I’m gradually replacing 54 year old electrical components on my ‘69 CL350.

[1969 CL350]

I finally installed the new condenser set I bought 3 or 4 months ago…. Not much fun, since it’s under the tank and I can’t get the tank off without taking the seat/tail light unit off. Anyway, it started right up afterward and after a good test ride, the high rpm miss seems to have gone away, so I’m happy. A little idle mixture and idle speed adjustment afterward and it seems happy again. I had battery charging problems about a year ago and replaced the selenium rectifier and voltage regulator with a Sparck Moto unit, which has been working great. i’m still running the original coils and stator with some fairly new OEM Honda points.

 

[stl360+450]

I never get tired of seeing your bike. Even the Owner's manual is in great condition! Do you keep it on the bike? (I'm guessing not.)

 

[1969 CL350]

I never get tired of seeing your bike. Even the Owner's manual is in great condition! Do you keep it on the bike? (I'm guessing not.)

Thanks! No, the older model 350s didn’t have a place to keep the manual on the bike. Some of the pages are a little greasy, but I still use it. Those tiny wiring diagrams in the back are getting hard to see, though…

 

[ancientdad]

Hard to believe the original coils and before this, condensers were still there and working. I'd imagine the coils will continue as long as you don't accidentally overheat them. Quality stuff, and they just don't make things now like they used to. And to think there were so many 'Jap junk' slurs aimed at these bikes back then.

 

[1969 CL350]

I finally replaced the 55 year old coils today. The right cylinder stopped sparking months ago, and all signs pointed to a faulty coil. I ordered a couple new aftermarket ones from 4 into 1 and finally got around to installing them. The wire colors didn’t match, so I took photos of all the wiring connections before removing the old coils. The gel battery still tested at 12.8 volts after sitting for months, so I put the tank back on, turned on the gas, and it started right up after a few kicks and settled into a nice idle. Success!

 

[ancientdad]

Yeah, all their coils have blue and black primary leads. Same same, just blue to yellow in one case.

The bike of a thousand faces...

 

[1969 CL350]

Went for a ride today. The electrics all seem to be working fine, so hopefully, I’m finished with that. I think the left carb is going to have to be worked on now - it is overflowing randomly, not all the time, though. A tap with a rubber mallet cures it for a day or two, so there’s probably some trash in the float valve. It’s always something…

 

[Flyin900]

This has worked for me on a number of occassions for a cure to the leaky carburator fuel valve that is intermittent. I remove the gas line off the petcock to the carbs and drain both float bowls and leave the drain screws out. Place some rags near the drain bowl screw outlets and then shoot compressed air into the fuel line to the carbs.
I don't hit it with a big full blast of 125 PSI. I use a more gentle shot of air pressure in the 40-50 PSI range and blow through there for 10-15 sec.

Put the drain screws back in place and reattach your fuel line and check the results, which have been mostly great in clearing the issue.

 

[Windborne11]

Compressed air into a floatbowl can collapse the brass floats. Before you try that you might want to remove the floatbowl and check to see if the float is thin brass or hard plastic. You cant hurt the plastic ones.

 

[1969 CL350]

Compressed air into a floatbowl can collapse the brass floats. Before you try that you might want to remove the floatbowl and check to see if the float is thin brass or hard plastic. You cant hurt the plastic ones.

I’ve had the carbs apart numerous times - the floats are brass. I don’t have an air compressor, so I’ll be pulling the carb off to check it and fix the problem.

 

[stl360+450]

I don’t have an air compressor, so I’ll be pulling the carb off to check it and fix the problem.

After 55 years, you know that bike so well that you can probably have the carb apart on the bench before I grab a can of carb cleaner, but, for a future reader, I use a similar trick to @Flyin900 as a first attempt to avoid removing the carb(s), mainly on my XL350 if it sits for a bit.

• Disconnect fuel line from petcock.
• Place something below the bowl to catch fuel and open drain screw.
• Spray a few shots of carb cleaner through the fuel line into the carb to clean the float valve and seat.

There's obviously value to putting eyes on the components. Maybe the float needle or seat is shot.