Sl350?

[Sport]

When I was a kid I really wanted one of those, in gold! I'm about the same size as I was then and would like to do a little on/off road a bit with it as my CBX and Hayabusa don't do we'll in the dirt. Anyone have one? Compared to newer models for minimal dirt work, would it be worth it to get one for a dependable rider?

[da fuzz]

I HAD a 72 .....in 72 ... and it was great. Mine was turquoise with the yellow gas tank panel and the aluminum fenders. I rode enduros at the time and I was very impressed with the bikes dirt abilities.. Low COG helped. Mine vibrated pretty good on the highway. Still wud love to have a nice one, but they are highly sought after and not easy to find.

[Fitty]

I saw this one at Barber Vintage Week this year. A little pricey, but it's PERFECT! I almost bought one in 1971, but kept my DT1 instead. This one is too nice to ride in the dirt. It's really hard to find one with the proper mufflers.

http://www.marblesmotors.com/HondaSL350K11971-27.htm

[Sport]

Man that red one is gorgeous! I've wanted one since I first laid eyes on a gold one going by in the bright sun. My first CB750 was red.

[BigIron]

Originally Posted by Fitty

I saw this one at Barber Vintage Week this year. A little pricey, but it's PERFECT! I almost bought one in 1971, but kept my DT1 instead. This one is too nice to ride in the dirt. It's really hard to find one with the proper mufflers.

http://www.marblesmotors.com/HondaSL350K11971-27.htm

I'll take one like that. And an F9 350 Bighorn in Kawasaki green And maybe a CL350 in ... hmmm... let's go with burgundy.

[Mobiker]

I tried to buy one in '84 or so from a young couple in a trailer park. Took it for a test ride. Agreed on a price. Then they informed me they didn't have a title. After listening to them tell me how easy it was to get a title, I told them to go get one and call me. Never heard back of course. Pretty sure it was stolen.

Always like them. Very rare. If you want one and can find it, it will probably serve you ok. For dirt work an SL 350 twin (Honda made an SL350 single too) is capable of, you'd probably be better served by any number of '80's or '90's street legal thumpers for less money.

[beemerphile]

Originally Posted by Mobiker

For dirt work an SL 350 twin (Honda made an SL350 single too) is capable of, you'd probably be better served by any number of '80's or '90's street legal thumpers for less money.

I thought the single was an XL350

[pennswoodsed]

I think that if you rode one you would either love the nostalgic ride or not like the weight ,vibration and power.
Regards,Ed

[Mobiker]

Originally Posted by beemerphile

I thought the single was an XL350

Well

I could have sworn there was one year - I was thinking '73 where they dropped the twin, introduced the single, and called it an SL350. A quick google search didn't bear this out though. Apparently the single didn't come out 'til '74 and was called the XL.
Wouldn't be so embarassing if I didn't own one (76)

[beemerphile]

Originally Posted by Mobiker

Well

I could have sworn there was one year - I was thinking '73 where they dropped the twin, introduced the single, and called it an SL350. A quick google search didn't bear this out though. Apparently the single didn't come out 'til '74 and was called the XL.
Wouldn't be so embarassing if I didn't own one (76)

Don't be embarrassed. It was just my time to be right this year. I owned a candy blue SL. My brother still has his, and I cant believe how slow and vibey it is. Better as a man cave showpiece, I think.

[Scrivens]

I bought an orange one new and put about 25,000 miles on it in 18 months - quite a big mileage for a Honda back then. I burnt out one piston, cracked several ring sets and the electrics were incredibly unreliable. The engine was an easy afternoon's rebuild when it did fail, and mine was ridden hard all its life, so despite the rings and piston I'd rate it as mechanically reliable. On the good side, it was a very comfortable bike, economical enough in the fuel shortages of the early 70's, handled fairly well and a lot of gear could be strapped on for touring. I used mine on all sorts of on and off-road work and it was fine, bearing in mind that at the time we used to run any bikes we owned off-road. I was working with Forestry at the time and used it on all the tracks and fire roads in my work area. The real downside was that the engine had very little torque and hitting the bottom of long, steep hills on the highway in 5th at 60mph would see it down to about 40mph in 3rd at the top. Without the factory exhausts the power dropped markedly, to the extent that when mine rusted out after about 6 months, having tried a number of aftermarket mufflers, I ended up hammering a quart oil can over each pipe end on the originals and it stayed like that until I sold it. I liked the bike a lot but it didn't really set my world on fire. I replaced it with a new CL450 - and that was a real dog; uncomfortable, gutless for its size and hp and very unreliable, and in the three years and 40,000 miles I put on it remains one of the worst bikes I've ever owned.

[NJ-Brett]

There were big changes between years, with the newer years being much lighter and having much more torque.
The early ones were really cb350's with a different style, the later ones got a lighter frame, lost the electric start and 40 pounds, and had different cams.

I would love to have one.
Parts are hard to find, but a lot of cb350's were made.
I had a cb350 and I had a friend who also had one, and it would do 90 mph indicated, it was a bit faster then my powroll 300cc xl250 with a cam and a super trap exhaust on it.

And I bet you can get a little more power out of one over stock without much trouble.
I suspect the suspension was better then some bikes I dirt rode, and better then the 69 Daytona I had a blast with a few years ago.

I never rode an sl 350, but its sort of my dream dual sport bike.
I hit the lottery and I am getting a restored like new one. Or 5 of them.

[Goofy12]

Originally Posted by Mobiker

Well

I could have sworn there was one year - I was thinking '73 where they dropped the twin, introduced the single, and called it an SL350. A quick google search didn't bear this out though. Apparently the single didn't come out 'til '74 and was called the XL.
Wouldn't be so embarassing if I didn't own one (76)

I bought a new 73 XL350. It was a silver & blue model. It didn't sound fast, but I beat two of my riding buddies in drag races. Pulled away easily from a 72 360 Yamaha & a 71(?) 450 Ducati.

[Prmurat]

We have a -70 one which my wife loves.... I even had to buy new mufflers from Australia for her. We did try a dirt weekend with it (i was on my XT500...), it was tough on her back and a lot of pieces fell of the bike. Now we are using it for vintage ride (and I have a spare engine in which I would like to adapt a 6 gears from a 360). Here is a pic on my wife on it (I am on my H1).5

[Scrivens]

Originally Posted by NJ-Brett

There were big changes between years, with the newer years being much lighter and having much more torque.

Mine was the later one - it made about 3ft/lbs more torque (18/21), and about 5hp less (30/36), but both were about 1000rpm lower than the CB350 motor in the electric-start SL. It was a nice bike and a lot of fun, but when I read the stories of the 'big' power output of the SL it does make me wonder what the people were riding before. For the time it was still a heavy 325cc twin, and there really wasn't much grunt below about 5000rpm, although the lower gearing helped of course. The weight difference wasn't all that great either - the final 21" wheel model was 360lbs wet compared to 375 for the basic CB350. (The oft-quoted 320lbs was the dry weight, 328 for the CB.)

But despite what may sound negative, it was a good bike, very nice to ride and well worth grabbing one of you can find one. I'd have another one.