Project CB350F

[McCabe-Thiele (Ted)]

The before & after photos of the electrics behind the side panel look inpressive - all those now homeless Arachnids good work!

[magpie114]

The before & after photos of the electrics behind the side panel look inpressive - all those now homeless Arachnids good work!

Just spotted a mistake though, I’ve fitted the black regulator cover the wrong way!


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[magpie114]

Finally got the cylinder head and cover installed and valve clearances set. Unfortunately when I initially started to fit the head I found the original cylinder/head dowels were slightly deformed and far too tight in the cylinder as I tried to fit them. I’d forgotten that one of them in particular took an awful lot of effort to remove during disassembly and so I had to send for new cylinder/head dowels. Better to do it right but it was a frustrating wait. I now need to cleanup and polish the tappet and crankcase caps, can’t say that I’m looking forward to that job!

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I think I’ve got the harness routing figured out and I now need to decide whether to try and fix the original coils (Ashe's fix) or replace with after market versions - not sure which way to go yet. The chrome on the horn is fairly good and doesn’t need replating so I’ve assembled that with the ignition switch and bracket (thanks Ian) in place of the handlebar mount that came with the bike. The left hand handlebar switch has cleaned up ok but the right hand switch has beat me so I’ve ordered an aftermarket version from DSS.

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Phil at Full Circle Wheel Building emailed this morning to say that he would build the rear wheel tomorrow morning and hopefully I’ll get that back on Friday.

[Laverda Dave]

Excellent progress.
I sympathise with you about all the last minute hold ups though. I went to fit the rear shocks on my 400/4 yesterday in readiness to lift the frame over the completed engine only to find the 10mm threads in the lower shock mounts are 1.25 pitch and normal 10mm 1.5 pitch thread are obviously too big! Trying to find stainless 10mm bolts with 1.25 pitch was a pia. I found some in the end but they were £7.28 EACH! And I thought Honda bolts were expensive!
Good luck with the rear wheel, once in at least you will be able to move it around👍.

[Bryanj]

Standard stainless not a good idea in high stress positions

[Laverda Dave]

Standard stainless not a good idea in high stress positions

Good point Bryan. I'll get some Honda items from HGB. I'll frame the two stainless ones considering they were so expensive.

[magpie114]

The rear mudguard, grab rail and some fittings have gone to Ashford Chroming who have quoted an 8 week turnaround which isn't too bad. Can't make my mind up whether to have the front mudguard replated as well or get an aftermarket replacement as it’s probably going to be more cost effective. However I’m not convinced that the aftermarket items will be to the same standard as a replated original mudguard.

My rear wheel arrived on Friday from Full Circle Wheel Building and I’ve put a K82 on, just waiting for the sprocket and brake plates which are at the powder coaters.

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I’ve turned my attention to the electrics and I’ve started “Ashes fix” on the coils which are in good condition although the HT leads were in a terrible state. As mentioned in the procedure the outer insulation of each HT lead was hard and two of the inner conductors had broken. The coils cleaned up well and the leads were exposed in no time at all using a rasp. Now I know that the coils are good I’ll go ahead and order some epoxy from RS.

[Johnny4428]

Worthwhile job on the coils! Having done three sets of coils now I had a couple of leads that just fell out of the ends of the moulding. Interesting how the lower coil in your pic the ht lead snakes in a s formation, must have been the end of a roll before moulding applied during moulding process?

[magpie114]

I think you’re right. It’s not obvious in the photo but the lead was in a very shallow spiral path.


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[magpie114]

A few updates. I’ve soldered new HT leads in the coils and completed encapsulation with the recommended RS epoxy. Just need to cosmetically finish them off with some Milliput. I was concerned about too much heat input when soldering and used fine nosed pliers as a heat sink. The epoxy took a couple of days to harden fully, not helped by relatively low overnight temperatures in the garage. Final electrical tests confirmed the coils have survived my efforts.

The powder coated brake and sprocket plates have arrived back but I’m still waiting for a rear sprocket which should finally arrive later today. The stock size seems to be in short supply with plenty advertised on eBay but which become out of stock when you order. My first order did not appear and I had to cancel and get a refund. The next supplier claimed 10 available but subsequently had “a stock Issue” now promised today.

