CB360 Custom Seat

One of the last larger purchases that I wanted to get done for the CB was a custom seat. Sure it was a modification that didn't need done in order to get it back running, but it was definitely something I wanted to do for several reasons. The main reason of course is looks. I've gradually developed the look of this vintage Honda over time, somewhat going at it blindly. Mods have been determined a lot on functionality, cost and then looks. Therefore, this seat was all about looks just because it could be.

I've looked at a ton of cafe builds and determined I like the flat brat style the best. I really like the look of leather upholstery, but I've been undecided on the color. With my tank being a turquoise, I was leaning towards a brown leather, however, the more the bike developed overtime more and more parts were transforming to black. I determined I didn't really want to go brown leather on the handle grips so I figured just the seat being brown would look a little odd. Color determined: black. Stitch color determined: black.

While the main emphasis is on style, I did consider some functionality in the design. Overall I fit pretty well on the bike but would be more comfortable with slightly lower seat. The goal would be to shave down some of the foam to reduce the height. The type of material was critical too in that I don't want to be slipping all over the place while riding, but still wanted some mobility. The upholstery suggested a vinyl, which gives it the look and feel I was going for.

In addition to all of that, I really liked how the stock seat mounts on the bike and has this nifty little compartment underneath for my registration and any other paperwork. Luckily I was able to keep all of that to get exactly what I wanted.

A few weeks ago the seat shipped off to Michigan to a friend I met last summer, Chris Carr. Chris builds some pretty gnarly bikes from start to finish. I already posted some of the progress shots Chris had sent me of him shaving the foam and repairing the seat pan (view original post). He then took it to his upholstery place for the finished product. Last week I received it back, and it was as good as I could have imagined, if not better. Visit ChrisCarrDesign.com to see a few of his awesome builds.

CB Rear Fender

My CB360 rear fender was next on the restoration list. The exterior wasn't too rusty, however, underneath was pretty ugly looking. Per usual I resorted to steel wool, Mothers Polish and some quality elbow grease to remove the rust. The end goal was to paint it black to match the springs I recently done (see previous progress post.) 

The exterior cleaned up beautifully and quickly, where the underside took a lot more elbow grease. I had then painted it black with some "rattle can", as my Caro friends like to refer to it as, and it was looking really good.  I removed the tape I used to protect the rubber and screw holes and quickly nicked part of the paint off. I figured I'd touch it up and use some clear coat. I had 1shot enamel laying around and figured that wouldn't hurt to use as touch up paint. Tonight I got some clear coat to top it all off.

To my surprise a reaction occurred either between the clear and the enamel or purely the cold temperatures. It's days like these I wish I paid more attention in science class.

The bubbles spread in various areas and removed all of the paint when wiped with a towel. Looks like I will be stripping it down, digging out my steel wool again to smooth it out. Then I'll repaint it and clear it in appropriate temperatures, sans enamel. Looks like I'll keep on learning! Stay tuned...

The Navajo Nugget Tank

About a month ago I dropped to OG CB360 motorcycle tank off at Powder'd Remedies to finally get it stripped down and coated the color I've been looking for (see original post). After a few weeks of progress photos and videos, last evening I was finally able to pick up the final piece.

I am absolutely amazed at the Navajo Nugget powder color and how it changes from turquoise, to teal, to blue in different lighting. The tank looks pretty awesome on the bike as it stands right now as well. I got lucky with how well the Robin Egg Blue 1shot paint I used on the side air filter covers.

Now the question is if I'll carry on with my original idea to paint over top of the powder. For now, I think I'll just admire it as is until I find the perfect solution. Woohoo!

Honda CB360 Tank Progress

Here's the first coat of color!

CB Progress

I've been making quite a bit of progress on the CB360 over the past few weeks, and it's been pretty exciting! Mods include new handle bars (Norton Hyde M-Style) and new controls and levers. Together, it's looking really sharp up front. I shinned up the springs as shown in a previous post and then wanted to paint the springs black. I think the contrast of the clean black springs over the silver shocks looks pretty rad. I always hated my stock air filter covers and wasn't quite sure what to do with them. I ended up painting them a solid black and liked them a lot better already. With plans of getting my tank painted a turquoise color, I hand painted the CB360 lettering with some Robins Egg Blue 1shot. Now the rear is really shaping up in looks as well! 

We tossed the springs on the bike and now I officially have a roller! There's only one way to celebrate a roller, and that's to scoot around in the driveway as if I'm on a Strider. From there we began to test the electrical and things are coming together nicely. This weekend I will be dropping my tank off in hopes of getting the dents fixed and having a nicely Navajo Nugget colored tank. It's getting there.....

CB Springs

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: Mothers Polish is AMAZING! In just an hour I transformed a rusty spring like the one on the right to look shiny and almost brand new. Add another hour to the process and the one on the right looks just as good. I used coarse steel wool with the polish and got to work. I managed to destroy a pair of rubber gloves in the process in an attempt to save my fingers from rubbing off my finger prints with the steel wool. I'm very happy with how these turned out, stay tuned for more soon.

Throttle Down Speed Co. Wrecking Crew

These photos do not need much of a caption other than this article's title. Bike building with these guys is waaay too much fun! 

CB360 Progress

I have been doing a poor job documenting the progress I have been making with the Honda CB360 motorcycle build. There was a lull in the action as I ordered more parts and anxiously awaited their arrival. About two weeks ago we got the rear wheel in place, and man is the CB shiny and cute or what!

I was really happy with the progress and it was starting to transform from a simple pile of metal to something that resembles part of a motorcycle!

Tuesday evening we made even more progress with a rebuild of the front forks, using none other than Spectro Fork Oil. We got the forks on, front wheel and put on some temporary handlebars for the time being while I awaited the delivery of new ones.

I even had some help from the Throttle Down Speed Co. sponsored GNC1 Flat Track racer, Dan Bromley as you can see above! And while I failed to get a nice profile shot of the progress we made, I'll just have to leave you with the one below until next time. Next up are handlebars, mirrors, air filters, covers and a trip to the powdercoater. Next on the order list is a front caliper and a custom seat. 

New CB360 Tires

The CB got her fresh new tires installed on the freshly polished wheels & they look sharp! I ended up going with Avon AM26 Roadrider Motorcycle Tires from BikeBandit.com. 100/90-18 on the rear and 90/90-18 on the front. Stay tuned for the next project!

The CB360 Parts Bike

I've been in the hunt for a Honda CB360 parts motorcycle pretty much since last September. The 1974-1976 models are not as easy to find as I had once thought, and the fact that the much more popular CB350 bikes do not match up with the 360 proved for it to be even more complicated. Eventually I joined in on the forum fun and found a 1975 CB360 with a front disk brake, mine was originally a drum. The conversion from drum to disk is definitely an upgrade I wanted while I was already getting greasy in the garage. 

The non-running '75 CB got to the Pennsylvania garage in four pieces via a Ford Fusion, which was pretty impressive. I'm currently short a caliper and brake line but those are in the works. This past weekend was spent ordering new parts including a bearing steering neck kit and a fresh petcock to replace my goopy one, working out the old bearing and polishing the forks. Let me tell you how great it is to see straight forks again! Next up will be two pretty messy jobs: rebuilding the forks & cleaning out my two rusty tanks. We'll install the new bearings and place a few more orders for other parts I'll need to make this sucker run. This whole build is really exciting, and I'm very appreciative for all of the friends working on it with me and helping me wrangle all the needed parts together. This whole process once again reinforces the fact that the motorcycle community is the best community.

(before & after polishing with Mothers Mag & Aluminum Polish)