New Member

[philward]

Thanks to you all for the advice and encouragement. What a great forum you have, helpful and friendly.

Bradders, have yo seen this - Interesting to see what this goes for - UK model and good basis for resto
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1980-Honda-400-4-CB400F2-V5C-Running-Bike-ideal-Light-Project-Ride-Or-Restore/352558801175?hash=item5216246117:g:y5IAAOSw-iZcLPm-:rk:23:pf:0

This went for too much money - £1,867.27!

[Bradders]

Yes I thought it seemed a lot of money. Wasn’t me who bought it.😀

[Nurse Julie]

Yes I thought it seemed a lot of money. Wasn’t me who bought it.😀

Good !!! 😀😀😀

[Bradders]

Evening all. Not sure I’m posting in the right section but thought I would ask you all a question. I’m hoping to buy a classic Honda in the next couple of months and was originally thinking of a 400/ 4 but now rather like the look of the 500 and 550 fours (the ones with the 4 into 4 exhaust ). As a total novice I wonder if you could give me your views on the pros and cons of the 3 different bikes please. For example cost of running, insurance, maintenance etc. Thanks in advance.

[Nurse Julie]

All cost the same to run, insure and maintain. Some parts for all models are now like rocking horse poo and therefore very expensive. If you are a novice to Honda SOHC's, it will be a learning curve whatever you decide on and when you have bought one, regardless of which engine size and model, you may hate it.
This link gives you all the answers you need as has been discussed recently.
http://www.sohc.co.uk/index.php/topic,18039.msg156589.html#msg156589

[matthewmosse]

My first big bikes ( over 125cc ) were a motley collection of cb500 and 550 projects, started with a cb500 hardtail chopper with 3 engines in mouldy cardboard boxes and not one clutch between the 3 motors. That was joined by a cb550/4 with 2 engines in even more cardboard boxes. Then a cb550/4 that leaked oil everywhere but had tax and test. Eventually all 3 got built up and got running half decently, I learnt a lot of lessons that would have been easier if I had spent more time online and less in a shed mix and matching gearbox bits and aresing up some rather ropey engine bits. I have had 1 400/4 engine, offered it cheap at a breakers after I turned up in my 500/4 sidecar on the scrounge for spares. My overall opinion of the 2 is that the 400 is probably marginally more fiddly to work on possibly but very similar - even shares the same Haynes manual as cb550. To me the 500 or 550 would be marginally ahead in what I would look for, more bits interchange between a cb500 and 550. More important though is finding a decent example at a good price. The cb500 is prettiest with those 4 tulip exhausts. Given I'm not that tall or heavy build the cb500 is also a nice size. It's just perfectly proportioned, the cb550 is a bit bigger physically. I think the 400 needs more from the rider to get the most of it. Cb500 or 550 is great if your lazy and like power from the throttle without stirring up the gearbox. Test ride a few. Get a feel for what suits. I had one ride on a cb750, some 70 miles, not for me, too big. Odd given I then bought a r80rt, but the cb750 felt more unwieldy to me.

[Bradders]

Thanks for your replies. Are US imports a good idea? When getting qoutes from insurance companies they seem a bit wary of them. Is it a problem getting insurance for US bikes?

[matthewmosse]

Depends on the insurer. Mine were fine with an Italian import bike but needed some guidance as to what the UK model equivalent was and with a us bike you might come across needing to re wire indicators so they are not permanently on or something like that but as long as it's compliant with UK law insurance should be fine. I found Lynbrooke insurance brokers to be excellent, when I can afford to put a bike back on the road they will get the call. They offer buy back salvage so in a write off situation you can buy back the written off bike for any reason you can buy back and even get paid towards fixing your bike. Very cheap for multi bike, multi rider policies too.

[Nurse Julie]

99.9% of insurers have no problem with USA imports on these old bikes and the premiums are no higher. As long as it's registered with DVLA which proves NOVA has been done etc,etc, there will be no problem at all. There are about 1000% more imported bikes of our models than original UK bikes and they all get insured.

[Bradders]

That’s good to know. I guess the advantages of US imports are less corrosion that British bikes due to a drier climate?

[Nurse Julie]

That’s good to know. I guess the advantages of US imports are less corrosion that British bikes due to a drier climate?

Indeed that is a benefit but its also a downfall, as all plastic and rubber parts, including engine internals made of plastic or rubber are hard and brittle and prone to leaking.
Edit....i didn't mean the engine internals crack due to the sun, that's just heat cycles that does that, not the sunshine 😊😊😊

[Bradders]

Ah, hadn’t thought of that.....

[matthewmosse]

I had a few USA import engines over the years for cb500/4 and 550/4. Had one or 2 that leaked oil initially, one really quite badly for about a week from the crank seal, then it stopped leaking, think that's the one I have in my cb500 now. That was about 500 miles to go from a quite bad leak I thought was going to mean a bottom end strip down to dry as a bone after a 40 mile ride. On the other hand a cb500 engine from USA had the tensioner let go and bend 8 valves without much warning - think it had deeper seated issues though as it ate the next tensioner too - seemed to go back together easily enough though in retrospect I wish I had stripped the whole engine not just swapped the affected bits. The second tensioner luckily I spotted the issue before it did other dammage - noticed it was harder to start so pulled the head saw a badly worn tensioner blade, pulled the engine out. No worse than UK engines. The biggest thing to look at is are there traces of gasket goo oozing out of any engine joints. Is the engine easy to start from cold and does it sound smooth. Or is it cheap enough to drop another engine in if it's a Turkey. Any other cb550 or cb400 issue will be more easy to spot. Be aware exhausts can cost a few pennies especially if you like originals. Probably more than engines.

[Nurse Julie]

Ah, hadn’t thought of that.....

Me thinks you is thinking too much Bradders 😀😀😀😀

[Rob62]

Dont worry about the engine internals, uv doesn’t get inside the engine. Mine has 16k miles on the clock, no reason to suspect it isn’t genuine.... it runs perfectly, no smoke, no leaks, lots of compression and the best bit, hardly any rust... did have a couple of wasps nests tho 😀