Return of the CB

I am not making this up; the CB360T I found on Craigslist is the one I bought last year!
The guy I sold it to sold it to a guy in McKees Rocks and he sold it back to me! He did add clubman bars and new air filters, but other than that, the bike is exactly the same.

Another CB

As I am now divorced, I am getting ready to purchase another CB 360T.

Just as before, I found it on Craigslist. This bike apparently runs and has had some modifications, but it does include various spare parts.

Reinstalling the Components

I finally got the left case to stop leaking oil by removing it one more time and putting gasket sealer on both sides of the gasket. After torqueing the bolts, I added the oil and no leaks after three days.



It was a 50 degree day today and we washed both cars. It was also a perfect opportunity to wash the bike, the sprocket cover and the carburetor. I removed the diaphrams, bowls and chrome diaphram covers from the carbs. I polished the covers to remove some stubborn rust.

I also had a chance to polish some of the chrome bits and it really paid off.

Since I am down to the rebuilding and installing the carburetors, I decided to rebuild the bike.

I installed the headlight bucket, the tank with the new petcock, the seat, the rear fender, the rear turn markers, and the rear light.

The bungle of the day was removing all of the bullet connectors inside the headlight bucket and it was not necessary.

As soon as the rebuild kits come in the mail, it may be possible to start the bike next weekend.

I still need to replace the right side throttle control housing so I can use the electric start.

Sprocket Cover and Rear Case with Rodents

Just out of boredom and curiosity, I took off the rear crankcase/sprocket cover. I had heard of pests making nests out in motorcycles and cars and here is the proof. It does not appear that they did any damage to wires.

There were three of my new stainless allen head bolts and old phillips head screw holding it on. The phillips head came out easily and I am replacing it with the last stainless screw.

The cover itself did take more than a little force to be removed.

There is quite a bit of gunk in there, so I am glad I took the cover off.

A Good Day to Wrench

I started the day in my new Simpson pajama bottoms, checking the torque specs on the right side of the crankcase that I installed on December 31. I had also installed new stainless allen head bolts into the case. When it was completed, I still had the remainder of the bolts for the other shifter side of the case, so I decided to put them in to the case one at time.

The new allen bolts on the case

Of course, it is never that easy. Three of the phillips head screws needed the dremel tool assist to back them out.

The "old" bolts

Once I had completed the left side, I still had two bolts remaining. I calculated that they were to hold the electric starter on the front of the case. The lower phillips head came out rather easily, but the top totally sheared off during the dremel tool/flat head technique. Luckily, once the head was sheared and I loosend the lower bolt, I used an eyeglass screw driver to back out the broken bolt.

The starter with new allen bolts

I then installed the the new allen bolts and torqued them to spec.

The other issue that was bothering me was the lack of Neutral Light when the battery was attached. I had expressed my concern to Spencer and Clint. Spencer said "how the wiring on CB's is a mess." Such a statement is not good for my sleep.

So this afternoon, after I had completed the allen bolts, I ran over all of the wiring to check for loose connections. I also looked toward the case where the shifter is located. A small mass of wires was coming from the case and going toward the location of the carburetors. It was disconnected.

The wires in question reconnected

I could barely contain myself as I hooked up the battery and turned on the key. Success. The Neutral Light shown brightly.

I also removed the reflectors from the forks today. A little weight here and there.

One of the small successes of yesterday was getting the rear brake lever reinstalled. I lubricated with bicycle grease and checked the photos in the manual for proper spring location. It is now working smoothly.

The rear brake lever assembly and spring

The next step is to work on the carburetors. Hopefully it goes well.

Right Side Crankcase Installation

Happy New Year, 2010!

I cleaned up the old gasket on the right side of the crankcase and put the snap ring back on the oil filter, checked the torque of the lower filter, and then went to Walmart to purchase oil.

I went with the 10w-30 synthetic. The specs call for 2 quarts.

After searching for Torque Specs and not finding anything, I just hand tightened them for the moment, and then put the oil in the case. I put a newspaper under the bike to check for leaks.

As of January 1, 2010, it is leaking, but I am hoping the seal takes and the torque setttings of 8 inch/lbs. does the trick.

Triumph Seat Bracket

While I created this blog for the CB 360, I could not help but post my adventure related to getting my Triumph seat bracket fabricated.


I purchased a solo seat for the Triumph on Ebay during the fall of 2009. It did not however, come with a bracket for attaching it to the fender. I called Collin's Cycle and searched the internet with no results. I had asked a machinist friend to make me one and I gave him my prototype and I never heard back from him.


In December, I saw an ad on Craigslist for motorcycle parts fabrication in Slippery Rock. After emailing the fabricator, I finally set up a time to meet him afer Christmas.


Ray gave me his address so I could Mapquest it and I was still unsure of his directions, so I emailed him and he sent me the directions which included the statement: "it looks like you are pulling up into a cornfield."


I made my way through the snow covered roads up PA Route 19 North to Hunt Road. The sign in the photo below was at the intersection.

The driveway was located on a snow covered road between two cornfields. If I would have used the Mapquest directions, I would have thought I was going into the incorrect place.

Rays' Driveway

As I turned into the field, I saw that Ray's shop was a trailer located in a field and a box truck outside.


I hesitantly got out of my car and grabbed the seat out of the back. I turned and heard the door of the trailer opening and the half expected dog's angry bark. The man at the door of the trailer had a cigarette in one hand and he was restraining the black lab with the other. He welcomed me inside the trailer and told me the dog was all bark, which I found to be true. Buddy, the lab, responded to a few pats on the side and then went to the center of the main room of the trailer and found a spot in front of a space heater to lay down.


As I shook Ray's chapped right hand and put the seat down the edge of thread bare sofa, I scanned the interior of the room. The cigarette smoke hung in the air of the make-shift shop. To my right, there were three bikes in various states of repair behind the sofa: a older model Triumph, some offroad bike, and a red V twin Honda. A lone pair of motocross bike bars was on the floor not far from heater. I could hear the rustling of unseen occupants in another section of the trailer.



We stood in the doorway we discussed my vision of the seat bracket and its dimensions. He asked if I wanted flames on it.Initially I said that would be great, but after showing him my drawing, he asked again and I said just make it plain. He also asked if he could keep the seat while making the part.

Ray explained about his past as fabricator and that his former partner and he had bikes in magazines, but that the partner left and took all of the credit. We spent the next 10 minutes talking about my CB and rebuilding bikes.


He told me he have the bracket ready in a couple of days and that he would call me. I shook his hand and headed out through the half attached screen door, the smoke following me like a ghost.

I started the car backed away from the shop, the car's tires fighting for traction in the snowy field.