While researching Honda 350 racers, a few parts were offered that I could not pass up. An important one was a vintage two into one racing pipe. For the exhaust to fit, the centerstand and crossmember for the footrests on the standard 350 Twin would need to be removed. What luck, if I was going to use it, I would be forced to reposition the foot contols and build a racer.

With all the research complete, the next step was to break the bike down to the frame. I had learned that racers who campaigned the production 350 Twin could feel the chassis flex when pushed hard, so I decided to take a few precautions. My efforts were focused on reinforcing the main structure of the frame that connects the engine, swingarm and steering tube. I ground the flanges where the two halves of the frame were spot welded and re-welded down the seams with my MIG welder. Along the way, I box sectioned the main tower and removed unnecessary brackets.

For rearset foot controls, I would need somewhere to mount them. I modeled my mounting lug design after pictures of the RSC350 racers and replica racers I found on the internet. My design uses a removable plate for foot rest mounting. The plate allows relocation of the foot position if it is not comfortable. I doubt I will ever move them, but I have the option.

The foot levers were fashioned from steel tube salvaged from a bicycle frame and a bronze bushing was constructed to fit over CBR900RR footrest mounts which have an integrated foot lever pivot.

The shifter linkage assembly was fabricated by extending the rod of a more modern motorcycle linkage. It seems the shifter splines didn't change much after all these years, so the modification was pretty simple.

The current design for rear brake control uses the original pivot controled by a linkage. This design retains the original brakelight switch and brake rod which pulls the rear brake lever.

Wheels were refurbished by ventilating and polishing the origional hubs, lacing them to recycled high shoulder alloy rims (WM2 front and WM3 rear) using stainless steel spokes. My spokes were fabricated by Mike Szura at Wheelcraft, Hayward, CA, (510) 785-0690, who also talked me through the process and gave me a quick hands-on lesson. He even took a look at my finished work and gave me the thumbs up so I could mount my Avon Roadrunner AM20 90/90H18 front and AM21 110/90H18 rear tires.

For the front suspension, an early CL350 front end was cleaned, rebuilt and filled with 10wt PJ1 fork oil. The fork boots were left off, which exposed the springs. I like the asthetic, but need to paint them to slow down oxidation.

The tank was made by fusing two early CB350 tanks. One tank had front damage and the other rear damage. I decided to chop and join them with my MIG welder to mimic the long tanks on racers of the time. Unfortunately, this tank developed a leak and is not usable. Thinking about the construction, I believe the butt welds I used to join the two pieces was not the best method. I should have created an overlapping flange when joining the two halves. That gives me a better reason to form the proper alloy fuel tank.

The seat was shaped by gluing down upholstery foam with a contact cement then shaping with an electric turkey knife. A cover was fabricated by a local upholstery shop and I was able to retain the original mounting hardware to make things simple.

This motorcycle is a work in process and changes when I have the time or need.