Welcome to the Mike Hailwood 350/4 project. This page has been established for the benefit of a customer, on the U.S. east coast, who contracted me to build two 350/4 cylinder GP racer replicas. Using photographs, you will be able to see the progress as the project moves through the various stages all the way to final completion of the race bikes.

In addition to these two 350/4 GP racers, I will be building a third motorcycle to be put up for sale at a future date (either on this site or possibly via eBay) .

I hope you enjoy seeing the progress as these beautiful machines are saved from the salvage yard and reborn as track ready vintage racers providing lifelong enjoyment to the new owners.

Terry Naughtin

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FABRICATION LIST FOR A COMPLETE HONDA 350/4 GP RC-172 RACE REPLICA

FRAME

  • Add new rear frame cross member and gas tank hold down point
  • Sandblasted / checked for cracks
  • Cleaned of stock brackets
  • Factory style gussets added and upper frame rail to duplicate RC 172
  • Painted black for future repair touch-up
  • Checked for alignment
  • New tapered head bearings
  • Aluminum engine mounting brackets

SWINGARM

  • Checked for straightness
  • New bronze bearings installed
  • Will install grease fittings, if needed
  • Painted black to match frame

ENGINE

  • 350/4 cylinder to remain stock for part's endurance, per customer request
  • Race engines built upon request with 6 speed gear box
  • Clean/Inspect parts
  • Valve job
  • Mild port job on stock engine. Full race port available
  • Gaskets matched
  • Leak down engine test
  • Check for overbore
  • Replace bolts with allen head where possible
  • New clutch plates & springs
  • Perform Dyno run
  • Glassbead engine components and refinish engine cases
  • Oil cooler with black braided hose
  • Powder coated aluminum breather tank with braided hose, returned to clutch cover
  • All cooler and breather hoses have "AN" fittings
  • No worm clamps are used
  • Safety wire complete bike and some engine components
  • Oil pressure gauge added
  • Machine filter housing for oil cooler lines

GEARING

  • 2 Front sprockets / 3 Rear aluminum sprockets
  • New 520 / O-ring chain, aluminum rear sprocket nuts

IGNITION

  • Electronic total loss or magneto, if available

EXHAUST

  • Stock factory system de-chromed & built to RC-172 high pipes with down facing reverse cones

BODY WORK

  • Fairing and seat taken from original aluminum RC factory molds
  • Fairing painted in Honda GP Racing scheme
  • Silver/Yellow/White number plate
  • Front fairing bracket made same as factory race RC's with tach and oil pressure gauge
  • Factory style fasteners on fairing (paint inside of fairing black)
  • RC-172 fairing with oil cooler scoops and belly pan
  • Correct Honda tank decal

COMPONENTS

  • Fiberglass GP style "works" seat made from original aluminum seat mold
  • Genuine suede leather seat cover with detail rivets
  • Fiberglass "works style" front fender, with dog bone brake stays and fender brace
  • Aluminum front fender brace and stays
  • GP style fiberglass gas tank with replica "works" gas cap or aluminum tank at additional cost
  • SS factory style tank hold down strap
  • Fiberglass rear fender
  • Steering dampener
  • Pingle high-flow gas cock
  • Electric or Mech tachometer (your choice)---Electric preferred

CONTROL CABLES

  • Brake, clutch, throttle, rear brake cables in black color, same as 1965
  • Lightweight clip-ons powder coated factory-black with replaceable bars

SUSPENSION PARTS

  • Progressive adjustable rear shocks
  • Stock Honda front forks. Check bushings & install new seals
  • New front tubes
  • Machine and weld new lugs on original sliders for fender & brake stays, both sides as factory RC model
  • Powder coat sliders black, chrome upper seal holder same as RC slider
  • Powder coat triple clamps black
  • Front engine mounting brackets machined aluminum
  • Weld additional aluminum to top triple clamp for strength. Powder coat and engrave

RUNNING GEAR

  • Suzuki front brake machined to replica GP brake with CR racing style scooped backing plates, with working radial cooling holes machined into hub center
  • Honda rear brake same as above with scooped and vented backing plate, with center hub machined to duplicate factory RC model
  • New polished front & rear flanged rims
  • Racing compound front & rear tires with new tubes, steel valve caps
  • Aluminum brake stays, dog bone design
  • Replica copies of RC-172 foot pegs
  • Shift and brake levers to be replica copies of original RC-172 model

DETAILS

  • All nuts and & bolts, clutch lever & brake lever, fork nuts, shock nuts, triple clamp bolts, etc to be chromed like new. Other original parts which were copper plated, such as brake nuts and suspension parts will be drilled and safety wired

CUSTOMER SPARES' KIT

  • 2 replacement clip-on bars
  • 1 left foot peg
  • 1 right foot peg
  • 2 rear exhaust pipe hangers
  • 1 left shift lever
  • 1 right shift lever
  • 4 extra chrome fairing bolts

