Honda-SOHC

A stupid question but is the roller bearing damaged and worn? The gearbox on Ratty had over 45k on it (probably over 50k as the PO had fitted a mini Speedo on the bike at some point). When I checked the roller bearings they were fine, no play, no nasty rumbling and no tight spots. The rest of the engine was in a terrible condition as a result of the PO blasting it with a sand gun. The roller bearing was good to go again but unfortunately the shaft was worn beyond repair and I purchased the two gear shafts from Ted. I have no idea how many miles were on that gearbox but again the roller bearings were absolutely fine.

I've just noticed the oil seal is not on the end of the camshaft, did it fall off when you took the rocker cover off?

But of course he's going to be buying the whole assembly from you Ash so he doesn't need to remove them 

The retainer for the felt washers go on the carb bodies though, nothing to do with the carb rail spindle (assuming it is a similar arrangement to the 400/4).

I do agree with you Ash, the articles are always a rehash of what has been said many times before with the same old issues being highlighted of cam chain wear and sticky tensioners etc.

What does grate a bit is every time a magazine writes a feature about a CB400/4 (or any other sohc) they always go to the expert, David Silver for spares advice and of course he's going to plug his own company in the article and state what is available to buy from his company. Don't get me wrong as no doubt without DSS a great deal of spares would be unavailable and I know he is in business to make money but it would be a nice gesture if he gave a discount to VJMC or forum members especially considering all the free publicity he recieves from the articles and the people who restore the bikes using his parts! Maybe a 10% sale of parts in January when we are all busy getting on with our restorations, just something would be nice (and I don't mean free P&P!). There are other people who can supply parts, Nurse Julie for starters and then theres all the invaluable advice and help given on this forum without which most restorations would be impossible or very difficult to complete, its a shame the magazines fail to mention the other alternative suppliers and just stick to the same old people such as DSS and CMSNL. CBG have however spoken to the owners of the three bikes in the feature (all three bikes have stayed in the same family) and this does give the article some real life perspective.

Thanks for posting the restoration articles, I'll be reading those 

Norton were there showing three bikes, the new Commando (special deal of that, a £2k off deal, only now £13K!!). The V4CR was dessed in the 125th anniversary colour scheme, yours for £49K. They also had a V4 in the colours of the Steve Hislop White Charger that won the IOM in 1992 and not for sale.

This month's CBG has an 11 page feature on the CB400/4 to celebrate its 50th Year.

Thanks all for the kind comments. I had a good day in the man cave yesterday, still slow progress with lots of fettling and tweaking but getting there and enjoyed it again.

Roo, the exhaust headers are the originals so double skinned. The chrome was good once the rats urine and poo had been removed (I actually thought it was rust in some places!). It still took a large tub of elbow grease to clean them up but worth it in the end.

Ash, I have attached the wiring route diagrams, these should help you with the cable routing at the headstock (control cable routes as well). I can confirm the silencer is a Burito item and funnily enough it is cheaper to buy them from The Classic Bike Shop than directly from Joe!

Magpie, seriously get yourself a bike lift, it’s a no brainer. It will save your back and your knees. There were two used ones for sale a few months ago in Classic Bike Guide.

Off to the Bike Shed Show later today, I forked out for a press/VIP ticket as it has become so popular now it is crowded at weekends. Some seriously fantastic one-off builds. I need to apply some beard oil and get a flat cap before I go. I’ll take my own jam jar for my beer  .