Some assistance re venders...

[Mikep328]

I see a variety of venders with the "same item" - anything from carb screws to brake calipers at dramatically different prices.  One example is a carb gasket set that is around £16 per carb from DSS (£66 for four) vs around £41 for a set of four carbs from 4 into 1.

I see the same sort of variation with other items/vendors, including ebay vendors.

Using the carb gasket set as an example, I'm fine paying £66 rather than £41 if the parts are better quality/fit correctly, etc.  OTOH, I don't see any reason to pay £20 more if there is no difference.

 Are there actually different manufacturers for these pattern parts - say carb gaskets - or is there only one that all the resellers purchase from and then re-package/price?  Are there venders that are known to be great and some to stay away from?

[Bryanj]

Carb sets buy from nurse julie on here, the paper gaskets are normaly ok to reuse and julie has sized all the O rings in viton to be safe with ethanol, brass bits get cleaned or buy honda genuine not a pattern kit as they are known for bad sizing.
Some pattern parts are ok but frequently differe from original, especialy electrics with wrong wire colours.
Your best bet is to put up on here a part you want and we will normally tell you of any horror suppliers

[Mikep328]

Thanks for the info; I'll order the Rings from Nurse Julie! 

Re parts I want, My first would be: Which brand/supplier for braided steel brake lines?

Second - the DSS brake rotor.  I asked Dss if the brake rotor material would have a better friction coefficient than the OEM.  The reply was that it should because it is of better material for that purpose than the OEM but they had done no actual testing to verify it.  Anybody tried one or is there another higher friction rotor option?

Third... where to get HONDA OEM carb hard parts - jets/needles, etc.

Can't wait to start spending money!   

[McCabe-Thiele (Ted)]

Bryan has covered carb parts,  a lot of other parts like gearbox bearings, cam chains standard & HD from Ken (Oddjob) a member here.

Good brand wheel bearings & steering shaft kits can be found online e.g. Pyramid Parts rather than just say DS for example. Parts like Primary Drive chains ask here for advice about other bike manufacturers that use the same chain.

I bought some excellent handlebars for my 500 from Bertrum's Bits as has been said worth asking first, you can save a few quid by asking the question then bide your time for some advice. There are members here who can supply bearing races as well as Max who makes bespoke wheel spacers etc in SS.

Hard to find  or used parts always worth asking under the Desperately Seeking Section. Lots of good brakers about like twowheelspares on e-bay as well as Steve at 400fourbits.

You will have no trouble filling the money pit as you progress.

[Oddjob]

As Ted says, ask here first.

Amazed at how many say they've bought stuff at highly inflated prices only to find them half the price on here.

I wouldn't buy the DS rotor TBH, what's wrong with the old one first?

Brake lines, I buy HEL as their after sales is second to none.

Don't replace the brass ware in the carbs, use original if at all possible, if nothing else take that on board, the amount of members who have done that and wished they hadn't is beyond belief.

Lots of parts can be sourced far cheaper than original, it's knowing which parts are ok and which are not that you need to focus on and ask here first. Primary chain for instance, DON'T buy the Honda one, same chain far cheaper is the Kawasaki 92057-1011, half the price, same chain despite what other members say this is true.

[Mikep328]

Thanks.  I ordered the HEL lines.  The OEM brake rotor is perfectly OK as far as condition but some brake rotor materials allegedly have a higher friction co-efficient than others.  DSS makes that claim re theirs vs OEM but I'd want some objective verification to that before spending money on that particular component in my "improve the brake" Jihad. 

[Oddjob]

DS will say anything to sell stuff, don't believe a word they say.

Stay with the OE rotor and try different pads, far cheaper in the end. Ask others what works, although TBH that's like asking people about their choice of engine oil, a topic best avoided IMO.

I'd have said ring HEL to order the lines, they always give me a significant discount whenever I do that and you can choose the type of end you want, some like right into the caliper and some prefer to only go to the hard line for instance.

[McCabe-Thiele (Ted)]

Thanks.  I ordered the HEL lines.  The OEM brake rotor is perfectly OK as far as condition but some brake rotor materials allegedly have a higher friction co-efficient than others.  DSS makes that claim re theirs vs OEM but I'd want some objective verification to that before spending money on that particular component in my "improve the brake" Jihad.

I found Brembo pads way better than the standard DS ones fwiw & not daft money as has been said do not believe all that sellers say about materials etc.

[Athame57]

Thanks.  I ordered the HEL lines. 

Who the hell are HEL though? 

[K2-K6]

Thanks.  I ordered the HEL lines.  The OEM brake rotor is perfectly OK as far as condition but some brake rotor materials allegedly have a higher friction co-efficient than others.  DSS makes that claim re theirs vs OEM but I'd want some objective verification to that before spending money on that particular component in my "improve the brake" Jihad.

Squeeze anything hard enough and it'll have high chance of being fine.

Yes there's so many claims made, along with so little empirical data to support them.

[Oddjob]

Thanks.  I ordered the HEL lines. 

Who the hell are HEL though? 

HEL do all the brake lines for BSB amongst others.

[Mikep328]

re Brembo brake pads - I looked for Brembo and Ferrodo pads for the CB 400 but couldn't find any.  Ferodo ST pads had a lot more bite than any other pads I tried on my Norton Commando.

[McCabe-Thiele (Ted)]

Hope this link works same pads in 400 & 500 iirc.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/32509540548P6

.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/225664181016?epid=1850700684&hash=item348aa22318:g:UO4AAOSwANhifbP6&amdata=enc%3AAQAIAAABIJvdxKnf0t2BQMXvyfJlMVhwxNbisEIoF%2BQ1ClZEdhPh%2B5NQxRqepqRMeiJpoL6TU4veKtqNcTjn7VATzYAMiX%2ByFUeKvj0x3qvHlwqUzjLaD1uFfNDWgtOD02mW3K27LmPxY4CnbN6WGWGDZMBVbVNcbt3AzpabzUD6jNjVd0nHSRm%2BY9tFIWOJF3UkHJQMIORqFEuCrz1IGt7KrgkAJ310KqzyTWl%2F27%2BDv2QmU%2FwP4bxGw897PHyAHQRFGa73JAgsER0Gx00%2BTdG4Z6UBdzZ8UvkMVBZ%2FvclmPtka3dFhr98NpVUsz6GbSoZGnEP19mGB%2F0xbZtLQ6ESlpiHIHGBlglKd3000o7ylDtnzZGi6DOzkQwUPgcwMlPbBzdJSnQ%3D%3D%7Ctkp%3ABFBMpoPF17Zi

[Matt_Harrington]

Thanks.  I ordered the HEL lines. 

Who the hell are HEL though? 

https://www.helperformance.com/

I needed a bespoke line for remote clutch bleeding for my AH Sprite (highly tuned) and they have an online custom configurator with a pictorial layout - https://auto.helperformance.com/custom-car-braided-brake-lines

Very reasonably priced and quick.

[Mikep328]

"Hope this link works same pads in 400 & 500 iirc."

Thanks!  Link works for the Brembos!