HONDA MF 350 1957

Paul Strassmaier · Post by **Paul Strassmaier** » Fri Oct 29, 2010 6:09 pm

Keep looking, JC's are out there. I thought it would be impossible to find parts, but seemed to get everything together. I do have some extra parts if you end up with one. I am struggling to find 4E parts. It just seems like it's exponentially harder. If anyone knows of any resources at all, I could use the help! My JC ended up in the living room. My wife has always complained about Honda's in the house, but this one she's fine with. True restoration success!

BTW, my big score this last month was an original JC owner's manual! I am still really giddy!

troyce · Post by **troyce** » Thu Aug 18, 2011 6:12 am

e3steve wrote:Jeepers! That's a busy instrument!

Here's a pic I found to give you some encouragement; it's apparently a 1953 ME.

I ended up with that bike in that image several years ago. Note how the "Ped Slicer" doesn't come to a point at the bottom in both images. The original image as taken in front of some kind of roll-up door was shot in Japan, and was part of the Yahoo Japan auction description of the bike. The model year is 1957 (Serial No. is ME-57-21678). In 1953 Honda were still producing the E models, the Dream 3E in particular. The ME came after the SA, produced in or about 1956.

This machine isn't quite as nice up close in real time as it appears in the images. Someone attempted a restoration many years ago, and didn't really finish it. The wheel hubs were left undone, and the chrome parts were not properly prepared for plating. All fixable, but still.

The engine made some pretty awful main bearing noises until I stripped it down and replaced them all over the past few weeks. Sounds great now, and now I know what the inside of an SA/ME engine looks like. Next is to attack the hubs and spokes, header pipe, couple chrome engine covers and it will be pretty nice. It is missing a heat shield from the header pipe; perhaps someday I'll come across one, or I'll have to fab it.

The second ME we have is quite original, and good enough that I'm forced to leave it that way based on the old swap-meet axiom, "It's only original once."

~Troyce

e3steve · Post by **e3steve** » Thu Aug 18, 2011 4:10 pm

Interesting info, Troyce; thanks for that. History's so important, as long as it's correct.

Not the Troyce, with the chrome CB77, btw?

troyce · Post by **troyce** » Thu Aug 18, 2011 8:13 pm

e3steve wrote:Interesting info, Troyce; thanks for that. History's so important, as long as it's correct.

Not the Troyce, with the chrome CB77, btw?

Well, depends. I did have a chrome CB77, but it and the Candy Red one have now gone away. Oddly, to me anyway, most folks at shows/meets didn't believe either one ever existed, and so the bikes got almost no attention. And I'm all about attention. ;^)

~Troyce

e3steve · Post by **e3steve** » Sat Aug 20, 2011 4:56 am

troyce wrote:
e3steve wrote:Interesting info, Troyce; thanks for that. History's so important, as long as it's correct.

Not the Troyce, with the chrome CB77, btw?
Well, depends. I did have a chrome CB77, but it and the Candy Red one have now gone away. Oddly, to me anyway, most folks at shows/meets didn't believe either one ever existed, and so the bikes got almost no attention. And I'm all about attention. ;^)

~Troyce

Well, you devil, it's all your fault that I got re-nerded about CB77s☺! I found Michael's (this) site and joined in '03, as I (thought!) I knew a lot about these bikes; how wrong can one be? It turned out I knew a bit, but I stayed anyway. My Internet research led me to come across the picture, below, of your chromer. That was it -- I was doubly hooked!

So, my new Hondafriend, you have indirectly cost me about €10k in my quest for CB77 perfection........ And I'm still a way from finishing! ☺☺☺☺☺

e3steve · Post by **e3steve** » Sat Aug 20, 2011 4:58 am

Incidentally, this looks like the same bike. Is it?

troyce · Post by **troyce** » Sat Aug 20, 2011 5:21 am

Well, you devil, it's all your fault that I got re-nerded about CB77s☺! I found Michael's (this) site and joined in '03, as I (thought!) I knew a lot about these bikes; how wrong can one be? It turned out I knew a bit, but I stayed anyway. My Internet research led me to come across the picture, below, of your chromer. That was it -- I was doubly hooked!

So, my new Hondafriend, you have indirectly cost me about €10k in my quest for CB77 perfection........ And I'm still a way from finishing! ☺☺☺☺☺

Always happy to help.

~T