Used Honday CB360T; $4500, too highly priced? | GTAMotorcycle.com

Used Honday CB360T; $4500, too highly priced?

Crazy price of $4500 if you ask me ... but maybe not, if you must have one of those ... :) .... on the other hand, if you are just looking for a play bike, then I would say, undoubtedly priced very high.

BTW ... you know that the odometer figure is a joke/lie ... call it whatever you want. Useless number, basically.
 
This is a classic bike, probably not the best choice for a first bike. Think about it this way, would you buy a 1975 Honda Civic as your first car? While it's an interesting bit of history, it's also 40+ years old and despite the condition, will be a little more difficult to maintain than a newer bike. Also consider that most new rider have some sort of 'ooops' in their first couple of years, having modern brakes, steering and handling might mitigate some risk.

If you like small standard bikes, perhaps A Suzuki TU250 or VanVan would be a better choice -- full warranty, cheap to own and operate, modern and you can by the new for less than $4500, used with 10Km for about $2500. There are others in this size that are also great beginner bikes, my favorites are the Rebel 250, Ninja 300, and I'm hoping the new BMW GS310 will be a neat little urban surpiise.

Remember, classic bikes will always be out there. You might find that when you get a little experience, you might consider some of the more iconic UJMs (Honda CB400F/550F & 750F, Yamaha XS 650 & RD come to mind) for your classic ride.

Personally I love classics and have 3 in my stable. They are all intersting, but if you intend to ride them daily be prepared to provide more love and money than any modern motorcycle.
 
Desirable characteristics for a first bike: Cheap, light, reliable, fuss-free, easy to get parts for.

Old bikes that are somewhat "classic" aren't "cheap", and usually the other factors aren't favorable either.

Get a thrashed but running Kawasaki EX500 or Suzuki GS500 or something of that sort. Old enough to be cheap, but not TOO old or rare or desirable.
 
DemonPig said:
OP - ask yourself this question - do you want to ride or do you want to wrench ...
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... on something that you probably don't have experience with, and which is so old that you can only deal with specialist shops that know about vintage bikes (which are few and far between)?
 
Before you decide, search for parts such as on eBay. Try for parts such as a throttle cable. Since it is 1975 there probably will be few available, which means more expense and long wait times, when, not if, something breaks. This bike does not have the original turn signals or bars.

Also does this bike have points ignition? I'm unsure if I'd trust a 1975 front disk brake. There have been advanced in everything since then.

If this is your first and only bike, I'd look away and buy something newer, such as those already recommended. Once you have a bike that runs reliably, then consider this type of vintage bike.
 
It's pretty spendy but a nice looking machine. I don't think it's completely out of line but you've gotta be pretty picky at that price point: It has to be mint.

As for wrenching/riding, I personally don't think there's anything wrong with a newer rider getting a machine that'll require some upkeep. Maybe I'm old school that way but I think understanding the machine beneath you through turning wrenches will make you a better rider overall.
 
I'm with the others - I would not buy a vintage (or vintage-ish) bike as a first bike for all the reasons mentioned..

- Parts availability - if you have a low speed lowside (for example) and dent the tank, getting another is going to be tough compared to a newer bike where you can find parts readily.

- Reliability. If you're actually going to ride on it as opposed to going 2KM to pose at the nearest Tim Hortons, compared to a newer bike with newer more reliable technology you're going to experience more issues.

- Comfort. Again, if you're actually going to ride it anywhere those styles of seats are not going to be comfortable for long distances.

- Insurance. Haven't seen this one mentioned but it's getting harder for experienced riders to get bikes older than mid 80's insured anymore, much less a brand new M1/M2 rider with no experience nor motorcycle insurance history.
 
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Blackfin said:
It's pretty spendy but a nice looking machine. I don't think it's completely out of line but you've gotta be pretty picky at that price point: It has to be mint.

As for wrenching/riding, I personally don't think there's anything wrong with a newer rider getting a machine that'll require some upkeep. Maybe I'm old school that way but I think understanding the machine beneath you through turning wrenches will make you a better rider overall.
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Once again - depends what your goal is. I prefer to ride. If something breaks down, then I fix it. However, I prefer not to. Some people acquire vehicles mainly to work on them. I get that.
However, knowing how to repair a bike does not translate into riding skill.
 
You won't attract girls on that bike. Only old men who will bend your ear with stories of their Honda back in the day.
 
Uhmmmmmmmmm
I was alive in 1975 and I can attest to the fact that we did not live in caves.
We had running water, flushing toilets and serviceable motorcycles. Actually by then we had the motorcycle and the toilet thing pretty well figured out.

