Once an Obscure Experiment, This Far-Out Honda Motorcycle Is Now a Rare Cult Classic

Honda took a chance on this totally ’70s option in a failed attempt to boost sales, and it’s finally getting the appreciation it deserves.

Yellow and maroon swirled Honda 350 motorcycle fuel tank and side cover with black seat and chrome engine parts.

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By Gray Van Dyke

Published January 22, 2026

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Updated January 22, 2026

In keeping with founder Soichiro Honda’s values, Honda has always built vehicles aiming for qualities like durability, reliability and accessibility—regardless of the number of wheels or the type of powertrain.

As a result, it’s not really a name that most motorcyclists would associate with flash or superficiality. Instead, Honda usually evokes a kind of conservative, quiet dependability that does without the pretension of its more exotic competitors.

Yellow Honda 350 motorcycle with black seat and chrome exhaust parked on concrete against a beige wall. — The Flying Dragons flopped back in the day, but their rarity means they are coming to be appreciated by collectors.

Of course, on occasion, the brand has tried its hand at appealing to those with brighter tastes. One of the most mythical efforts came back in the 1970s; though it proved to be an unpopular option among riders at the time, it’s since taken flight as a legendary cult classic.

The legend of Honda’s flying dragon

It’s commonly known as the Flying Dragon, and it was an option that Honda spun up for the CB and CL models in 1972 and 1973 in an effort to boost slowing sales. The Honda big boss actively encouraged special projects among teams of employees, so it’s commonly believed that the idea came from within the paint department in Hamamatsu.

Close-up of a silver Honda motorcycle engine with a yellow and black marbled fuel tank and side cover labeled "350. — Buyers had to special order their Flying Dragon bodywork to get their hands on a set.

After all, it was a strictly visual overhaul. The Flying Dragon package included a special tank and a set of matching side covers, and each component boasted a coat of hydro-dipped paint that created a psychedelic swirl effect.

However, because of the application process involved in immersion painting, each set spawned a unique result, and no individual pattern could be replicated. To add to the variety, Honda developed four different colors, with combinations including blue and dark blue, purple on gold, purple over silver and purple on green for the CL350 and CL450 sold in the United States

In contrast to most special editions and limited-run models, Honda offered the Flying Dragon as an upgrade set rather than a complete bike. Interested buyers had to fill out an order form as part of a parts bulletin.

Yellow and black Honda 350 motorcycle with chrome exhaust and black seat parked on pavement. — Even if it was strictly aesthetic in nature, the Flying Dragon wasn’t a cheap option.

Not that many riders were rushing down to their local Honda dealer to tame the dragon. Though the package was purely aesthetic in nature, it made for a significant premium at $245—almost a third of the total price—on top of what a new CL scrambler cost ($900) back in the day.

As such, even with steep discounts, freebies and various other incentives, the Flying Dragon proved a tough sell. In neither its home market of Japan nor in the USA, Honda couldn’t find enough buyers to clear its inventory, reportedly destroying some examples with the aim that the experiment would fade into obscurity.

Obscure option turned collectible

While the Flying Dragon remains a niche piece of Honda motorcycle history, collectors have recently started to value the package’s rarity and the appeal that lies in its visual upgrades.

Close-up of a motorcycle dashboard showing speedometer, tachometer, and indicator lights on chrome handlebars. — The Barber Motorcycle Museum’s purchase of a CL350 launched the Flying Dragon into the mainstream.

Much of this newfound appreciation started at the top—with experts. In other words, after the display of a pristine CL350 clad in Flying Dragon bodywork at The Quail back in 2014, the secret was out.

That’s because the Barber Motorcycle Museum acquired the bike in question to be part of its personal collection, exhibiting Honda’s Flying Dragon for its rarity. From that point, there was proof that the special paintwork was more than just a legend.

With the added recognition, the package went from a forgotten 1970s experiment to a burgeoning collectible—especially in the world of small-displacement Hondas. While most midweight CBs and CLs from the era can readily be had for a few thousand dollars, well-preserved examples wearing Flying Dragon bodywork have commanded 10 times that figure.

Yellow and black swirled Honda 350 motorcycle with chrome details and black seat on a gray floor. — Nowadays, a well-preserved example can command quite the sum at auction, especially if everything is original.

Accordingly, along with a host of auctions closing around the $30k mark—like this $28,500 result from Bring a Trailer and this $34,000 result from Mecum—there have also been several truly exceptional (read: ludicrous) sales that have managed to surpass even that. In fact, the current record tops at $71,000 as set by Mecum just a few years ago.

Mythical beasts are inbound

If you’re intrigued by the mystique of Honda’s Flying Dragon, you’re in luck. Mecum’s upcoming Las Vegas auction has not one but two examples that are slated to cross the block.

Vintage Honda 360 motorcycle with black and yellow marbled fuel tank and chrome details.

Though not technically offered as an option in the United States, the CB350 featured here comes with a set of NOS bodywork. Of particular note is that the tank has reportedly never been filled with even a drop of fuel.

Assuming you’re looking for something of the scrambler variety, however, there’s also a highly original, low-mileage 1972 CL350 in purple over silver. In each case, they’ll go up for sale on January 31st.

About the Author: Gray is an associate editor at Gear Patrol, covering cars, motorcycles and anything else with wheels. When he’s not chasing the latest industry news, he’s probably wrenching on one of many projects. For better or worse, he believes classics make perfectly practical daily drivers.

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