Honda Odyssey and Pilot Forum

General Category => Odyssey FL350R => Topic started by: 80vettel82 on April 08, 2014, 08:51:05 PM

Title: Newbie needs advice about FL350
Post by: 80vettel82 on April 08, 2014, 08:51:05 PM
How's it going?  I'm new to the forum... well kind of as I went to register and realized I apparently already did a while ago, which I dont remember at all lol.  Anyways, Im 26, and since I was little I can remember seeing the Odysseys and Pilots and always wanting one.  Lately I've been keeping an eye on craigslist and I may have come across a deal worth grabbing.  I wanted to see if anybody had any advice as to what I should look for if and when I go to check this out.  Any common issues with them that I should look out for?  Any advice at all would be helpful as the only experience I have with these machines is what I've read online.  On a side note I did grow up with dirtbikes, gokarts and quads, so I'm not a complete stranger to offroading, just these machines in particular.

Thanks,

Kevin
Title: Re: Newbie needs advice about FL350
Post by: CrazyFiz on April 09, 2014, 02:47:45 PM
Kevin, 
     I am the owner of a 85 FL350R and the best advice i can give you is to just stay clear.  Honda only made the machine for 1 year then they abandoned it b/c of several mechanical defects.  The gearbox has several weak spots, needle bearings fail and destroy the A/B gear and input shaft and the u joints on the axles bind and break causing the axle to break the rear shock. Honda has the rights to the spline on the gearbox and so no one can make aftermarket parts and eventually there will be no more used parts.  I have owned my machine for almost 20 years and have only been able to enjoy it for a combined 1 season.  Parts are expensive and hard to locate.  As we speak my machine has a blown gearbox and I am trying to rebuild the rear end to finally fix this issue.    The Engine has vent issues and blows oil into the alternator and starter eventually causing the starter to fail and possibly blow your motor unless you make the proper modifications.  the air cooled motor gets hot and can cause internal damage if not kept cool or modifying the exhaust port bridge.  If you really want a buggy i would suggest the pilot it is more reliable than the odyssey and parts are more available otherwise custom buggy is the way to go.
     Adam 
Title: Re: Newbie needs advice about FL350
Post by: LiveWire on April 14, 2014, 06:54:53 AM
Adam, you join this board solely to tell someone not to buy a machine that you say you owned for 20 years. If it is so bad, why have you not sold it?

Honda has the rights to the splines? Where the hell do you come up with that? Aftershock sells aftermarket parts for the gearbox. You do realize the axles among other things are discontinued on the Pilot. There is a larger aftermarket for the FL350R because there are more of them out there. There are more good used parts because there are more of them out there.

You describe a normal, common rebuild procedure like relieving the exhaust port bridge like it is some of massive under taking. The CR500 and TRX250R owners that have to relieve theirs must be mortified by their unreliable machines since they also have exhaust bridges. Oh wait, Honda is considered to be reliable. How's that work?

The vent issues were solved by Honda the year the engine was released. I guess you haven't read the simple solution in the service bulletin from back then.

Kevin, the FL350R has had it's issues just like anything else out there. The solutions to the issues are documented here on the board.
Title: Re: Newbie needs advice about FL350
Post by: 85LTFL350 on April 15, 2014, 10:17:10 PM
Agreed Livewire, 1st post and bashing the machine we all love. Do the right mods and it's a pretty solid machine I think. Anything mechanical is gonna have some issues. Let's not forget these 350s are almost 30yrs old and holding their own. Could use a long travel rear suspension though! Lol
Title: Re: Newbie needs advice about FL350
Post by: DMoneyAllstar on June 02, 2014, 10:21:33 AM
Go to YouTube and watch all the morons destroy their $15k+ RZR's on a simple roll-over.  Then look at a FL350 or FL400.  NO COMPARISON.  Everything has its issues and shortcomings.  Hind-sight is 20/20, especially when we've had 29 years now to look back at the FL350R and 25yrs at the FL400R.  All of the notorious FL350R issues have a preventative measure and/or fix.  A lot of it just comes down to [1] how hard you ride it, [2] how well you know your machine, and [3] how well you take care of it.  Buying a used machine has its challenges, and you need to check all the known spots for issues -- you have to completely go through a used machine and never expect to just jump on and ride (unless you've seen it run and know the prev-owner well).  And for the price of one used & abused RZR, you can buy 4-5 running FL350R's!!! 8)