honda FL 350 insite needed asap

[tkeagle]

As on previous thread looking into buying a fl 350. Looks like I could pick it up at end of week. And getting it for $1500. Condition is fair. Engine seems to run good. Need some fenders. And paint. Suspention seems to be good. Don't see anything bent. Paddle tires and extra rims and tires go with it. And box of new parts goes with it. Cables.. ect..

Anything I need to really look at before buying? Trouble areas? High cost replacement?
I did notice the belt rubbing on a u joint. Or drive shaft. When not running the belt slacks up to wear it laying on it. Normal? Or trouble? She

Its a 2 stroke. And there was some smoke coming out of exhaust. Not a big amount. And got less as ran. Normal for a 2 stroke? ( haven't been around them). Didn't back fire. And ran smooth.

Not using petals for gas or breaks. Reliable,? Easy work on?

Overall, should be able to load it up, and go play right away. Then work on Cosmetics this winter.

Any info before I make final purchased would be grateful.

How easy are they to mod up? Suspention. wheels Tires.. engine.

[liduno]

All normal
Brakes all work? Master cylinders are like hens teeth.
U=joints good? Difficult to find quality ones to fit.
Axles fit output shaft good? Kind of a special spline, you don't want the axle to rock back and forth on the spline as if they were hogged out or oblong.
Compression check? Low compression can cause major problems on an fl350
Ball joints tight? No new replacement parts. If they're bad modifications need to be done.
cooling wings behind seat? Low airflow will kill the engine without them

All I can think of off the top of my head.

[tkeagle]

Wow. Thx. Breaks do work. But one is a little soft. Could just need adjustment. Or bleeding. (Oh god. Shoot me now!!).
Cooling wings? Mean the ones on the head? I did look at them. They looked good. Was wowed on the size of them.

[liduno]

The wings I'm talking about are just plastic duct work that stick out from behind the seat to direct air to the cooling fins on the head.

[x-bird]

check the upper cage work for signs of being endo'd.

[xlint89]

Front brakes are drums. Shoes are available and cheap ($20 a set and up) you'll need 2 sets

As noted master cylinders are tough to find. Rebuild kist are available. Need 2 (frt and rea)r around $70 for the pair

Cables are expensive. Throttle, choke, brake are about $40 each

Controls on steering wheel are fine. Throttle and brake levers can be difficult/pricey if they need replaced.

Rear brakes don't work real great. (prob your soft one) Calipers are pretty difficult/expensive if you need 1 of those. Rebuild kits are noexistent.

Rear axles are pricey (about $200 ea and you have 2) and the U joints are pricey too $40 ea and you have 4. These are a problem spot on the FL 350. When the U joint breaks (due to age) it usually takes out the rear shock too.

Rear shocks are difficult to find (because of the U joint problem) unless you go aftermarket. Then you only have WORKS Shocks as an option at around $500 for the rear and around $400 for the fronts. Not kidding......

2 strokers do not like to be starved for fuel. Lack of fuel usually leads to piston failure. So fuel supply is critical.

Also an air leak (leaking air INTO the engine, not out) will lean out the air fuel ratio and cause issues. So inspect the rubber around the intake manifold (usually cracks from age) Another culprit of an air leak is engine crank seals. No way to test those without tearing the intake and exhaust off and putting the engine under a vacuum.

These had a tendency to overheat. (Honda had a recall to address it) So air flow to the engine is crucial as Liduno noted. Lack of the air guides (wings on side of seat) or extended idling can be an issue. Lots of people install liquid cooled heads to combat this issue at a hefty price ($300-400 for the head, then another $150ish for radiator, hoses, mounts etc....

This is most of the stuff I can think of.

Remember these are 30 yrs old, so original parts are worn. There's not a lot of parts available, so there's a lot of competition from other owners looking to score parts too.

Fenders??? Oh boy.... A lot of people looking for decent fenders. Last set I saw of NEW guy wanted about $400 for a set of 2.

