As the 1980s wore on many Honda CL360 scramblers began collecting dust and rust, and this 1975 example was no exception. Chris, the owner of this bike, received it on his 14th birthday back in 1985, and over the following four decades it slowly slipped into neglect. It was stored outside, shuffled between locations, and largely forgotten. Our goal was simple: bring this old Honda back to life, give it the custom treatment, and make it better than new, so Chris could relive a few of those teenage memories every time he threw a leg over it.

The CL360’s frame is a solid foundation for this kind of build, constructed from tube steel rather than the stamped steel found on earlier CL350s. Most of our subframe work involved stripping away unnecessary factory tabs for the side covers and air box, then adding new mounting points for the rear fender and turn signals. We capped it off with a custom rear seat hoop bent from 1″ chromoly steel.

Up front, we kept the stock fork but replaced the badly rusted upper tubes, powder coated the lowers, and rebuilt everything with fresh seals. The bigger upgrade was swapping the factory drum brake for a hydraulic disc setup pulled from the CB360, complete with a remanufactured caliper, stainless braided line, and a drilled rotor for better stopping power and a little extra visual flair.

The hubs were fully rebuilt, powder coated satin black, fitted with new bearings, and laced to fresh aluminum rims with new spokes. We opted to leave these rims polished rather than blacking them out, which helped balance the dark engine and exhaust while tying into the silver fenders and tank graphics. Shinko 705 dual-sport tires, a 70/30 on-road/off-road tire that looks aggressive but rides smooth, round out the wheel package.

We were able to save the original fuel tank, which had a clean interior despite a rough exterior. We relocated the tank mounts so the bottom edge flows straight into the subframe, correcting the slightly awkward visual line stock CL360s have between tank and frame. The paint design went through five or six concepts with the customer before landing on a metallic blue base with a bold silver Honda wing logo, which gives the bike a cleaner, more modern spin on the typical vintage scrambler look. We finished off the colorway with matching satin silver fenders.

The front fender is a modified stock unit trimmed down for a minimal profile, while the rear is fully custom, stretched up to the swingarm to keep debris off the air filters and engine. An aftermarket LED taillight and custom license plate bracket finish out the back. Bullet-style turn signals echo the taillight’s shape, and an aftermarket headlight mounted in a custom fabricated bracket, ties the lighting package together.

Electrically, the bike runs on a lithium battery tucked into a custom-fabricated tray under the seat, paired with a modern regulator/rectifier, all-new wiring, and an electronic ignition unit from Charlie’s Place.

The original engine wasn’t salvageable after years outside, so we sourced a recently rebuilt replacement, verified the work, and handled some additional refurbishing before reassembly. It was finished in 2K black epoxy with textured black powder coated covers and stainless hardware throughout. We also swapped the stock Keihin carbs for Mikuni VM30s, which proved snappier response as well as easier tuning and maintenance.

We used the stock headers as a starting point, then modified them by extending and re-bending the tubes to fit a set of shorty mufflers, new heat shield mounts, and a satin black Cerakote finish. The original heat shield was repaired, tweaked to fit, and powder coated in a chrome-like finish to match.

The subframe stayed long enough to keep two-up riding possible, with a custom steel seat pan and hand-shaped foam upholstered in black marine vinyl featuring a diamond pattern that echoes the angled lines of the tank’s wing graphics. Low-rise chrome handlebars, a mini speedometer and tachometer on a custom bracket, reproduction switches, and new grips complete the cockpit.

We’re proud of how this one turned out. It’s equal parts ’70s charm and modern performance, built to give its owner plenty of new memories to go along with the old ones.

Interested in your own custom build? Contact us.

• Custom designed graphics and paint
• Custom subframe
• Custom fabricated battery battery box
• Custom seat pan and seat upholstery
• Full LED lighting
• Custom fabricated headlight mount
• Cerakoted custom exhaust headers
• Custom front and rear fenders
• Dual sport tires
• All of the little, big details