I am getting ready to restore/rebuild/fix my 1974 Honda CB360. This is going to be a long and educational project for me.

I consider myself fairly mechanically inclined, but I only have a high level understanding of how motorcycles work, and have no hands-on experience with the inner workings of motorcycles. Therefore, this will be a FIRST for me, and I hope to search/beg/borrow/plead for help whenever I need it ;). And if I am lucky, hopefully I will get the help and learn a lot in the process.

The project bike does run, but it needs work before I would feel comfortable using it as my daily commuter vehicle, hence this project. I will post pictures of the bike, this weekend, before I start any work. I’ve purchased the Clymer manual for this bike and I think I am ready to begin.

Unless someone can convince me otherwise, I plan on starting the project by tackling all safety issues first, then moving onto getting things running well, and finally the aesthetics.

The bike was purchased from my brother-in-law, Donnie, and given to me as a gift from my father-in-law. Taking Donnie’s recommendations into consideration, I think these are my primary safety issues and what I will tackle first:

• Brakes – New on the rear, but the front have never been replaced. After taking the bike for a short ride, the front brakes are useless. Donnie says he could never get the front brakes apart to replace them.
• Clutch – Donnie purchased new clutch gears but never got around to replacing. I do not know what a “bad” clutch would feel like as I have only ridden new bikes, but if he says it needs to be replaced and I trust him.
• Tires – Well they are worn, different makes/models, and the rear has a plug. I don’t know if it makes any difference, but I would think you would want them to be of the same make/model, and I personally do not want to rely on a plugged tire.

If anyone out there has other things that should be added to my safety list, or knows how to get the front brakes apart, please let me know.