1986 350X questions and comments

[afekete]

I currently own a 1986 Honda 350X and truly love the power and the overall stance of the trike however I have a few questions that hopefully you guys can add insight to.

1. why are they so **edited** hard to start? Once it's warm it runs great.

2. OEM parts (plastics/tanks and others) are being discontinued through Honda. What are the aftermarket companies that support this model with replacement pieces besides Maier? I would love to get a front disc cover...

3. Don't have my service manual yet so I need to know what type of oil to use and how often to change it. Air filter maintenance?

4. What is the bike notorious for as far as pieces breaking? I want ot cover my ass with a full set of spares.

Short of all of this has anyone sold their 350x for a quad and regretted it?

thanks in advance for any and all information..
Andrew

[86waterpumper]

The 86 x is a great bike, I've got one myself.

1. I don't know why they are so hard to start, my bike is easy to start when cold, and harder to start when it's hot. Obviously four stroke tech has come a long way since 86, so I'm sure the newer bikes might be easier to start. I find that holding the throttle partially open when my bike is hot while I kick it gets it fired up alot faster.

2. I know of no other companies making plastic products for this bike other than maier, save for the gastanks made by IMS. As a trike it does have pretty good aftermarket support, second i'd say to the 250r probably. Skid plates and grab bars can be bought from prm, or rad, and a few companies make things such as billet bearing carriers for them. It is also still easy to get durablue axles for them both in stock length and wider. Several different pipes are still available, with the best one probably being the supertrapp, and plenty of others by cobra, dg, etc.

3. The manual reccomends between 10/40 and 20/50 oil I think, depending on weather and riding conditions. I run bel ray exl 20/50 in mine, it gets super hot down here in the summers. Pretty much any good quality oil in the thickness range would work fine, however I would steer clear of using automobile synthetic oil in any motorcycle.

4. 350'xs had no glaring breakage issues that I know of, i have heard several horror stories on the heads messing up. I think this is one issue that got a little better in 86, at least according to the magazine articles. I have also heard that it is aggravated by letting the oil run low, and revving it to the moon, thus starving the topend. The frames broke pretty bad in 85, and a few 86's before they put extra gusseting. They also seem pretty prone to cracking right underneath the seat close to where the grabbar hooks on. If I wanted spares, I would look for a good used head, and clyinder jug to start out probably, but anything extra you can find a good deal on on ebay woudln't hurt such as brake parts, etc.

Sell my 350x (or any of my trikes) for a quad? I don't see it ever coming to that HAHA. These bikes are 20 years old now. To me, their purpose is not to be measured against a brand new 7,000 dollar trx450r or yfz450. Of course they are slower, but they are a heck of a lot of fun to ride, they are different than the herd, and there is something to be said sometimes for nostalgia too. I liken it to buying a muscle car. A new model camaro or mustang will readily tromp all over a 60's model in terms of handling, creature comfort, and sometimes power, but that doesn't stop the old one from being cooler LOL

[hrc200x]

To start my 350x I put it on 1/2 choke and kick it real slow about 5 times, then I kick it hard and it starts on 1st kick. My other 350's were hard to start cold also until I tried this trick and its worked on the other two 350x's I have.

When they are warm I usally have to hit the gas right as the kick start is getting towards the end of the stroke to start it.

[200xman]

Make sure your decompression cable is adjusted properly too. That can make a big difference with the cold start.

[350Xccelerator]

just put some balls into it. :-D

[Dynofox]

When mine is cold I put full choke on and kick it about 3 times and she fires right up. You've got to give it a good kick, not a girly stab at it. LOL Good luck finding fork guards, I looked for quite awhile on e-bay before I found a good used set for mine. As for the oil I run honda 20-40, and for the air filter clean and oil it when it gets dirty.

[Ddw350]

mine usally starts on the second or third kick,unless its like zero degrees out,it does seem a bit more "cold natured"since i rejetted it? i have a 86.i bought it 93[i think] i have replaced the rear bearings 3 time since then,other than that its been pretty good

[350x'inNY]

Mine starts hard when it's cold. Summertime usually the 2-3rd kick. Winter riding I could hardly ever start it until I did this trick. I bought one of those ceramic heaters and place it on the footpeg for about 30 minutes before I want to ride. Blow that hot air right on the motor and it starts right up 1-2nd kick!!!

Bruce