Somerset Newbie

[Phantom Rider]

Hi There

I'm in South Somerset, and have just bought a Honda 400 4 (photos hopefully attached)

It's a runner, with an MOT and so hopefully just needs a very thorough "fettling" - although I suspect I'll find other things that need doing as I progress.

I used to do some basic mechanics MANY years ago, and so I suspect I will be frequently posting "how to you do….." questions!!!

Before I start are there any "man traps" I need to be aware of when working on the bike?  All advice very gratefully received

Cheers Steve

[Nurse Julie]

Welcome Steve. Anooooooother CB400/4, our forum domination continues 
Man traps, well, the cam chain tensioner adjuster bolt can cause tears if seized. Have fun on the forum and on your bike.

[Laverda Dave]

Welcome Steve. +1 with Julie's warning. Another one is the front brake caliper swing arm sieving up. Take it apart and grease it on a regular basis.

[K2-K6]

Welcome to the forum Steve.

Big man trap that the others have found is too long bolts in front? engine mounts that are sometimes used to hold crash bars. They can crack the casting if wrong. Someone of direct experience can brief you to avoid falling in there.

Otherwise,  grease the swingarm pivot,  clean engine oil and filter, clean engine oil and filter, clean engine oil and filter! You get the picture. Will pay dividends.

Hope you enjoy it.

Nigel.

[Nurse Julie]

Welcome to the forum Steve.

Big man trap that the others have found is too long bolts in front? engine mounts that are sometimes used to hold crash bars. They can crack the casting if wrong. Someone of direct experience can brief you to avoid falling in  .

Otherwise,  grease the swingarm pivot,  clean engine oil and filter, clean engine oil and filter, clean engine oil and filter! You get the picture. Will pay dividends.

Hope you enjoy it.

Nigel.

I'm sorry to pick you up on this Nigel but I think it should be change oil and replace oil filter, taking care not to lose the oil filter bolt washer 😀😀😀

[Nurse Julie]

Another man trap......don't ride it like an old woman   The CB400/4's thrive on high revs, plenty of gear changes and being ridden hard. They absolutely hate pootling around and will rebel big time if not ridden how they were designed to be ridden 

[Johnwebley]

welcome to the FUN forum,

  lots of good advice and help,

 no daft questions,only good answers .


 and we love lots of pictures of bikes

[K2-K6]

Nigel.
[/quote]
I'm sorry to pick you up on this Nigel but I think it should be change oil and replace oil filter, taking care not to lose the oil filter bolt washer 😀😀😀
[/quote]

 

[mike the bike]

Welcome to the the 400four forum.  What are your plans for it; keep riding it or slowly restore it.   The biggest Man trap of all is a thorough restoration all at once and getting lots of earache from her indoors about it.  Hide the invoices from David Silver spares or she'll hit the roof.
Lower engine mounting bolts are different lengths for a very good reason.

[Phantom Rider]

Thanks for all replies - and advice.  Much appreciated.

Plan is to slowly restore, which will mean that it's off the road whilst parts (frame?) are being painted, rechromed (shiny bits) and polished (engine casings).  But once complete will ride, and I'm sure enjoy 

One thing that I realise I need ASAP are instructions for disassemble/rebuild, gaps, torque settings etc.  Do most people have Haynes Manuals/Honda service manuals, and if so where can I find these (Ebay?), or are there online sources of this information

[hairygit]

If you click on the section "Aladins cave" on the home page, you can go to Ash's Dropbox full of useful manuals and other info, and it's free!

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