My gauges arrived back this morning from Peter Horton who has done a fantastic job. I couldn’t resist a quick look on the bike, they really do look brand new.

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I sent them to Peter because I could see traces of oil droplets inside the glasses. Peter found that the grease had solidified and the mileage counter wheels had stuck together which in operation would have stripped the gears or snapped the drive cable.

[magpie114]

Just took delivery of my rear sprocket and it isn’t the correct one! I got mixed up in my earlier post, the sprocket that’s arrived today is from Wemoto which I ordered after the eBay episode.

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It’s out of stock at DS and CMS. I tried two suppliers on eBay, one has no stock despite listing the item. The other reported “stock issues” after I asked for a refund and then a day later promised delivery for next week. The item is now apparently on its way.  I feel a saga coming on….

[Laverda Dave]

Just took delivery of my rear sprocket and it isn’t the correct one! I got mixed up in my earlier post, the sprocket that’s arrived today is from Wemoto which I ordered after the eBay episode.

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It’s out of stock at DS and CMS. I tried two suppliers on eBay, one has no stock despite listing the item. The other reported “stock issues” after I asked for a refund and then a day later promised delivery for next week. The item is now apparently on its way.  I feel a saga coming on….

I feel your pain, I've been waiting two weeks for spark plugs that were advertised as in-stock but so far nowhere to be seen!
Was the old sprocket worn out? I was lucky with Ratty because although the drive chain was seized solid the rear sprocket was perfect apart from the PO having it chrome plated! I had that removed and it was refinished in BZP and it has come out like new.
I think we are both in the same place with our builds. Every time I think I am on the home straight I go to fit another part and I find something else is missing, currently waiting for the two long hex nut studs that hold the headlamp frame to the top yoke. These are due next week.
This is the story when you buy someone else's idea of what they think a bike should look like including pod filters, black painted engine, chrome sprockets and engine plates, fiamm horns, wide wheel rims, cow horn handlebars etc. The result is all the small but expensive and difficult to get parts would be thrown in the bin years ago! It's all thanks to the great people on this forum that Ratty will live again as a 400/4 and not end it's days unloved in a shed.
As for Peter Horton, the man is an absolute guru and a wizard when it comes to restoring our clocks. I can't believe how he brought my clocks back from the dead and converted the rev counter to a 400/4 item from the 250 item I gave him👍.
Good luck with your continuing restoration, it's obviously going to be a great bike when it's finished and looking forward to seeing the finished result 👍.

[magpie114]

I feel your pain, I've been waiting two weeks for spark plugs that were advertised as in-stock but so far nowhere to be seen!
Was the old sprocket worn out? I was lucky with Ratty because although the drive chain was seized solid the rear sprocket was perfect apart from the PO having it chrome plated! I had that removed and it was refinished in BZP and it has come out like new.

The old sprocket was worn, corroded and was in overall poor condition. I didn't want to use it with a new chain and front sprocket - rightly or (probably) wrongly I slung it. I'll have to wait and see if the other one due next week is ok. And yes the simplest little brackets and fasteners are like hens teeth.

[magpie114]

Well it's no surprise that the second sprocket was unsuitable.

The 400 shares the same hub and dampers so I thought the 400 sprocket pegs might be slightly different and offer a solution. Lots on eBay for around £10 a set so at that price I thought I'd give them a try. Unfortunately these are incorrect as well. Although the flange fits in the sprocket recess correctly the pin diameter is 9mm instead of 12mm - the photo shows it much better than my explanation.
I may have to cut the flanges on the original pegs to suit.

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Today I've been repairing/replacing wires, removing quick splice connectors and crimping some new connectors to the idiot light assembly and gauge lights. Most of the quick splice connectors are shown in the stripdown photo below.

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Fitted new bulbs all round and checked the lighting circuits were ok. No unexpected problems but I can see it will need some care to connect everything neatly in the headlight shell come the time.

The seat is in reasonably good condition but the chrome effect trim was poor. I was surprised to find that it's part of the cover and not removable. So I've carefully rubbed it down, and after masking, sprayed it with aluminium effect enamel. It's come out better than I expected and I'll apply a coat of lacquer next week. 

[taysidedragon]

Probably a silly question,  but is the sprocket the same both sides?