OP: If you're stuck on an older bike as a first bike, you can't go wrong with either of those bikes. Both are reliable and with good parts support. (The 360 is pricey, especially since the mufflers aren't right. For that price the thing should be "concourse") (... and the 360 always was a bit of a dud. The 350 is a more desirable bike IMHO)
My brother had a CB360, not the "T" and he went across Canada, twice, on it in '75. Total amount of service on the bike that summer: 5 oil changes and a set of tires.
My daily rider is a '79 GS1000. Total service this summer: 4 oil changes and a set of tires. It just starts and goes, just like a "modern bike".

I have more into "older bikes" than most on this site and my suggestion is you would be better served learning to ride on a "modern". Learning to ride (well) requires enough, do you need to add any more distraction?

The rest of you should read Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Persig
 
That 350 seems like a good deal. It sounds like it was being used, i.e. the consumables are not all due for immediate replacement.

That ad is not going to last long at all.
 
FLSTC said:
You won't attract girls on that bike. Only old men who will bend your ear with stories of their Honda back in the day.
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Touché. About once a week I get the obligatory "What year is that? I have a FJ1100/FJ1200/Maxim/Seca sitting in the shed!" from a 50-something driving a pickup truck.
 
bitzz said:
OP: If you're stuck on an older bike as a first bike, you can't go wrong with either of those bikes. Both are reliable and with good parts support.
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Wear parts, sure...but what about body? My earlier example of a tank, or a fender for example....both parts that are commonly damaged on even a low speed parking lot drop. Are those parts going to be easy to find, in excellent condition?

Don't get me wrong, I'm not against vintage anything, but just not for a new rider. To me, it would be like having your kid who just got his G1 heading out for his/her first ever time driving with a classic Corvette or something - yes, it will get the job done, but if it as much as touches a curb the wrong way you're going to be hunting for hard to find replacement parts at great expense.

Moral of the story....dad's Toyota Tercel (ie, commonplace and easy/cheap to fix) might be a better idea to start on.
 
Parts are available for that bike. Lots and lots of them. You will never have a problem finding parts.

That said, you will need them. Riding something vintage is going to require serious work, or being OK with riding it into a useless pile of **** fairly quickly. I probably spend an equal amount of time riding and working on my vintage bikes. Yes they can be "reliable", in the sense that they wont generally leave you stranded on the side of the road, but only if you maintain them. And even then you will get eventually get stranded, and if you cant work on it, it means spending a couple hundred to a couple thousand at a shop to get it serviced.

Compared to a modern computerized fuel injection bike that you can treat pretty much like a car. Change the oil every once in a while, and the coolant every few years, but otherwise just ride it. And you can get a modern fuel injected bike for less.

This isnt even to mention dropping it. If you drop that bike its value is now halved, everything will get scratched and dented and no one will pay you anywhere near what you paid based on that alone. You would have to pay someone a load of money to get it even back to the value you paid for it. Every time you look at it, you will have to feel like you destroyed something unique, which you did. If you have some ****** little fuel injected modern bike, no one will care if its got a few scratches when it comes time to sell it, and if you buy one with a few scratches on it, you wont even care at all when you add a few more.

Dont buy a very good condition vintage bike as your first bike unless you really really enjoy working on vehicles, and even then I'd say buy a trash one and fix it up over the winter, then ride it next year. Chances are you will either accidentally wreck it, which would be a shame, or it will not be as reliable as you'd like and you will spend more time getting it fixed and fretting about whether it will break down than you ever will riding it.

If you absolutely cant settle for anything that doesnt have a style like this, look into those chinese import bikes that are styled like old cruisers, for less than 4500 dollars you can have a brand new bike that is just as reliable as something built 50 years ago. I have one, and without a doubt I would recommend it wholeheartedly, hands down over any of my vintage bikes for a beginner. But I would also recommend a beginner get something like an early model cbr250 or a fuel injected ninja over either, simply because theyre more fun to learn on, more forgiving, and require way, way less maintenance which means more time for riding and less time for working or worrying. Even with 4 vintage bikes I daily drive my fz6r and have maybe taken my vintage bikes out 3 times this entire year. Spent a lot more time working on them and buying parts for them though.
 
PrivatePilot said:
Wear parts, sure...but what about body? My earlier example of a tank, or a fender for example....both parts that are commonly damaged on even a low speed parking lot drop. Are those parts going to be easy to find, in excellent condition?
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You can find them no problem, paying for them on the other hand... live with the dent.
 
Why buy something that belongs in a museum? It has breaker points, a distributor, all mechanical ignition. It is far, far less reliable than the CDI and newer based ignitions. If you want a hobby, you'll quickly discover you have a big one maintaining those bikes. Sure, the CB bikes were reliable but only by 1970s standards. Why not just buy a newer retro-look bike that will run for 100,000km reliably? An antique bike is only worth a high price to someone who has fallen in love with it. Not too many do that with the CB350T. At least go for the 350-Four.
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