VOLUME ISSUE JANUARY , P101
because "the shocks don't work
in corners."
In summation, the power
-
plant didn't make enough juice
to overly tax the frame, which
flexed too much to allow the
poor shocks to do their job. That
takes us down to the tires, which
were so hard that the word "rub
-
ber" almost seems like a misno-
mer. "You could lock it [the rear
tire] up while coming to a stop
and leave no visible rubber on
the road. That's a hard tire." The
Honda would also keep its pilot
in white-knuckle mode when it
wandered over to the freeway
rain grooves, where the staff
noted that it behaved as badly as
any street bike they had ridden.
Did the CB-360 have any
redeeming qualities? Well, fuel
mileage was a big deal in the
1970s and this Honda never
got below 45 mpg; on occa
-
sion, it would stretch that to 55
mpg. The crew logged over one
thousand miles on the Honda,
so they had plenty of opportuni
-
ties to track fuel consumption.
The bike did vibrate a little, but
the crew compensated by both
wearing heavier boots and oc-
casionally resting their feet on
the buddy pegs! Also in the plus
column was the saddle, which
was reasonably comfortable.
That was about all of the good
news, however, and the crew be
-
moaned the fact that the clutch
suffered with an adjustment
issue, a problem that its prede-
cessor, the CB-350 also brought
to its owner. The Honda inexpli-
cably burned a quart of motor
oil during its 1000-mile date
with the magazine, even though
there were no visible leaks. The
tool kit, while likely superior to
today's offerings, was seen as
insufficient, and the Phillips
(maybe JIS) screwdriver nicely
rounded out the tops of several
of the screws on the bike.
The Cycle News staff asked
themselves why Honda would
even build such a bike. The old
350, it seemed, was filling a niche.
There was a market for a mild-
mannered motorcycle, and the
CB-350, while perhaps uninspiring,
was getting the job done. The 360,
however, represented Honda's ef
-
fort to take those riders to a higher
level. Magazine ads implored
them to "move out of the present
time. And present space. Onto a
new road. Let good things happen
to you." Honda wanted 350 riders
to "let yourself go" and move on to
the future. Newer? No question.
Better? Questions!
CN
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In 1975, the Honda CB-360 was
updated with a front disc brake.
This photo's caption read: You have to work to be
smooth. We weren't impressed with the CB-360, yet the
previous CB-350 was Honda's best-selling model.