Fun buggy, but as I said in the other thread. If it needs work, be prepared to shell out some $$ bringing it up to par.

There's a good website just for Odyssey and Pilots if you wanna do more research. Be ready to do a lot of reading.

I'm not bashing the Oddy, just wish I would have researched it more myself. If I had, I would have saved some more $$ and bought the Pilot. Liquid cooled and much better suspension.

[xlint89]

Oh yeah, make sure the elec starter works. They are notorious for filling with oil and not working properly.

Can be rebuilt for cheap, just a PITA to remove the starter

[liduno]

There is a simple mod to correct the oil in the starter issue, simply vent the cap on the balance shaft case.

I happen to have a spare set of brake levers, throttle lever, and cables. I would be happy to sell them..lol

[tkeagle]

Wow.. OK guys. Yes the plastic fins are in very good shape. At kids soccer game. Will read more in depth. Thx very much for info. From what I see the drive and u joints are in good shape. But there is issue with the brakes. And yes. Will be interested in parts you have to sell. When figure out what I might need. But all in all. Looks like so much fun.

[tkeagle]

Oh ya. Electric start don't work. What I need to do with that?

[xlint89]

Originally Posted by liduno

There is a simple mod to correct the oil in the starter issue, simply vent the cap on the balance shaft case.

How do you vent the cap? I've never read that one before. Also, don't you still need to seal off the passage on the inside to prevent the oil that's slinging around?

TK, hopefully the P.O. has a repair manual. If not, there is one on line. I like to have the book open next to the buggy when working on it though.

First get the starter rebuild kit (around $20)

You'll need a drive clutch removal tool. (Salisbury if it's stock, or Comet brand depending on what's installed) Or you can do the messy grease filled trick.

Drop the fuel tank

remove the left rear tire and access the starter.

Disassemble the starter. Clean up all internals. Hopefully the starter armature is good

Rebuild starter

Then reinstall

That would be an ideal time to replace the intake manifold if it's cracked (rubber portion) (manifolds are around $120 new)

[liduno]

It's been a while but when I did my starter there was no need to remove the clutch.

IIRC you can either just take the links off that connect the motor to the gear box and tilt it forward or remove the brake rotor. I read about tilting the motor forward after I did my starter, you may have to remove the seat.

I do have a terrible memory but I definitely didn't remove the clutch.

For the vent you can do a couple different things.
Some drill a hole in the cap and thread in a brass nipple for a hose. I personally didn't want to ruin the dipstick, so I got a ford radiator drain plug [Same thread as dipstick]and drilled it then stuck a hose on it.

No need to plug the port inside, with the vent there wont be any pressure forcing oil through.

[tkeagle]

Interesting. Thx. Right away I can tell the carb needs cleaned. So took off exhaust. And air intake. Seems like all seals good as far as the intake. Still need to take carb off and clean. But something I noticed. I build computers on the side. Air flow is a major issue in keeping the system cool and running. You can have 10 fans blowing into the case. But if you don't have it matched with good outflow, your defeating the purpose. I see that issue on the air cooling on the 350. The fins on the heads are made to move the air flow around the head and cool the system. However there is no out flow. The air intake and the exhaust are blocking it. Put in the fact that the air is coming into the exhaust pipe, will heat up the air and just swirl around the area. Heating up all air in the area. Big bottle neck.

Has anyone tried just adjust the exhaust so it goes straight out the back, or just leave the muffler off. And use the 90 elbow. Run a pipe up. Mount it. And put a uni filter on top? Could even put some fins on the intake pipe, to help the air move more freely. From what I see, that would increase the air flow, and keep cool air around the engine and heads a great amount. Or am I just thinking silly?

[liduno]

You would be surprised how much air those scoops move.

