Newly Built AHRMA Road Racer – 1972 Honda CB350

In Japan, Race by Tim HuberLeave a Comment

With the Honda CB’s making such a dramatic resurgence in recent years, there’s arguably never been a better time to get involved in vintage racing aboard old CB’s. The abundance of parts and experts available both online and IRL have made racing these now-hip classic Japanese sport bikes easier than ever with overhead costs being pretty minimal, at least in contrast to running modern machines competitively. This beautiful freshly rebuilt 1972 CB350 racer has only seen AHRMA competition on two occasions since its ground-up rebuild last year, making this turn-key racer ideal for anyone who wants to skip the BS and tinkering and dive straight into vintage competition.

The medium-small displacement power plant was built and tuned for competition by Ferruccio Giannini of Giannini Racing and featured a PVL ignition and “x5 cam, ported to 34mm”. New valves, springs, hardware, Mikuni VM34s, and (Capellini) oil filter were also introduced into the mix when reviving this classic early-seventies’ Honda. Performance upgrades don’t end at the engine though, with fully adjustable Racetech springs up front, all sitting on Sun Rims with Buchanan spokes. The Conti Classic Attacks on this CB have only seen two race weekends, as has the drilled CB450 front brake.

This purpose-built racing CB has been fitted with a fiberglass tank, belly pan and tail (courtesy of Tannermatic) as well as a complete CB750 race fairing that’s included in the sale which is still unpainted and unmounted. Vortex clip-ons and Motobits rear-sets force the pilot into a more aggressive seating position that furthers this machine’s racer status. Buying a newly built racer like this allows someone to jump right into competition without inheriting a massive headache that comes with trying to find the gremlin(s) in a newly purchased vintage bike. The sale of this CB350 racer also comes with a handful of unspecified parts but extra parts are always nice.

The recently installed dual racing exhausts not only look great but likely produce a bit more power, and along with the engine’s upgrades this example is probably faster than the stock CB350’s reported 110 mph max speed. The bike’s 325.6cc stock engine makes 36hp at 10,500rpm and 18.4ft/lbs of torque at 9,500rpm. The stock CB350’s 328lb dry weight is brought down on this example via its stripped down nature, even with its fiberglass bodywork and tank it still weighs less than the stock 350. The CB350 took what the CB77 Superhawk got right, and ran with it, delivering a bike that had mixed results in competition after its release, but has undeniably carved out its own special place in history as one of the most popular vintage models out there (full disclosure, I own one).

You can find this AHRMA-ready 1972 CB350 racer with a reported 100 miles on its odo for sale here on Craigslist in Brooklyn, New York with a price of $5,200.