Hello. Basket case rebuild.

[Pops400]

Hello all

No more lurking, thought I'd best introduced myself.

After over 20 years, my Dad's old 400/4 finally came home to roost today.

Way back when, I loved this bike. I had an XJ650 shaft drive at the time, but really quite wanted this, then it got nicked by some local lowlifes and joyridden then trashed and dumped. I remember the day a friend of mine spotted it dumped in bushes in a local park and I had to go and get it back as my old man wasn't well enough. Pushed it back home with seized brakes and bent bars to be greeted by a suspect audience of local scrotes. That was the last day it turned a wheel.

Not long after, my Dad had to give up riding anyway as he got very ill, so it just rotted away until it left us as I didn't have the cash or space to save it.

Cut a very long story short,  today I finally got it back. Feeling more than a wee bit emotional, this is where it starts for me. I don't plan to restore to spec (I'm sure that will make me a heathen to more than some) as it was never standard when he got it. It was just a cheap bike that was all he could afford at the time, so had all manor of weird and wonderful's on it. Instead I plan a tribute bike to my Old Man.

In his day, he had all sorts, from Tiger Cubs, through Nortons and all points in between, so I plan a one off tribute Cafe racer based parts bin special. Hopefully something he would be proud of and want to ride.

I make no apologies for the pending myriad of stupid questions, I have never rebuilt a bike before and don't profess to be an expert, but that's why I joined this forum. This is a labour of love and I will need all the advice I can get.

Yep. It's a rotten old shed. But it won't be. Be gentle with me. [ Guests cannot view attachments ] [ Guests cannot view attachments ] [ Guests cannot view attachments ] [ Guests cannot view attachments ] [ Guests cannot view attachments ]

[Johnwebley]

welcome to the mad world of sohc

 all sohc are respected here,

 so in tribute to your dad,this will be welcomed,

 for him,for you and getting another sohc back on the road,

 ask for help,advice,and parts,you,and the bike are welcome

 join in the fun,build a tribute to your dad,


 

[Norniron]

Welcome pops,as john says every sohc is respected!
Im sure itll turn out great.i look forward to see your progress

[UK Pete]

Hi and welcome, thats a great introduction ,good luck with your build, remember there are no rules , you just do what is right for you with the bike
pete

[RGP750]

Welcome to the forum.
Plenty of help on here,there aren't any stupid questions, we have all been there with the first rebuild.
Just remember the saying in engineering "if in doubt ask" and you will be fine.
 A great project with the connection to you ,best of luck and keep pictures coming
Rich

[mick]

Hello and welcome to the forum take plenty of photos as you worh on the bike and post them here  cheers Mick.

[AshimotoK0]

Wow your dad would be so proud of you.

Seen bikes a lot worse than yours transformed into swans !   

BTW I am one who always restores to standard as much as pos. but I still admire and have utmost respect for  all of the wonderful specials, many of them on here. Why not try to do it up like a Mocheck Harrier like a magazine did in the 80's 'Project Dole Bike' I think it was called?

Here are manuals if you don't have them:

Cheers Ash

CB400F PARTS MANUAL

https://www.dropbox.com/s/u51uf0p1dv6m29q/Honda%20CB400%20F%20Parts%20Manual.pdf?dl=0

CB350/400F SHOP MANUAL/WORKSHOPMANUAL

https://www.dropbox.com/s/1n3w5433jkph228/350F%20400F%20_4%20Shop%20Manual.pdf?dl=0

CB350F Part Manual

https://www.dropbox.com/s/7pieydvznvy7nhp/CB350_F_F1%20Full.pdf?dl=0

CB400F DEALER SETUP INSTRUCTIONS .. RARE !!

http://www.honda4fun.com/pdf_man_officina/CB400_set-up_man/CB400_set-up_man.pdf

[Chris400F]

Welcome from me too.
Nothing wrong with a Parts Bin special. My brother's 400/4 is similar, built from a bike and parts that would otherwise have ended up in a skip.
Plenty of scope for doing what you want with what you have or can find.
And plenty of people on here to advise when necessary.
Good luck!

[Spitfire]

Go for it, take lots of photos when you strip it down to help with re assembly, and use lots of zippy bags to keep the parts in, most of all enjoy the experience, it's great bringing one of these bikes back to life and it should be extra nice for you given the story behind the bike.

Cheers

Dennis

[tom400f]

Lovely story. She will ride again, that's for sure.

Giuliari seat - I had one of them!! What's the blue car?

Oh and welcome

[MCTID]

Smashing story and an interesting history.......fate it's called - I like to think so anyway.

No doubt you will meander your merry way along and finish the bike in a few years time......p'raps ready for your Daughter (pictured with you on the bike - I assume) to own herself.......now that's what I call a 'legacy' from your Dad.

You have joined a brilliant Forum and good luck on your journey......you will find that you are amongst Friends and I hope you'll post regular photos so we can all share the highs and lows as the bike is brought back to life.

[Krzychu]

Hi there and welcome to the forum. A newbie here too, just joined the forum.
Wish You all the best with the project 

[Pops400]

Hi all and thanks for the very warm welcome, this feels!like a good place to be already.

Just to be clear, my Dad is just about still with us, owing a lot to our health service and surprising all of us. Though well into his 80's now and not in good health, if I work fast I have a window of opportunity to try and finish this with time for him to see it made good and hopefully he will give it his seal of approval. There's no chance of it leaving the family, so yes it will be handed down to my Daughter I hope, when she is old enough and I am in my 80s. Somewhere I want to incorporate a scorpion logo, which he had asked me to paint on his leather just before he had to give up riding, but I'm not telling him that bit. Its a reference to his days as a boxer in his hayday.

Ash, Thank you for that info, I will digest it all, gratefully received. I will start a thread following the build as soon as I can.

Tom, I got the seat from eBay for a tenner, as the seat on it had rotted beyond repair. Its not staying, but gives me a useable base, or perhaps a resale to fund what I really want if I can't bring myself to dismantle it. The bike has RD350 clocks on it which will go too. I want to keep the tank as its fundamental to the history and look of the bike.

The blue car is my other toy, though it's off the road. Its a 1968 Plymouth Barracuda. I had just finished rebuilding an engine for it 3 days before my daughter was born when I was made redundant by my kind hearted employer, so it got mothballed until I have the funds to bring it back out and finish it. I won't get rid of it as my girl loves it and that's her legacy from me. ;-)

If she stays a petrol head, she's a lucky girl.   

Hoping to start stripping the bike at the weekend and start gathering cheap and cheerful parts.

I'm still high on the fact I finally got it back. 

[Pops400]

p'raps ready for your Daughter (pictured with you on the bike - I assume) to own herself.......

Yep. That's my girl. She is as stoked as I am and will be helping me rebuild it. Teach em young. She has spent hours comparing bikes on the web over the last few days and is saving pictures of what she likes to persuade me to how to build it.

To be fair, she has great taste.