acquired in 2015, and outfitted with a few performance goodies, but basically kept the internals stock, with a cafe racer flair. It was my favorite, but I was forced to sell due to declining health conditions.😜 The little 350F was my absolute favorite of all the 4 cylinder Honda offerings from the 1970's!!!😄😍👍👍

[@bwiesman]

Awesome story!! Yeah I fell in love with the little 350’s too, so nimble and smooth and sounds like a race car! Thanks for watching!

[@raghuyedatore6353]

Loved 🍀the video! Hat's off to you. So nice of you to show the restored bike to the original owner's family. 👏

[@daleswineheart2765]

I recently purchased the exact same bike, 1974 black. Mine was last on the road in 1984! I have original bill of sale from 1974, 1 owner. Good job! Dale Swineheart, DeKalb, IL

[@bwiesman]

That’s awesome! Even more coincidental my wife’s family is from Dekalb!

[@chriswbarron]

love these. i had a black and gold 350 four, and later a 400 four in high school. the 400 had a 6 speed trans

[@michaelb.42112]

Gorgeous, and I'm no mechanic either, but you killed it ! EDIT : I bet you're a mechanic now. I love the Bruce story and the generations that cried seeing it.

[@bwiesman]

Thanks for watching and the kind comments!

[@robertverschueren9136]

Nice story. I plan next week a testride with a Honda 350F !

[@windfall35]

Beautiful metal polishing...I've done a full restoration on a CB 450 and am now working on a '76 CB 400F. Its slow grinding work but deeply satisfying....Thanks for sharing the journey...

[@bwiesman]

Awesome! Hopefully your 400 turns out well and that you don’t need the unicorn parts (tank or triple tree clamp)!

[@Vintageknight1]

Just got one and I’m gonna try to rebuild it as well but number 1 goal is to have fun and enjoy the grind/ progress

[@jonathanhansen3709]

Beautiful job! I remember these when I was a young man. I rode a Suzuki 380 2 stroke, when I served in the Air Force, but a friend of mine had a Honda 350 4 like this one. That was back in the mid 1970’s.

[@bwiesman]

Awesome! I’m glad I could stoke those memories! Thanks for joining and watching!

[@SchoolforHackers]

Yes! I had a Suzuki GT380, and later a 75 CB400F - which I still have and ride. Love that bike.

[@fiero880]

Awesome video. The end video reved up was the icing on the cake.

[@bwiesman]

Thank you for the kind words!

[@kipmillwee6936]

You should submit this video to "Stories of Bike" on youtube. Great work. And you are a great citizen. My first bike was a red CB350F. I took it on trips that were hours away from home and I was only 14 or so, you could get a license in Arkansas for this size bike at 14. Lucked out on both counts. Super cool.

[@bwiesman]

Thanks so much for the kind words. I will check into stories of bike. Yeah these bikes are pretty reliable, glad to spark your memories of riding one yourself.

[@yokosomike]

Love the new color, thanks for sharing.

[@stefanm67]

Excellent work. The bike looks and sounds fantastic. Great story and so nice that you showed Bruce's family. ❤

[@bwiesman]

Thank you for watching and commenting!

[@RH-gz8dz]

WAY back when I was 15 I actually had that exact same bike road it every day! It had a matching full black vetter fairing on it really fast bike! My first real vehicle. Thanks for sharing nice job!

[@bwiesman]

Awesome story!! Yeah they’re sweet little bikes!

[@donwallace7354]

Thanks for sharing your restoration. I've got a green '73 that I'm itching to get back on the road. Hopefully, during the long winter here in Michigan, I'll be able to get it ready for its 50th birthday next year!

[@bwiesman]

Thanks for watching! Have fun with the restoration!! I’m in Northern Indiana and can relate!

[@leeberry3155]

Great job,show winning 😉,and beautiful taking it back to show the lady and her family 😌,sounds incredible ,looks fantastic ,well done m8

[@bwiesman]

Thanks so much for the kind words!!

[@blackharplager]

Really cool, man. I'm considering getting one of these to restore locally.

[@bwiesman]

Thank you! They are a lot of fun to ride! Good luck on your search and restoration!

[@stevothegreat]

Awesome , have a 1973 cb350 4 and planning to restore it soon, thanks for showing tthe video.

