I might be getting an 85 Odyssey 350. I want to know if there is anything I should be looking for. The guy says it has been completely overhauled. He is a canadian seller so I am getting a good deal on it but is there anyhing that I should ask him about before I go get it if I do. I don't want to drive to the Canadian border to find out it is a piece of crap. So any help would be appreciated. Also, what do they usually run in your area? Here they are about 1000 more than what he is asking!!

 

HELLO, does anyone have anything to say?

 

the only thing i know to look for on them i metal chips in the gas tank........hope this helps

 

You will get more info at Pilot Odyssey backup board.

www.pilot-odyssey.com has been down for a week or so after the ISP got sick of dealing with the enviro-**** hackers. When it is back up, that is the place to go.

Find out what bore it is on. Honda (Art) piston or Wiseco. You can get info on the bores from a page on my site. I have seen a lot of them sold after they were rebuilt because the owner knows it is already losing power. Many times they will continue to run, but get weaker and weaker. If not rebuilt right, this will occur quickly. Sometimes it is on it's second rebuild and they get sick of not getting it right. This is good in a way because you can get them cheap then pull the motor apart and do it right. Since one of the things done wrong is too little clearance, you can usually stay on the same piston size but have it bored to the correct tolerance. My machine with a stock motor is on its third year after a rebuild. My modified machine was rebuilt last winter and I have been running it extremely hard ever since with no problems related to the rebuild.

The electric start goes bad if it gets full of oil. There was a service bulletin that the oil level for the counter balancer should be set at the low mark, not the full mark. The starter can be rebuilt pretty cheaply compared to the price of a new one.

If the cage is bent, you can usually see it in the upper tube rght behind the driver where the gusset tube is welded to it.

You can look what other parts are bad and look up prices at Parts Fish. You can get the parts cheaper from Hillside (go to the boards I mentioned above to find out how to get the discount).

The axles are a big one. You do not want to run axles with loose u-joints. If they are questionable, you want to replace them. You must replace the entire axle. Hillside's price is $215. Local Honda shop will be over 300. If you break a u-joint, it will at least bend a shock, possibly more.

 

One more thing before I decide, are these really slow? Do they have good low-end. I have only seen a 250 in action before and it seemed pretty fast but not fast enoug for me? Will they keep up with 250's? My friend has a CR250 and his mom has an LT250 and will I get beat my them alot or a little or what? Also, how are they in the dunes?

 

They go about 60 stock. My modified machine should do 80 when I get the clutching set to the motor which spins 9K now. As far as keeping up, it depends on the riding conditions. It is wider than a quad so in tight trails a quad will have a big advantage. It is heavier so a quad can beat it in a drag race. They are an awesome dunes machine. I ride with large groups of Pilot and Odyssey owners that I met through www.pilot-odyssey.com. We will run WOT for long stretches surfing the dunes. You never have to shift going up and down the dunes. When a quad follows us through the dunes, the rider has to shift constantly. If you ride with a bike and a quad, you are already making concessions for the other riders because they have different characteristics. Here is a pic at Silver Lake, MI That is not that great of a jump picture, but the good ones are on the site that is down right now.

There are lots of easy mods to squeeze out more power. The FL350 motor has a lot of potential. Think of it kind of as a big bore 250R. The cheap mods are to cut the face off the upper air box and add a second air hose from the upper to the lower air box. You can cut the end off the stock muffler, gut it and weld the end back on if you don't want to buy a pipe. The stock Honda head gasket is three layers. Clip the three tabs that hold them together. Throw away the middle layer and use the other two each as a head gasket. This will bump up the compression from 138 to about 160-165, still good for pump gas. Not only does an aftermarket clutch make a big difference by itself, it makes all other mods better. Works shocks make a big difference. The rears make a night and day difference. Both front and rear increase travel. The FL350 has a smaller stock carb than a 350R, a 32 PE vs. a 34 PJ. My modified machine has a PWK 39. A PWK 35 will fit with little effort. With a lot of motor mods, you need to improve cooling. You can add an electric fan right behind the seat to blow on the front of the cylinder. I run a water cooled head.

 

Thank you for your help. There are two I am looking at and I think they both have cool-heads. Sorry, but I just remebered, are they good hill climbers?

 

Because of the extra weight, in stock form they will not climb as big of a hill as a quad without spinning out.