Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

one staffer: "Even if you can't out drag anybody, it doesn't matter. The thing is so quiet that no one ever knows that you are racing them." Another neat thing about the pipes was that they were moved well up out of the way. This gave the machine a very respectible amount of ground clearance, although it did raise the passenger pegs slightly higher than might have been wished. With the clearance provided, grounding was never any sort of problem in comers al though it' would occasionally be possible t.o scrape if you tried. The ground clearance and handling impressed us all. At very high speeds the madline would exhibit just the sligh test wobble while cornering. If you lowered your weight, either by' leaning forward slightly or hanging off, even this little bit of wobble would disappear. Like the 750, the little Four likes the power on in comers and would take a very. precise line under power. With the power off, it would fall in to tlle comer sligh t1y. Unlike the 750, the handling was very light and tlle machine could be thrown through side-to-side turns easily. Another neat handling characteristic was the 350's willingness to change lines in tlle middle of a tum. It was in this sort of situation tllat the ground clearance could be appreciated. If you had to, you could just lean it over farther without worrying about uprooting yourself on an exhaust pipe or a stand. The limit to this sort of pastime was the tire adhesion which, while sufficient on dry roads was lacking on moist pavement. The tiTes also showed wear in a ratller short time. Braking was excellent. You could lock up botll wheels on signal. The fron t brake required a slightly heavy pressure (altllough less than the 750), but you never hand any trouble delivering that pressure when needed.. The fron t hrake had one puck tIlat hadn't bedded in properly and squeaked a good deal under moderate pressure. There are commercial preparations that will take Handling is very Honda-like. It likes the power on when leaned over. tlle squeak out of getting close so tIlis should be no problem.' In the 2,000 miles tIlat we had tlle 350-Four, it was never necessary to adjust the chain - and we were hard on it. For that matter, the machine never required any attention at all except for the oil that it used. It would run very happily on regular gas and get up to 60 MPG. The lowest we managed was 45 One of the prohlems witll a road test MPG. The reserve tank would get you is til at you can't tell how reliable a 20 miles, and the range of a full tan k' motorcycle will he over a long, period. was in the neighborhood of 150 miles. We can, however, tell you this: if you The speedometer was hetween five are going to use a rno torcycle as your and ten MPH optimistic. The ignition only means of transport or if you wan t switch is in tlle usual (for Honda) an all-around, llexible road machine you position, down under the left front end won't be able to do better tllan the of the gas tan k and is hard to reach. Honda 350-Four. If you are interested' Fortunately, located on tlle bars with in competition riding, look elsewhere. the throttle drum there is also the usual This is a machine for the true Honda kill switch to avoid tIlose mo torcyclist. The man who just rides embarrassing momen ts. The Iigh ts were for fun on weekends will love it. The excellent. They were good enough tllat man who uses his motorcycles for a rider on a larger British machine chose everything needs it. to follow the Honda and rely on its Alot of people who have looked at much superior ligh ting. The electric the 350/4 and decided that Honda built starter is located behind the cylinders it just as a technical exercise or simply and actuated by a button next to the to prove tllat tlley could do it. These throttle. Occasionally tlle starter would people point out tllat it costs more than stay engaged un til the tllrottle was the twin and that it doesn't perform as blipped. well (because it is heavier). They almost Being a four-stroke, it uses very little seem to tllink tllat Honda set out to gas and oil, goes a long way on a set of spark plugs and major engine parts' build it just on..a whim. We disagree. [n addition to being a (providing you ride it correctly), but technical masterpiece, the 350-Four requires some time and mechanical handles and stops better than tlle .twin. knowledge (or some money) when it It looks better. It is many times more needs to be serviced. It is recommended pleasant to ride for either long or short tllat it get tlle valves, timing, and carbs distances. It is more comfortable and checked every 1000 miles (although more versatile. It's 'quieter. In all ways you can get away with ·it every 2000). except performance and price, it is a Inexperienced fiddlers, beware. A superior motorcycle to tlle twin. service w.ill cost you twen ty to [n fact, we feel that tlle 350-Four is twenty-four dollars plus oil, four plugs, the best Honda made, and that's saying a gasket or two; probably a few otller a lot. miscellaneous parts. a. .\ '". . .. '" Q. ... '" a. ... ,; 0 Z '" ~ w Z W ...J (J >(J Is This the Best Honda Goin'g? Photos by Dave Schoonmaker & Friedman - SOME NUMBERS TO GO WITH YOUR HONDA 350/FOUR ENGINE: Type .............•...... Four cylinder, overhead camshaft, air cooled four stroke Bore x stroke .47mm x 50mm ~~S~I;::s~~~\~t'i~. :-: : ~ ~ ~ ~ : : : : ~ ~ : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : ~: : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : ·9·.~~:c~ Carburetion ...........•...•...•...•.. (4) 20mm "piston valve" type Keihin Oil capacity ..........••..•...••............................... 3.7 Qts. Reco.mmended fuel .....•...•...•...•.......... Low lead, 91 or higher oW,ne ~gt~~li~; J. ::::::::::::: ~ ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::.: 'EI~~t~~t::r~~~ Shift pattern Left foot down for down 1·N·2·34-5 OTHER STUFF: " Weight ...............•......•........................... About 405 Ibs. Wheelbase ................•...•.......•.... _...•...•........... .53.5 in. Length ......•. _.....•.......•.......•........•...•...........•81.1 in. Width ...........•...•...•...•...•...•........................ .30.7 in. Seat height ......•....•... _...•................................ ..30.7 in. ~uel capacity , _ 3.2 gal., Y, gal. ,reserve tu

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