[tkeagle]

As of now, the air scoop not installed. The previous owner put a after market gas tank on where the scoop should go. Just have the 2 hoses coming straight up from the filter box. Plan on taking off the aluminium gas tank and put on the yerfdog. Which it badly needs.
Have seen ppl suggesting doing a leak test. But haven't seen how to do it. Can some give me details on that plz. Also. Would be interested in getting a compression tester. Or some way to do it. I have a hand bleeder pump. And says it can do compression test. Is that a good way? Or should I invest in a better tool?

[liduno]

When I said ''scoops'' I meant the plastic wings that stick out from behind the seat.

A hand operated vacuum pump for vacuum test and either a bicycle pump or a tank that you can fill with just a few psi [5 or 6 psi]for the pressure test. Soapy water to see if seals leak under pressure.

[tkeagle]

Thx. I don't doubt that they move good air. I was just noticing that if the air being pushed in, had a better way to exit the area. If that would increase the cooling. Thou at normal riding for me or kids, we just take a few laps around the pond. And make a trip down the dirt road. Then come in. Normally I would say that Won't run much more than 10 mins at a time. But might look into running a 12 volt fan while idle. Don't want to put a bunch of mods, or $ into right now. But want to protect my investment. So trying to do what I can to ensure good and safe engine running. Then this winter go in and start some upgrades.

[liduno]

I don't like to let a 2 stroke idle, but a fan couldn't hurt.

[tkeagle]

Is there a trick getting the choke out of the carb? Its hell cleaning the carb while still attached to the chock on the buggy.
Also. I just noticed that the rear tire on the drivers side is leaning inward. Top of tire leaning in toward buggy. Is that a simple adjustment? With looks like a tire rod on the upper part of frame? Or is something else going on?
Thanks.

[liduno]

There is an adjustment but make sure the trailing arm isn't bent.

I don't remember the choke cable setup, but if you can't figure it out you might want to let someone else rebuild your carb.

[xlint89]

Sounds like you bought it?

We need pics.

Choke is just threaded into the stock carb. Unscrew the cable where it meets the carb body, then pull the cable up and out.

There is adjustment for the rear tires.

Have you found the on line repair manual?

Leak down test basically is blocking off the intake and exhaust AIR TIGHT. Then install your vacuum pump on the pulse fitting of th engine (vacuum hose port for fuel pump)

Pull about 5-6 inches of vacuum (or 5-6 psi of pressure) and let it sit. Check out the gauge after 10 mins. You shoul lose just 1 or 2 inches or PSI in that time. If more is gone, you have an air leak (bad seal) somewhere.

[tkeagle]

Ya. Bought it. I did get some pics. But for some reason can't upload any pics from my phone. I know there's a few things that need done. But all in all think got a really good deal on it. I hope so. . Its running really rich. Once I address that, should be able to go play with it. Looked up some parts for it. Holy cow. $400.0. For shocks!!!! What the hell? They come off a rocket ship or something? What's so special about the shocks?

[xlint89]

Did you fail to read my previous post? I explained that the shocks are ridiculous.

$400 is a decent price. The rears are $500 alone.

Get the pics posted so we can see what you got as far as parts go.

If you have bad reeds, it'll pull fuel like crazy.

I thought I got a good deal on mine too....

[tkeagle]

Yes. I did read that post. Just wondering why so much. Are the shocks that good? Or are those shocks made only for the odessey? Won't fit on anything else?

[tkeagle]

Need to find time to get on computer. Can't upload pics from my phone.

[tkeagle]

Forgot to bring up. I have a new throttle cable for it. And know now why it was purchased by a previous owner. Looks straight forward. Until get into steering wheel. Have not taken apart yet.
Any hints or tips in installing the new cable, or taking apart steering wheel?

Going to make new thread soon. To combine 2 of them.

[xlint89]

30 year old model specific shocks. Only option is Works performance. Works are custom built to rider and vehicle weight.

Throttle cable is straight forward. Steering wheel is straight forward too. Nothing difficult there.

[tkeagle]

Please refer to thread " new fl 350 project". Thx