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CB350 roadracer?

I own a 1971 CB350, and I would like to make it into a roadracer. Is this a good idea, or am I just spitting in the wind? Do you think it would do any good at a race track? Gary Hoffman DuQuoin, Illinois

No. Yes. No. Pops Yoshimura and Honda's Racing Services Corporation never succeeded in turning the CB350 into an effective roadracer in its day, and modern motorcycle designs have so thoroughly passed it by that there's not much hope for it outside of vintage racing. And by the time you'd made a CB350 trackworthy, you're likely to have spent enough money to have bought a competitive bike for a lightweight production class. We'd suggest starting a racing career on something else.

Winter storage

Though most readers know how to prepare a motorcycle for prolonged storage, it seems to me that with the many entry-level bikes that are being marketed this year, there may very well be many new motorcycle owners out there who do not know how to properly prepare their new bikes.

Regrettably, I am one of these people. Although there are many times during the winter here on the east side of the Rockies when winter riding is possible, I would still like to hear anything you would have to say on the subject. And so would my 250 Ninja. Carl Lovejoy Boulder, Colorado

Preparing a bike for winter storage need not be a complex process. First, a motorcycle `s most vulnerable Compo nent is its battery, whicii,-~f nothing else, silould be removed and occa sional/i' put on a trickle c/larger If this isn `t done, tile batten.' mm' lose all charge, and be destroyed by sulfation of its plates.

Beyond that, filling tile gas tank to the brim will prevent the interior of the tank from rusting, and the addition of a gasoline additive such as StaBil (available at mani' auto parts stores) will prevent gasoline deterioration and carburetor gumming. Even with the use of a gasoline stabilizer, draining tue carburetor float bowls before stor age is good practice.

Further steps are not strictly nec essarv, but will ensure no damage occurs during an extended storage. A small squirt of engine oil into a motor cycle's sparkplug holes, followed by cranking its engine afew times and reinstalling tue sparkplugs, will thor ough/v coat tile cylinder walls with oil and insure that they don `t rust. A coat of wax on painted parts and a spray of a light oil (WD-40, LPS No. I, or Be! Ray 30-30, are afew examples,) on mechanical parts will also help prevent corrosion. Putting the machine on its centerstand and then using a support to keep the front tire off the ground will insure the tires don `t take a set, and a drop cloth will keep the motor cycle clean.

With this kind of treatment, your Ninja will be just as ready to ride when it emerges from its i'inter hibernation as when it began it.

Sidecover tip tip

Regarding the avoidance of busted tips on sidecovers: use STP Son of a Gun or Armor All vinyl rubber preservative on the rubber grommets holding sidecovers, and work it in well. This will aid and ease sidecover removal and installa tion at all temperatures. Doing this once a year is adequate, and won't compromise holding secureness. Andre Frank Landrum, South Carolina