The wheels were 19 inchers, shod with what was then called “universal” tires, which were far happier on the road than struggling in loose terrain. Travel was not even 4 inches, so the bounceability was limited. Suspension was average, with a booted telescopic fork at the front, preload-adjustable shock absorbers at the back. The Scrambler had a curb weight of 337 pounds and a wheelbase of 52.4 inches. It was the 1960s, which meant one thing: chrome! No worries, as it was an easy kick-starter-if the rider used the proper amount of choke. And also wiping out the electric starter, which had been just in front of the CB’s cylinders, but had to be removed to allow for the downtube. Honda techs, figuring the Scrambler might well get quite a number of hard knocks, created a loop frame, with a single front downtube splitting in two so as to cradle the engine and provide a place for a good skid plate. Since the Super Hawk was not expected to go bouncing over rocks and logs it had a tubular backbone frame running from steering head to swingarm pivot, with the engine actually suspended, having a short pair of arms connecting the cylinder heads with the frame. The CL frame was quite different from the CB’s. The CL77 had a great engine, a sporty chassis…and a high price. A single-row primary chain ran the horses to a wet clutch, then through four gears, the main shaft running on pressure-fed ball bearings, and out on the right side to a final chain drive. Spin that baby to 9,000 rpm, and the better part of 28 horsepower could be found at the end of the crankshaft.
#How to install spark advance on a honda cl350 scrambler full#
Sparks were provided by an ignition system that employed an automatic advance mechanism, coming to full advance at some 3,300 rpm. A pair of 26mm Keihin carbs, with excellent air cleaners, put the gas in the combustion chambers, to be compressed 9.5 times. None of this pushrod nonsense, as a single overhead camshaft powered by a chain running between the two cylinders did all the work. The cylinder barrels were alloy, using cast iron liners and alloy heads, with two valves per cylinder. Keep them all lubricated and that crank could happily go 100,000 miles.
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The parallel twin’s 180-degree crankshaft had four bearings, a ball on the left end and three rollers, with needle bearings on the connecting rods. The CL powerplant was very similar to the CB’s.
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But that soon changed to the wet-sump concept, requiring less plumbing-always a good idea. When Honda had originally developed the motor in the ’50s, the C75 being on the Japanese market in 1956, it had a dry sump, the oil in its own container, like the English bikes. The motor was a very decent piece of work, the aluminum crankcase split horizontally so the oil contained had no way to leak. What the CL77 had was a great engine, a reasonably sporty chassis-by 1965 standards-and a rather high price, $720, about $5,500 in today’s dollars, which does not look terribly good when compared with today’s CB300F at $4,149. Stripped down two-strokes were the hot item for anyone hoping to get the checkered flag. Scrambler styling, with those upswept exhaust pipes, was the desirable look in the ’60s-not that such bikes were much good in serious competition. The CL77’s off-road capability was limited, with less than 4 inches of suspension travel. Though it may have had something to do with Yamaha’s 305cc Big Bear Scrambler, which appeared in 1965. Nobody seems to know where the 77 came from.Ĭuriously, Honda’s 250 version of the Scrambler, the CL72, had come out in 1962, and why Honda waited three years to scramblize the 305 has never really been explained. Here we have the last of Honda’s 305 models, which began with the dry-sump CA76 in 1959, moving on to the wet-sump CA77 Dream in 1960, then the CB77 Super Hawk in ’61, and finally, the model we are dealing with here, the CL77 Scrambler. Owner: John Lundberg, Santa Margarita, California.