My 350x rebuild with pictures Whiskey Throttle is done!

[Atcrumm]

Wow looking great rich

[ditchmud]

It’s a runner as of today! Got the carb on and it started on the 3rd kick! It had an oil leak from having the incorrect o ring in the oil filter housing, an exhaust leak at the exhaust post and header, and a little fuel leaking from the carburetor that I have to sort out before I take it for a run up the road.

[ditchmud]

Ok folks it is done!!! I need to get a heavier spring for rear shock but other than that it’s done.
Here is a short summary of this build. It took me 5 years to gather parts and such. I almost gave up several times because of frustration but finally came through. First I would like to thank some people and give credit where it is due.
When I decided to do this build I wanted to use as many resources from my friends here on this site and in our tight knit community as possible.
First part I acquired for this build was the black headlight shell from John Swinehart. A lot of people inquire about it and I believe that item would be a great seller.
Next I contacted Jason Hall and told him that I wanted a fast and comfy trail rider. I wanted inverted forks. I wanted a Trx450r swingarm for parts availability. I wanted the frame gusseted for strength and most of all I wanted reliability with performance. So I dropped off my frame and some goodies to Jason. A while later I returned to pick up my frame with gussets added. A Trx450r swingarm that I sourced from Jonathon Honerlaw fitted to my frame and a beautiful set of inverts with a set of black anodized cr125 forks and Jason’s custom triple clamp kit. Jason also made a setup to mount Trx450r foot pegs to my 350x. They are big and no slipping off of them. They look and fit awesome! Later Jason finished my motor. It has a new Webb cam, new valves and a high compression piston. Jason did some great porting on the head that would require 2 things to make it work. It needed a better exhaust to handle all that flow and a better carburetor to feed it. Jason suggested a carb from an 04-06 crf250f. It’s a 38 mm FCR carburetor that works beautifully with everything that Jason did internally.
The exhaust was left up to Sam Harkabusic. It uses a trx400ex header modified and I gave him a muffler for a Trx450r to mate it to. Sam did an awesome job and it fits beautifully. I added a HRC tip to the muffler to increase its restricted stock flow. It sounds amazing!
The seat was made by Cosmic Quads. Mrs. Mosh did a wonderful job! I told her that I wanted it to resemble the Jack Daniels bottle label similar to the JD bass guitar used by Van Halen on the 1984 album. I’d say she hit a homerun!
Along the way I saw that Mickey Dunlap was selling a fiberglass low profile fender. I could get it in black and the low profile look makes the seat stand out even more!
Then I saw the Tri Z fallen members tribute bike and the aluminum top mount tank built by Flyin Brian. I asked Brian if he thought he could make that type of tank for a 350x and I challenged him to make it. As you can see he knocked it out of the park for me.
Dave “Tapper” Coleman provided me with a case saver and sprocket cover and also a license plate bracket.
Brad Rye supplied me with a 350x dress up kit which included motor mounts an additional sprocket cover that I put over Tapper’s sprocket cover to contrast each other and also a oil cooler guard that has Honda wings cut into it.
Greg king polished that tank and my triple clamps along with a few other odd pieces.
Bruce Allerman from Blueline graphics hooked me up with some decals to follow the theme.
Towards the end of the build I put a shout out to my friends on Facebook for some needed parts. Louis Mielke offered up the specific carburetor I needed. John T. McLaughlan gave up an axle and Richard Maestas got me a 350x steering stem I needed. Man what a boost that was to have people in my corner helping me along the way. One of my biggest supporters and advisors was Derrick Adams. In my opinion Derrick is the best at coordinating colors and designing a factory looking machine. I sent him many questions, pictures and generally counted on his advice in tying all of these great acquired parts together.
Building a custom machine you will come across many hurdles trying to get everything to work together. First off Jason did his homework engineering and fabricating this build so those hurdles I came to were minimal, however my talented toolmaker buddies at work save my butt when it came to needing special parts.
That about does it for my summary. I hope that I mentioned everyone and no disrespect if I missed you. Before I end this I have to say that it was truly an honor to have such great help on this project. All of these individuals have regular jobs, families and lives. It takes a little while for it to get done this way and a whole lot of patience and understanding on my part. I am truly honored that the absolute best people in our community came together on my project and I hope that what I have assembled showcases all of their talents at the level that they deserve. Thank you, thank you, thank you from the bottom of my heart.

[hublake]

Fantastic Ditch.. Are we going to see it at Rose City?

[jeswinehart]

Yes, very impressive build Rich !!!

[ironchop]

Looks fantastic!

I sure miss all those people you mentioned around here from back in the day

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[wonderboy]

Hope to get to see this one in person! Looks really cool. Give us a ride report as soon as you get the chance.

[ditchmud]

Fantastic Ditch.. Are we going to see it at Rose City?

I’m planning on it buddy.

[ditchmud]

Entered the trike in a large bike show at Ohio Bike Week. The reviews and reactions from a mostly Harley-Davidson crowd was very positive. Even builders of some high end show bikes seemed to be impressed. I ended up winning Best of Class.
Can’t wait to bring it out for Trikefest and get to see people’s reactions.

[ironchop]

Congrats on the win


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[schlepp29]

I forsee a best bike award this year! Just saying