I've had this for a number of months and had put over a 1000 miles in it so far and I'm mighltly impressed with the little Honda. It just runs and runs and runs. I've not used it over the winter and its been left out in the rain, the rusty frame looks no more rusty that it did last year and well its now 20 years old so what do you expect from a bike that has been used and neglected. The mileage is now a staggering 54,000 and this is also impressive for a 1980s bike. I managed to kill the battery by trying to start it flattening the battery and leaving in a discharged state for a few weeks. So a new battery for £25 and it was sorted; deserved me right!
Starting after leaving it: First ensure you have a battery that is charged *cough* and drain the carbs; that will the carb drain screw on the left side of the bike. Drain fill then drain again to remove an stale fuel; adding a bit Redex Lead Replacement fluid into the tank will help things all no end.
Things I've done so far
Replacement centre stand; this was rotten and half of it was missing. Ebay replacement was £15 with postage and was dully painted black and the old one had to be hacksawed off. A previous owner had eh.. beat both ends to form a rivet with a large hammer. Attaching the spring was feat of brute force which I only just managed.
Right End Foot Hanger: It was cheaper to buy an ebay hanger for £6 + postage with two foot pegs than a foot peg from a scrappy or a dealer so I replaced the whole thing.
Two tyres: Cheap China Tyres as two tyres from the dealer would have cost the same as the bike so not so attractive for my cheap hack. So ordered two tyres and some levers and changed them myself. £80 for the tyres and at first I was very unsure of them, but as they wore in a bit I'm really quite impressed as they have a race type profile and are very grippy. There is an odd small slid in the wet but I suspect I would get this with any tyre as the roads are cold and greasy in Glasgow. While I had the back wheel off I cleaned and serviced the back brake and freed and lubed all the cycle parts. The backbrake is now the best I've had in any bike.
I've been using the CB350sg every day for going to work and went for my first run on it last week. It is a really old bike now; 20 years and does get a few looks with its big Honda wing on the tank, the bright red frame looks kind of cool as well. It works well commuter and you don't notice its massive 400lbs weight as your hopping between lights and queues. The front brake is a bit soft but it does have the advantage of not likely to lock up and since I'm never above 30mph its not a problem.
The big run. This was done on a Sunday afternoon (I had my chores to do in the morning) and I went from Glasgow --> Drymen --> Stirling Services; picked on mate on his 250 trail and then head upto Callander --> Trydrum --> Green Welly for a coffee and back again to Stirling services where we departd with me to the boring M80 back to Glasgow. This was a good 200 miles run and the CB was perfect and super comfy. This is the most comfortale bike I have ever owned riding for long periods is effortless with the riding position sit up and beg style. It is happy to cruise along at 60-70 with no problems. Over taking with the 33hp (claimed) takes planning and sometimes is not worth it. Better to sit back and enjoy the view and lack of wind blast. Even in the twisties the CB was very good not sports bike good rather it was good paced and takes you back to your first bike where modest speeds are fun and exciting. The only time it felt unsettled is when I crested a rise and dropped quickly into a bend, it as unsure what direction it wanted to go in but I never felt it was going to lose it or tank slap but 20 year bikes are not meant to be chucked about like that. Push it two hard and the old cycle parts and weight will get you in trouble with a capital T. But if you want to plod along at 60-70 then this is perfect for the job.