[@bwiesman]

Sweet!! Let me know if you have any questions, and good luck on the restore!

[@OneWildTurkey]

Beautiful job. That sounds so smooth. Excellent!

[@bwiesman]

Thank you for watching and commenting!!

[@davebrunner1272]

Very nice, That was my first road worthy bike I left home on it in 1978 I was the second owner. Later sold it to my brother and he rode it cross country more than I did, the speed limit was 55 then. He sold it with over 55000 miles on it. I wish I could buy one now.

[@bwiesman]

That’s a great story, thanks for sharing Dave!! I’m sure you can still find one, if that’s what you want to do!

[@wilfredprins9718]

Really nice bike, she sounds beautiful I got a '73 350F myself Hopefully this summer she's all up and running again. (After many hours and euro's) The 350F's are beautiful bikes

[@bwiesman]

Thank you, Wilfred. They take some work but they’re worth it! Good luck on your build!!

[@jeffm5620]

Beautiful work. I have a 73 CB350F that I am just beginning to teardown for a full restoration. I hope it turns out almost as nice as yours.

[@bwiesman]

Thank you for the comments!! Good luck on your restore. Have fun during the process.

[@peterroda8156]

You did a wonderful job. Well done!

[@bwiesman]

Thank you so much!

[@TheKelzer]

Your video is a constant inspiration for me. I paid WAY too much for a pile of crap 50k + mile 350F....it gives me a bad taste in mouth every time I look at it. Slowly but surely, I got it running perfectly and it's a blast to ride around town now. One of these days I'll do a restore, until then...it's original and a bit ugly. Thanks again for the motivation ! Well done CB350F ! (sounds great BTW)

[@bwiesman]

Thank you so much for the kind words, I’m glad I could inspire you! A lot of people prefer the original unrestored look! In fact, if I were to do another, I think I’d get it perfectly mechanically sorted and leave all the original patina. Sounds like that’s what you did! Enjoy your bike, they aren’t making any more of them and I’m sure you are inspiring others as you ride it!

[@stevenstair1068]

What a great story and restoration, thanks for sharing .....

[@bwiesman]

Thank you for watching!!!

[@jonas9608]

Great video Sir! Bike turned out beautifully...i have recently restored a 350 Four myself...its really a joy to ride!

[@bwiesman]

Thank you!! Yeah they are a blast for sure! Hope your restore went well.

[@stevegolik8090]

Great video, real work of art....

[@bwiesman]

Thanks for the kind words!

[@mdhj67]

The CB350F has less power than the two cylinder CB350, is more expensive, and is more difficult to maintain. Yet, I would prefer to have the CB350F. Great story on the restoration.

[@bwiesman]

Yeah it doesn’t make sense on paper, and then Honda came out w the 400f super sport which made these obsolete. Thanks for watching!

[@swmckanna]

Great job! Thanks for sharing!

[@spotty67]

Great job you've done on the 350 f. Ant chance you could a vid on your sanding and polishing procedure? Thanks for all the info.

[@bwiesman]

Thank you! Maybe if I polish up something else I will. Basically just wet sand starting around 400 grit and go up to around 2000 or so. Then I got a kit from harbor freight for the bar polish and used a bench mounted drill press for rotation. www.harborfreight.com/14-piece-aluminum-polishing-kit-98707.html

[@spotty67]

@@bwiesman Thanks v much. I've got a 350 f, 500 t and Suzuki gt 500 all need resto.

[@fish8196]

nice work!! I have this exact same bike just got this year. plan to ride as is for now and restore one day! great video

[@bwiesman]

Cool! I hope you love it like I do, great little bikes! Let me know if you run into any issues.

[@fish8196]

@@bwiesman will do. Thanks!

[@imprimatur1987]

This is so cool man this is a amazing machine

[@bwiesman]

Thanks so much for the kind words!

[@sergicrisan5564]

Startup at 8:52 Awesome job and really cool bike.

[@bwiesman]

Thanks for watching and for the comment!!!

[@mebeasensei]

Well done. Congrats. Respect. Encouraged. Thanks for sharing.

[@bwiesman]

Thanks for the kind words and for watching!!

