Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/125874
fn 51 " - IlG • IlG ..,; • g ~ g . { '<:l" rC> rC'J -::: '" or. ::: . faded, however, and was always t her e when needed. \Vanna hear the final insult ? The head gasket leaks. A weepage of oil escapes c on tinuo us ly down a stud between two cylinders. The engine also sucks oil aro un d the intake guides on shutoff, which means people behind you always kn ow when yo u're ba cking off the throttle. Honda Service tells us t he oil weepage ca n be ; d ue to a slight surface defect in ~he cast ing under one of the head n uts ; head needs re -torquing after brea k-in; o r somebody 's had the head off and not replaced the head bolt washers with the st ock Honda article . The washers are cri tical, both in th ickness and material , for getting the head to torque up properly . The rest of the maintenance picture is fairly straightforward. Honda supplies a de cent o wner's manual with en o ugh in formation in it to guide th e do -it -yourselfe r through routine servici ng, including front disc brake ad justmenr. . valve gap adjustment, and ignition timing. T hey 've done their best to reduce th e com p lexitie s of owning a fo ur to th e bare m inimum. All in all, t he CB 3 50 Four never ceased to be fun to ride, until we star ted measuring it on a slidi ng scale, relating what it is t o wh a t it co uld be. Not everybody ';'Ses t he same me asuring st ick. Our tes ter was burbling up Hawthorne Boulevard o n the Palos Verdes Peninsula in Californi a lat e o ne day, loafing through the sweeping bends when a big Fat Daddy Cadillac went hissing by on its arrogant way up the hill . Naturally , o ur boy gave ch ase , and as he hung o n 'the Caddy 's tail , Fat Daddy kept pushing i t faster a nd faste r in an unsu ccessful effort to pu ll away . A stop light brought the 80 MPH chase to a br ier halt as car and bike d ri ft e d slowly up to t he line , anticipating the light change . When it ca me, Fat Daddy mashed the pedal and bla ck smoke belched with an arrogan t His-s-s from the Cad 's tortuous tailpipe. Our man on the Honda, big catbird grin on his face, sta yed right by the guy 's door, pan throttle and shifting at 7,500 R PM; then , holding it in th ird , just let it wail up to 10 , 500 and danced away lightly. At the next stop light, the tinted glass driver's window hummed down to reve al short hair, narrow lapels , the whole shot. The g uy smiled and said with genuine respect, "That '5 quite a machine." The window slid back up agai n , and the Cad followed at a respectable distance the rest of the way down the Palo. All t hings are rel ative, aren't they? The CB 350FI isn't exactly the " connoisseur 's mid-si ze road machine" that early reviewers e xp ec ted it to bey even though it s en gin e is a je wel in a rough setting. . Like most o f th e o t he r Hon das ; it is -an accep ta b le "c us to mer' article tha t _ attempts to be all th ings to all p eople. Try in g to m ake the nece ss ary co mprom ises stic k with so me t hing as sp icy as a high-revving 350cc four cy linder was a bit more th an .even Hon da co uld c hew well . . [t o could ha ve been a connoisseur 's cafe bike. hut even a f ter a lo ng ride, it leaves yo u wo ndering - what is th is thi ng supposed to he. any way ? Gi ven some time an d so me carefu lly sel ec ted afterm arket equip ment. it wo uld be fun to find o ut . • < - ... Specif icatio ns Suggested Retail (West Coast) $1354.00 Wheelbase 53.3 inches Dry Weight _ 375 pounds Fuel Capacity _.. __.. _. _ __ _ 3.7 gallons Fuel Consum pt ion (observed worst/best) . , 43 - 46 MPG Est. cruisi ng range ,._ _. , 150 - 170 miles Engine displacement '.' _ _ _.. 347cc Bore x stroke _ _ _ 47 x 50mm Comp ress ion rat io . __. , ..• .. .... .... ... . ... .. _.. _.. 9. 3: 1 Tires _ _ Brid gestone 3.00- 1B front 3.50-1B rear Steering : Rake _.. _ _ _ 26 degress Trail _ , _ 3.3 inches 25