Planning the 1971 Honda CB350 Café Racer Build

I’m starting a new café racer project with a partly built 1971 Honda CB350 Scrambler. In this first episode I collect the bike, take an in-depth look at the work already done, and start planning how I’m going to turn it into a unique café racer and scrambler-style custom motorcycle.

This Honda CB350 has already had quite a bit of work carried out by a previous builder, but it’s far from finished. That means before I start tearing into it, I need to work out what’s worth keeping, what needs changing and what needs to go.

The CB350 is a fantastic starting point for a custom motorcycle. Its lightweight chassis, simple parallel-twin engine and classic 1970s Honda styling make it a popular choice for café racer and scrambler builds. This particular bike already has some interesting modifications, giving me plenty to think about as I work out the direction of the finished build.

In This Episode

• Starting the new 1971 Honda CB350 Scrambler café racer project

• Looking at other possible motorcycle projects

• Collecting the partly built CB350

• Assessing the work already carried out

• Dealing with fuel tank issues

• Planning the café racer/scrambler design

• Looking at the motorcycle exhaust system

• Choosing a café racer seat

• Removing the centre stand

• Planning the refurbishment of the wire wheels

This build is going to be a combination of café racer and scrambler styling, keeping the character of the original Honda while giving it a sharper custom look.

As the project progresses I'll be stripping the bike down, rebuilding and tuning the parallel-twin engine, modifying the frame, fitting a custom seat and rear frame loop, refurbishing the wheels and brakes, simplifying the wiring with an M-Unit, and tackling all the paintwork, polishing and finishing details.

Unlike starting with a completely untouched barn-find motorcycle, this CB350 is already partly built. Reworking somebody else's project brings its own challenges, but it also makes for an interesting starting point—and gives me the chance to put my own ideas into the build.

This is the first episode of the 1971 Honda CB350 Scrambler café racer build, so there's a long way to go. Follow along as I transform this unfinished project into a unique garage-built motorcycle.