[@RichardBatten]

Sweet bike good job

[@jsprite123]

Beautiful bike and love your effort! (BTW, Chinese pistons and rings...hahahahha! )

[@bwiesman]

Thanks for watching!!

[@chaz442]

Great job! I am just finishing up my 1974 Honda CB350 Four, and I am at the point of painting the tank and covers. Could you please tell me what paint color you used, because that looks like a dead match to the Glory Blue Black Metallic. I haven't been able to source the original paint color yet. Thank you, Charles

[@bwiesman]

Thanks! It’s the paint code from a 2014 tacoma they called metallic grey, I don’t have the truck anymore but that shouldn’t be hard to track down w those specs.

[@chaz442]

Thank you!@@bwiesman

[@benjaminratliff5546]

I have one I’m working on now! Not sure I’ll ever get it as nice as yours. What did you end up doing for the cracked triple tree? Mine is cracked too and I cannot find a replacement that wouldn’t require some kind of modification.

[@bwiesman]

Thanks for watching Benjamin! I’m sure you’ll get it looking nice. Honestly if my ocd would let me I think keeping as much original patina as you can looks great and increases value. As for the triple man I looked all over for that! Ended up finding it on some obscure German website. You definitely don’t want to try welding it. I will look for one but check forums.sohc4.net. They were a ton of help to me and have a 4 Sale section. Good luck on your Restore!

[@benjaminratliff5546]

@@bwiesman I’ll definitely keep an eye on the SOHC4 forum, thanks! And yeah my bike sat outside half covered for a couple decades, so it was in pretty bad shape when I got it. Frame was actually not bad at all, and it runs well now (considering a top end rebuild in the future though). I loved the look of the faded red paint though, so I found a way to preserve it using floor wax of all things. Gives it just enough shine, but not too much, while keeping water away and it’s durable enough to walk on!

[@Liams802]

Beautiful restoration! I had the exact same bike long ago (maroon) and I'm just beginning the search for another one!

[@bwiesman]

Thank you Liam! They are out there, just getting hard to find. Good luck on your search!!

[@Liams802]

@@bwiesman Thanks!

[@johnnywelder]

Thank you sir That was an awesome video

[@bwiesman]

My pleasure!! Thank you for the kind words!

[@petesenn1367]

Awesome!

[@madogblue]

Sounds amazing. Is that a stock exhaust?

[@bwiesman]

Thank you!! No, delkevic 4:1.

[@kennypool]

Well done ✅

[@bwiesman]

Thank you!

[@GS-vn8vo]

A lot of work and really well done and the result is great 👍🏼 But for my feeling you should try to get the original 4 in 4 exhaust system. For my opinion it was the main difference between the beautifull CB350 four and the ugly CB400 four. Until now the original exhaust system is still an eye catcher 😉

[@bwiesman]

Thank you! I totally agree the bike looks like a moped from the left side. This started as a budget build then just blew up to a full restore. Maybe I will buy a replica 4:4 I’ve seen a few out there.

[@GS-vn8vo]

@@bwiesman I see the problem. I have just made a full restore of a CB750 four K7. Fortunately it was possible to buy a Repro Exhaust system from CMSNL. It was expensive, but it looks really great 👍🏼

[@Faz_PrintingYT]

Awesome 🤩:Hunter

[@warriordrum]

Great story. Bruce??

[@bwiesman]

Yeah after the deceased original owner

[@SchoolforHackers]

Is that a 400-4 in the background?

[@bwiesman]

No, it is it’s predecessor, the 350 Four, of which this video is about. Thanks for watching!

[@SchoolforHackers]

@@bwiesman The Red one...

[@bwiesman]

@@SchoolforHackers another 350 Four, forgot that one was in there!

[@leegacy3099]

85 m.p.h tops?

[@bwiesman]

I know mine can get to 95 on a level road.

[@theoriginalmungaman]

Very nice job. Really should have went with the original color though, especially flake Matador red! Its less common than the Bacchus olive. Especially after so much time and using NOS parts.

[@bwiesman]

Thanks for the comments! Yeah, sometimes I think I should’ve kept it red so I could say it’s all stock, but on the other hand this silver is my favorite color on autos. I guess if I never plan to sell it might as well make it the color I want lol.