1969 Honda CB350

The CB350 is the motorcycle that motorized a generation. It wasn't the fastest, the biggest, or the most advanced in Honda's lineup — it was the one that actually sold. Millions of them. College students, commuters, beginners, and riders coming back after years away all chose the CB350 because it did everything adequately and nothing poorly. It started every time, ran forever, cost nothing to maintain, and was light enough that dropping it wasn't a disaster. More Americans learned to ride on a CB350 than any other motorcycle. It made motorcycling normal.

CB350s were ridden, not collected, which means genuine survivors with original paint are rarer than you'd think for a bike produced in these numbers. The candy colors (Red, Gold, Blue-Green) fade beautifully under sun exposure. Chrome holds up well — Honda's chrome quality in this era was excellent. These bikes show their history honestly: scratched pipes from boots, worn seats from daily use, tank dents from parking lot incidents. A patina CB350 says 'someone loved this' more convincingly than a trailer queen.

This is the easiest vintage motorcycle to own, period. Parts are everywhere — Honda made so many of these that the aftermarket is bottomless. Any motorcycle shop can work on one, and most will enjoy doing it because the engineering is so clean. The SOHC twin is simple: adjust the valves, set the points, change the oil, and ride. Electronic ignition conversions are cheap and eliminate the points entirely. The CB350 community is enormous and generous with knowledge. Your biggest ownership challenge will be resisting the cafe racer conversion urge — these bikes are worth more and ride better in stock form.