Full engine teardown, restoration, and rebuild of a classic motorcycle with comprehensive documentation
I purchased this 1969 Honda CB350 twin cylinder motorcycle over winter break in 2023, buying it in a non-running condition and driving to upstate New York to get it. I trailered it home and put it in my garage where it sat while I finished up my spring semester, and when I returned home for the summer, I took it on as a personal project to get it back to running condition. I am not a motorcycle technician by any means - I just think they are cool and thought the best way to learn more about them would be to work hands-on on one. My first motorcycle was a 1980 CM200T, which I also returned to running condition and did a simple top-end rebuild on in 2022, teaching me loads about these old Hondas. But when I purchased this bike, I knew I had taken on a much larger project - this 350 became my first ever full-engine rebuild, pushing me far beyond my comfort zone regarding motorcycle and engineering knowledge. The condition of this engine was so poor that I had to strip it all the way down to its bare components, separating every bolt and doing a complete refresh, cleaning, resurfacing, and replacing parts as necessary. When I got down to the oil pan, I carved my initials into the aluminum and then rebuilt it back up again. I did this all on my own with the help of online resources, consulting the factory Honda maintenance manuals nearly every ten minutes, referencing YouTube videos, and joining a Facebook group of Honda 350 enthusiasts where I constantly posted questions asking for guidance, tips, and tricks. At the end of the summer I reassembled the bike and after many hours of mulling over my work, I started up this old 350 - it ran like a champ and it was a surreal feeling, very reassuring to know that I worked with enough precision and engineering consideration to take this motor apart and put it back together and still have it operate as intended. While I plan to update the rest of the components to get it up to road standards, for now it sits in my garage while I am away at school and I am satisfied to know I saved it from the junkyard.
Before, during, and after photos documenting the complete restoration process
Video documentation of the complete restoration process - created for Tau Beta Pi Engineering Honor Society application
Some photos from the CM200T rebuild that served as my introduction to motorcycle restoration and taught me the fundamentals before tackling the CB350 project