Additions/Deletions to Customer's satisfaction

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This is the stock 350 F street motorcycle ready to be parted out or to be given a new life as a racer.
Each motorcycle takes a complete day to strip the engine and all the original parts from the frame.
Another complete day is required to grind brackets and parts of the frame which are not to be used.
Original forks as stripped from the frame with the brackets still on and oil drain holes in the stock location.
Starting to machine brackets off sliders.
Starting to machine aluminum factory slider to replicate the factory forks on gp racers.
Sliders machined to replicate top seal holders with spanner wrench holes in top. Note original oil drain holes welded closed and new holes machined at back of tube. Top hats and pins welded on. Next, polish all welds then send out for chrome plating of seal collars and powder coating satin black on the tubes and copper plate nuts as factory did.
This is a picture of a Hailwood front fork on a 1965 350/4 Honda GP motorcycle.
Terry Naughtin is fitting a GP frame head tube to the original street frame to add strength and be identical to the race frame. Next, is to weld it in place.
Frame member tacked in place. Next, is to check gas tank clearance.
Head rail tacked in and checked for clearance.
Rubber replica rubber gast tank supports made next.
Swing arm gussets checked for frame clearance.
Randy cutting aluminum plate to fabricate engine mounts.
Mill machining engine mounts.
Finished aluminum engine mounts.
Factory top fork crown with stiffening plate installed, welded, and machined waiting for final finishing and black powder coating.
Polished flanged rims waiting for hubs, stainless steel spokes, and tires.
Classic Avon racing rubber to be installed.
Aluminum front and rear hubs after being lightened and machined to replicate RC Honda racing hubs dropping 6 pounds from each wheel.
Note cooling holes drilled in a radial pattern.
Radial holes vent heat to the outside.
Rear hub ready to be laced to the rim.
Machining sprockets.
Replica Honda RC racing tank cap.
RC replica footpegs, brake levers, and shift levers.
These are replica RC racing tachs from the 60's.
They are mechanical drive and come complete with ring mount in 4-1 or 7-1 drive ratio.
Final detail work on the brakes has begun.
Randy machining RC backing plate.
Reshaping contour of the hub.
Trail fitting and checking dimensions of the front brake and axle assembly.
Same for the rear.
Hubs and axle's finished. Levers just need to be reshaped.
Next is lacing hub to rim with stainless steel spokes.
Checking the clearance on the frame.
Working on fairing placement and checking cable clearance.
This fiberglass fairing was molded from a Mike Hailwood aluminum race fairing. We also have fiberglass fiarings for 250/4 cyl, 350/4 cyl, and 500/4 cyl RCs.
Next are brackets and dzus fasteners as original RCs.
Setting belly pan below oil cooler ducts.
Later the pan will be formed in aluminum.
Exhaust pipes cut, shaped, and finished.
Gas tanks are finished and ready for paint.
Rolling chassis. Now to begin all the brackets and hangers.
The 350/4 cylinder customer stopped by to check out his new gas tanks. He really liked them.
This is the frame tag for the 350/4 before being filled out and put on the frame.
RC 172 dog bones made along with Honda style drilled bolts for front brake setup.
This is a replica factory tank holddown strap and hook set.
Factory styled frame gusset with a replica tank mount installed.
Rear shot of strap in place along the seat.
Starting to fab the breather tank so it looks like the factory oil tank.
Trial fitting of the tank on a work fender.
Finished oil tank breather with AN hose fittings welded in and then powder coated black./FONT>
Oil tank fitted to works fender.
Aluminum hold down strap like factory racers with rubber to be attached later.
Aluminum tank with strap.
Oil cooler brackets made and cooler located in position.
Oil cooler brackets can be seen along with front fairing mount being fabricated with removable fairing stay support.
Beginning to fabricate the front fender assembly after shaping the aluminum fender.
Rear set aluminum brackets fabricated to hold pegs then powder coated black.
Started bending and tacking front stay tubes.
An inside view of rear fender brackets and fender bolts cotter pinned for safety.
Rear fairing mount with detachable piece so engine can be removed from the frame.
This is the Mike Hailwood fairing mold used for our project.
Rear seat brackets and rear push tube with rubber bumper. Also, you can see the replica Girling shock.
Fairing cut to shape and mounted as original with front fender needing side stays.
I cut and shaped aluminum oil cooler scoops for the side of the fairing.
Close up of the aluminum scoop.
Front fender stays finished. Now we have a complete aluminum fender assembly.
Aluminum fender shaped and stays fabricated.
Brad sewing the replica leather seat cover.
Terry's happy with the great job Brad did stiching up the leather seat cover.
This is the cockpit view after the front stay was completed.
Starting to look like a GP racer.
Close up of oil cooler mount and steering damper mounted. New aluminum clip on bars will be added after the frame has been painted.
These are the latest finished Smith Honda replica tachs as used on the original racers with detailed tach mount holders and 90 degree gear drives for the cables. These tachs are built and calibrated on original Smith equipment.
First Hailwood Bike RC172 Completed
Customers 2nd Finished Bike Jim Redman RC173

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