looking for a water cooled head [rands]and any hardware before new years glamis trip, like to be able to keep up with less worries.
Dunefaber

Couple on ebay
http://www.ebay.com/sch/?_nkw=fl350%20w ... 7934176494

How bout a Pilot I have a few for sale in Phoenix (Queen Creek) ?

I saw the new one waiting on a call back,has anyone done any biz with this guy?
and the used one REALLY looks used, it looks like they got silicone to seal it up don't think that's a good sign so iam going with the new one if I can get intouch with him and make sure its shipped in time for the glamis trip

I bought a set and a half of FL350 OEM fenders from him. The parts were all in great shape. Only complaint i have is that i called him to try to locate an OEM set of rings and he was quite a bit of an ass over the phone since i only wanted 1 thing, not thousands of dollars in parts.. and he even said that to me.

well I've been calling both phones and still not a call back I'am not going to order unless I can talk to someone on the shipping, I'llgive him a couple more days that's alright I just bought a set of shocks to put on

you guys are seriously starting to scary me a lot.

because iv invested so much in my stock oddissy new axils trans\motor (( Internal Combustion Engine ? )) rebuild the works.
around $3500 in a proper full restoration (also love)

I never hear the end of this over heating problem and iv yet to drive my fl350 buggy or any (was not running)

I used to own a fl250 dead reliable Engine and no intake fins. (starting cold after a month was anther story)

granted it's air cooled and there's certain things to keep in mind when running one.
but at only 100cc more can it really be that much of a bomb Engine stock compared to the 250?

Of the 7 FL350 Ody's I have rebuilt I have only seen one failure. That was due to pushing it very hard in the dunes and it leaned out due to a bottom end seal failure.

Just make sure the air ducts are in place,it is jetted properly, you do not have any seal leaks and you won't have any problems. On my Ody I have a water cooled head and have put over 50 hours on it with no issues with overheating. I just replaced the bottom end bearings as a preventative measure (due to excessive crank play) and I have put a new piston in it because the piston to cylinder clearance was over .006". I will be able to put another 50 hours on it before I even think about having to go to the next bore size.

This is with.....
Water cooled billet head
DG Pipe with a FMF silencer
38mm Mikuni carb.
Modified air filter system

And I ride it like I stole it! A lot of wide open throttle runs on the fire road here in Northern Nevada.

The wife's Ody we call old reliable. Bone stock and I have three seasons on the Engine I have rebuilt.

The key issue here is make sure it is jetted properly. If not jetted properly, it will run on the hot side!

Rand

[quote="Jordant"]you guys are seriously starting to scary me a lot.

because iv invested so much in my stock oddissy new axils trans\motor (( Internal Combustion Engine ? )) ((Internal Combustion Engine?)) rebuild the works.
around $3500 in a proper full restoration (also love)

I never hear the end of this over heating problem and iv yet to drive my fl350 buggy or any (was not running)

I used to own a fl250 dead reliable Engine and no intake fins. (starting cold after a month was anther story)

granted it's air cooled and there's certain things to keep in mind when running one.
but at only 100cc more can it really be that much of a bomb Engine stock compared to the 250?[/quote

Remember the fl350 weights twice as much as a fl250 and runs higher rpms which creates more friction and heat

I bought one of his heads new from him last march and I have to say I had a hard time getting a hold of Derek too. He was a stroke on the phone(big ego?). He sent my part to the wrong guy and made it right. Be cautious of this seller, he thinks he has the best of everything and knows all! Part is great-NO PROBLEMS. The head is a reproduction of the rands head. Good luck!

Randy

I have seen many modified 350's run hard with no liquid cooling and with no problems you just gotta use your head.

First you need to make sure your piston was setup properly before it was installed, the exhaust bridge relieved and the lube holes drilled in the piston, proper piston to cylinder clearances.

You need to avoid doing all the stupid stuff like making a long WOT (Wide Open Throttle) run then just coming to a stop and setting idle for 1-3 minutes whilst your buds figure out what to do next or to wait on someone setting their letting your Engine COOK with no air moving over it, this is where the fan comes in handy having a breeze blowing over the Engine while not moving (also not generating more heat) helps keep the whole Engine cool.

Also avoid the trap of trail riding with friends where your all lined up waiting for each to take their turn to climb a big hill then you just set their with the Engine at idle cooking that is the big advantage of liquid cooling the volume of liquid gives a place for the heat to soak to when your not moving, try to keep moving so you have air over the Engine or turn the Engine off so its not setting their creating more heat while your not moving.

I don't want to upset a lot of people I'm just asking a question that I can never seem to figure out, why would you modify a FL350?, seems to me if you sold it in stock form (we all know they are worth more in stock form) hold on to that cash and put the money you where going to spend on shocks, front a arm kit, cool head, have cylinder water jacketed, radiator, water pump, and various parts and effort you could have bought a stock FL400 for cheaper and have a far superior machine in stock form with a higher resale value (as long as you don't dump a ton of money in it)

Please FL350 owners don't get all P'ed off it just doesn't make sense to me, the only answer I get is I don't have all the money at once for a FL400, but you can come up with 1000-2000 for a FL350 then put thousands in it over the next 6 months to try and make it ride and be as reliable as a FL400, why not save your money for 6 months and buy a FL400?

