Been looking for a while to buy a old bike to potter with ,seen one on eBay that's been in USA 4000m 1971 Honda 350sl trail bike , it shows it running and looks in excellent condition for its age , my thoughts are that if it has been stood for all that time and not used will the engine be ok inside or will it all have corroded even tho it's running now ,has anyone bought a bike like this ,or will Honda built quailty shine through, :biker3:
Over the years I have plenty experience with old bikes and many more of my pals in the Kawasaki Triples club have far more experience than me, albeit with Kawasaki Triples which are two stroke, from the 1970s and generally have their own quirks.
I have no experience with Hondas of an older vintage but like older Triples there will be similarities ........ if the bike you are considering been stood for a while but is now running it could, and I say could, be okay, but equally it could be knackered, forgive me for suggesting this but I don't know your technical capabilities, if they are good, then I'm sure you will be able to judge for yourself when you view the bike, if on the other hand you are at best a good fettler then take a mate with you who knows older Hondas and what they are likely to be suffering from. Generally bikes from the States will/may have been stored in conditions which are climatically better than the U.K and so are a safer proposition.
I think its great that you fancy pottering with an older bike, my main warning is that parts can be both difficult to locate and consequently expensive and that its very easy to end up spending much more than you originally intended
Let us know how things progress and good luck :clap:
Just be aware that you may be replacing anything rubber that's exposed to the air.....like seals/carb boots.
Rubber degrades with age, temperature and ozone, so if it's from the sunny bit of the US they may be a bit on the hard side.
On the plus side, rubber bits tend to be quite cheap
A couple of years ago I bought a Honda CB250RS that had been standing in a garage for 30 years and the engine seems fine in that, whilst I was looking at it I jumped on the kickstart and it went through the full stroke just fine.
It is a money pit though.
Nightrider, I've been thinking about your post, what I would also suggest is that you seek advice or at least lurk on a Honda twin forum, these places are a great wealth of information about honda twins and will help you learn about the bike before committing to buy, you might also find one for sale through the forum, you wll certainly gain information bout parts availability.
I don't think the 350 SL was imported to the U.K and that fact alone can be problematic, although I am sure that there will be common parts available
Either way good luck