What's the "R" in 350R stand for? It stands for *racing! What Honda engineers did is designed a new machine from the ground up. A brand new breed of racing machine. The 1985 Honda Odyssey 350R was as different as night and day compared to its FL-250 siblings. And as with any new design, came a host of new problems.

It's hard to describe this machine. It's very, very fast. Despite weighing in at 600 plus pounds. The new, two cycle air cooled 350 cc engine is just a rocket. Ignite this puppy and you'll fly.
From the cockpit on your steering control, you now have push button electric start (with manual pull start), front and rear brakes, front head lights with high and low beams and a tail light. You also sport a stick shift that allows you go in forward, neutral and REVERSE! The reverse feature alone made this machine unique and got you out of a lot trouble. How many of you have smacked into something with a FL-250 only to unbuckle, get out and drag the front of the machine around? Maybe not you, but this village idiot has done it many times. The 350R also has a set of keys for security and to turn the 350R on and off.

Prototype of the Honda FL-350

Unlike the earlier FL-250 Odyssey models, when you strap on this rocket, it's unlike any Odyssey you've ever driven. It's extremely nimble and quick, despite being almost 10 inches wider then the FL-250 and weighing two hundred pounds more. The big plus, besides the reverse transmission is the four wheel independent suspension system. Although the early 350R shocks were mediocre, it was such an advancement from the FL-250 shock system that any improvement was welcome.

Jumps? You can just about attack any jump and land with a soft jolt. No spine compression here! This is assuming you've installed a set of Works shocks on the rear. But be careful, this machine can turn on you faster then a swarm of bees. And that's because of its awesome power. It can get away from you in a heartbeat. I've had it happen and I've walked (a dazed crawl) away from some serious end over end tumbles.

The frame is now made of tube steel (called a space frame) and the body tub change from fiberglass to plastic with new white fenders that do a okay job of keeping old mother nature off of you. Maybe it's just me, but I seemed to get muddier in a FL-350 then a FL-250. Perhaps it's my aggressive driving or the luxury of four wheel suspension and the comfort of that beefy roll cage/roof system that makes me blast through a mud hole. Or, I could be just an idiot.

When the Honda FL-350 was introduced, it had some serious problems. The killer was the 350 engine. The 350 overheated and it suffered major internal piston failures and was serious enough that Honda made a total recall of the 350R.

The cooling issue was corrected by adding a different finned cylinder head that captured the air better and aided in cooling. The set of wind scoops mounted to the frame both right and left also help push air across the engine. If you look at your 350 and by a remote chance it has straight fins on it cylinder head, you have the old cylinder head and it would be wise to either swap it out with a replacement head or design a way to cool your present head.

1st Generation FL-350 Head (Straight Fins)


2nd Generation FL-350 Head (Curved Fins)

There is plenty of Tech Advice available from others that have done this. Look to the "links" page.

There also was a problem with the electric starter. After a certain amount of time, it would stop working. It was discovered that the starter would fill with balancer oil and that oil would just gunk up the insides of the starter causing it to fail. Honda sent a service bulletin to its dealers on this subject and recommend that you only fill the balancer case to the lower tick mark with oil. The problem disappeared after that.

All in all, this is one tremendous machine. It has its quirks but I can't recall any ATV that doesn't have something that is goofy about it. This was such a unique machine for it's time. There wasn't and probably won't be anything like it again. It's a wonderful machine to ride and own.

*"R" is a designation code for "competition model"
All of the Hi-performance vehicles produced by Honda had this code. The Fl350r came with this code as it was a much higher performing vehicle than the old Fl250.
The "R; code also went into all of the other lines 2 stroke as well as four stroke motorcycles. the difference between the four stroke cycles with the "R" code was that they were set up for performance woods and hare and hounds riding or desert racing. They had better suspension a closer ratio transmission as well as a higher H.P. engine. (from:dhjunkie)

Want to buy a FL-350 R but you don't know what you're looking at?

Save yourself some grief!
Try this link for hints and tips before you purchase.

FL-350R Odyssey Link