Honda CB 360, not very popular yet

Being the Honda CB 360 ... closing the fence is no reason for historical appreciation. It is more like: “Oh yes, it was there too. Any other news? ”Two-cylinder motorcycles were all dated from 1969. Not really up to date anymore for dreamers. After all, Honda had launched the engine of the last century? The Honda CB 750 was the norm of things. After that it only got better with the Kawasaki Z900 and now we have the 100 + pk strong Kawa H200 Turbo in a country where you can drive 2 km / h. Progress is endearing.

The Honda CB 360 so

But two-cylinders were once the norm. British two-cylinder. Machines of no less than 650 cc. The Japanese agreed that two-cylinders were quite a few. With the 444 cc Black Bomber you drove every British 650 cc twin lost. Certainly if something had been done about the suspension and tires. Because the Japanese still had a lot to learn.

It was at the time that 350 cc motorcycles were 'medium-heavy machines'

So in the 250-350 cc class there was also money to be earned. The twins that Honda put there in the market were high-speed performance executioners that actually had only one pain point: the camshafts were mounted directly in the light metal of the heads. That required a quiet warm ride and a regular oil change. Otherwise the case broke down. But even then, the driver was to blame.

Honda's strategy was to market a model as sharply as possible

And we mean technically sharp. The introductory models - and that was true even for the now legendary touring bikes, the Goldwings - were fast and lively. Very sporty. With that they continue the reputation. The later models in the line became tamer, heavier.

The Honda CB 1974 made from 1976-360 was a very late model

Actually a final step in a tradition. In-house, the Honda CB 360 had to compete with the CB 350 four-cylinder and the CB 400 with just as many cylinders. He had to be the quiet tour or commuter traffic bike. The block was now tuned to smooth torque over a wide speed and the machine had a six-speed gearbox, strangely enough. In Den Beginne, the Honda CB 360 simply had drum brakes. The two-cylinder produced 34 hp from 356 cc and weighed 163 kilos dry. About eleven liters of what was then still real petrol went into the tank.

If you offer so many models within a class, you cut volumes

And then models fall off. Where the red-cream-colored primal CB 350 was a fast, fierce rider, the Honda CB 360 was a somewhat easy-going walker. The sales were therefore not sky-high. The CB 360 was a beautifully finished, solid, fully developed motorcycle. But he didn't get his hands on each other.

Even when the first owners were looking for new owners for their neat Honda CB 360s, it turned out that they were in the market just as well as wing-weak carrier pigeons. So quite a few were unsaleable. They slumbered in barns and garages. Because oh well: you get nothing for it. But he is not in the way. The well-sold specimens soon suffered the suffering of cheap, little-popular goods: Neglect and mistreatment. They died.

Nowadays we are in a vague area where neat to nice Honda CB 360s are regularly offered

And now there is actually some interest. But if that's a good thing? Nowadays there is a trend of café racers and scramblers and more imaginative conversion crafts. They are sometimes pretty nice when the owner / builder has money. But the Honda CB 360 often ends up with people who have the dreams, but don't have the money or the skills to make something like that. And so Honda CB 360s still die a painful or libelous death.

So if you run into a neat Honda CB 360, then you should not buy it, but save it

Be aware that with the first serious purchase of NOS color parts or exhausts you do double the purchase amount, but not the 'value'. On the other hand, we are in a phase that such a classic, even if it is not painted in its factory colors, is worth a smile. Consider the CB 750s with palm beaches, pyramids and palm trees on the tank and lids. It is not factory original. But highly nostalgic. Nice is not it?

On the other hand: a neat Honda CB 360? You can simply ride the maximum permitted 100 km / h with that. In addition, the extremely civilized Honda is a wonderfully dated motorcycle that is still extremely affordable even in a good condition.