Something different. I initially thought I could liquid cool and make my Odyssey just as good as a pilot. I was wrong!! Not even close. I do love the way the 350 looks. For a flat ground machine my 350 will run as hard as a pilot. Just don't have suspension. I want a 350 and a pilot to. A nice example of each. The 350 has been a great starter machine. I've learned a lot since owning mine. Value? I've got waaaay more in it than it's worth and still a ways to go but I don't mind. I wasn't buying it to resell. If I want to make money I'll buy and sell lawn mowers and snowmobiles. Then use those proceeds to buy more stuff for my odyssey:-) if we're talking about a budget why modify anything? You can buy someone elses machine that's already done for less than you could build it for. Only thing you lose is the personal touches. That's the only logical reason to me to build anything is to build it to suit your taste.

when I bought mine It looked decent a few stress cracks on the front fender but not rolled or missing anything.

to be honist iv had enough projects to know it's nearly impossible to be cost effective and do a restoration right.
it requires a lot of replacement parts and work

I can't stand the half assed job that breaks down in the middle of no ware I wanted a mechanically solid machine.

and unless you find one that's brand new (even then you have to change seals)
the only go way to know for sure is to go through it all.

Why?

Because Pilots are way over priced and out of the price range of us poor folks. Average price for a fixer upper pilot is in the neighborhood of $4000. Even at this price, you will probably have to do at minimum a top end rebuild so add at least another 300 to 500 on to of the price tag. I can build 2 FL350's for the price I would have to pay for an FL400. The last 2 Odys I picked up I managed to get for less than 1500 bucks.

What I have added to mine....

Shocks 550
Pipe 250
Head 300
Fan 50

Basically you can put 1000 into an Ody and have a nice reliable machine that is close to the performance of a Pilot. With a pair of works shocks on the rear of an Ody, IMO they ride better than a Pilot in the rear. Front suspension of a Pilot is still superior. Torque of the Pilot is still superior.

Its like the difference between building a vintage Volkswagen versus building a vintage Camaro. I can make the VW go just as fast on 1/2 the money.

What it all boils down to is personal preference.....especially for cheap people like myself. I would like to have a Pilot but I can justify the price tag.

Rand

I agree with Randman mostly. I bought my 350 for $1400 and put about 1500 in it and ill probably never get rid of it either. It was totally dissasembled when i bought it and put it back together myself and I'm ok w that but also took a HUGE step up from a 250. When I found my 350 it was the right deal for me,I am searching for a pilot now but won't pay $5000 for a stock one that needs $2000 in work- that's crazy! Heck some of the pilot owners want $9000+ for em? Whatever there smoking- more power to em I can't justify that.

If money was a factor , we should all not be buying/building pilots or oddys, with that said, My fl rides, handles and is faster by a long shot than my Pilot, but it took ALOT of $$$ (and long tavel and a 470 rotax didnt hurt)

I'm Cheap!

Money is a HUGE factor!

I Just don't see that much of a major performance factor difference to justify the price people want for Pilots.

If I'm going to go with something else, I'm gonna go big! Something along the line of a Hyabusa powered small sand car!

Rand

I was thinking along the same lines.
the pilot is about 50cc more water cooled and a arms
given what I did with the 250 I can't really justify the extra cost.

I also find when buying one, pilot owners like the 350 owners rarely over haul they just run them to the ground it's a bigger job rebuilding a buggy so it's often put off till you buy it (with low hours)

They look retro and unique compare them to the mass of new china buggys everyone's getting there many grades above

Wish I could build a long travel cool head FL350 for 2000 dollars more power to all of you that can, when you upgrade to a cool head are you using the same piston, rings, gaskets, carb, exhaust, and clutch? don't forget you still have cable pull front brakes, Ujoint drive axles, and make sure you know to stay off the throttle when you land off of a jump so you don't blow out your AB gear.

The Pilot is a superior machine. No question about it. It was designed to correct all of the flaws of the FL350 and yes the FL350 has its flaws. I can happily spend less money and have a machine that suits my riding style.

Remember Grasshopper, there are those of us who do not require water cooling.
There are those of us who do not require the front suspension upgrade.
There are those of us who do not require the the clutch in the transmission.

Some of us are old farts and can't take the abuse you youngsters can! Although I like to drive fast, I don't do any jumping or whoops at speed anymore so the Ody suits me just fine. Now if I were 20 years younger.............

Rand the old fart!

I enjoyed my FL350 its what got me started in the buggy craze and it served its purpose, (I to dumped a bunch of money into my FL350 before I sold it for a loss) im talking stock Fl350, VS modified FL350, vs stock FL400 If your going to keep your FL350 stock with minor mods like the air box and fan mod and run it like that more power to you, but when you decide you want more suspension, more power, better cooling, I still stand behind sell your stock unmolested FL350 save that money save up the money you where going to dump into it and buy a FL400, you will be ahead every time, to me its not comparing a Camaro to a high performance VW, to me its like taking a 85 V6 plain jane Camaro and dumping money into it to install a V8, over drive, disk brakes, power booster, 9" rear end, better cooling, leather interior, on and on............. or you can buy a 89 Camaro RS SS with everything already done from the factory for 1/2 the price of the 85 and the 89 is more sought after and has a higher resale value seems like a no brainer to me.

The 85 and and 89 Camaro I was just using for a "made up" comparison, for all you Camaro guys don't jump all over me if there was no V6 offered in 85 and no RS SS made in 89, (or no Camaro at all built those years) maybe they never offered leather either, and yes I know a 9" rear end is out of a Ford and I also know most people drop Ford 9" rear ends in there chevy's because they are stronger and easier to change gears.

Don't get me wrong, If I were to run into a Pilot for a decent price, I would buy it in a heart beat! But good luck on finding one at a decent price. People on the west coast seem to think they are gold plated. Just my opinion.....they are way over priced.

I am just one of the old timers that love the old FL350. Hell, I like the old FL250 also. My first ATV was a 77 FL250 that I used to race on flat tracks back in the late 70's. That thing used to beat me to death but man was it fun!

Rand