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Messages - Eldrick
31
« on: September 23, 2022, 12:14:04 PM »
Once you have eliminated the Sparking you may have to look at fueling. If valve clearances are good then I would check the float level for the cooler cylinder.
I don't think I have eliminated the spark, I think #3 is sparking sporadically. Putting #4 HT lead on #3 made it spark (the down pipe was hot) properly. That does not meaan the coil is bad tho because #2 fires normally. I don't know enough about the wiring to #2 and #3 to safley say the coil is good or bad, I just think that the HT lead from the coil to #3 is at fault. I suppose I could see if #3 lead will reach to #2 and see if it sparks there. if not, then I would be more certain that the lead or plug cap is at fault.
32
« on: September 23, 2022, 10:34:51 AM »
Are all the exhaust headers the same temperature, ie, equally bloody hot when you've been riding?
No is the answer to that, 1, 2 and 4 are too hot to handle and 3 is hot but not nearly as hot as the others. So, can't rule out spark plugs just because they are new, so I will swap plugs from 3 and 4 around and see what I get. Failing that as the problem is it 'just' going to be the HT lead or plug caps? I did re-set the gap on and clean the plugs when I took the carbs off. All plugs were a bit too dark but I expect that to change when I balance the carbs. I guess it could be timing or valve clearance on #3 since I am quite sure the throttle slide does move freely as checked the play on them all when the carbs were off. All fore rise and fall when I engage the throttle manually and all the butterflies open and close too. *************** update *************** I just checked the plugs, #3 is still shiny and swapping it with #1 (which is black) made no difference. I then took the HT lead from #4 and connected that to #3, (no other leads are long enough to swap about) and #3 pipe got proper hot like it should. I guess I need to do something with one or all of my HT leads then, but what?
33
« on: September 21, 2022, 08:39:18 PM »
One persons running well isn't always an accurate description unless you know exactly how it should feel.
Ted ran his 400 on 2 cylinders and even though he said it seemed to lack power he didn't spot it was only running on 2. Sorry Ted for bringing that back up but it's a good example.
True, I thought it was running great and sounding great, the vacuum gauge told me otherwise. I would have happily run the bike forever in ignorance otherwise. Now, I'm on a mission to fix it and expand my knowledge. 
34
« on: September 21, 2022, 03:58:02 PM »
Are all the exhaust headers the same temperature, ie, equally bloody hot when you've been riding?
I will check the next time Thanks
35
« on: September 21, 2022, 03:17:27 PM »
Ran the bike today and it all seems great, put the vacuum gauge on the carbs when I got home and I get this;
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#3 does show 10-15cmHg when I blip the throttle but otherwise, adjusting that slide just increases or decreases all the others by variable amounts.
Plugs are new, air flow upto the carbs is sealed so it could be a leak on the other side (the boots?). I did swap the vacuum tubes over to make sure that #3 tube and the carb tune wasn’t faulty. If it wasn’t for the vacuum gauge I just wouldn’t have known anything was wrong as the running response and idle seemed good. Well to my untrained mechanical brain anyway.
36
« on: September 20, 2022, 09:54:20 PM »
"Jam a drill bit in there" is not what you do, you use the parallel shank part of a small drill bit as a feeler gauge
Understood, it was total sarcasm to follow from the previous statement I made in the same post, honest.
37
« on: September 20, 2022, 09:51:59 PM »
Unsure if I've got the understanding of that correct.
The twistgrip must have some degree of slack when setup properly, this to avoid the throttle being pulled when you turn the steering left & right. Too tight and the throttle will open as you go from centre to full turn, also it'll likely pull the nipple off the end of the cable without a certain amount of space to operate.
These are specified in the manual.
I do have some slack whereas before I had lots, as in very poor responce. A short run up and down the street tomorrow will let me know if it is not enough slack but it is certainly going to be better than the play I had before.
38
« on: September 20, 2022, 04:38:58 PM »
OK, I was wrong about the slides being back to front, what I have is a lack of knowledge as to what I am viewing and perhaps damaged slides. I thought the gap everyone mentions was that little 'cut away' in my photo. Turns out that is just damage, all four slides have it so that led me to the wrong conclusion. That side is certainly the flat side. I suspect some clown has been jamming a drill bit in there...  I took the slides out or two bodies and behold, I saw the crescent moon, so, now I have filled gaps in my knowledge and I know my slides are correct. I did have trouble getting one to the base of the barrel so I just loosened everything. Discovered that the 'smiley face' butterfly things are all linked so I set them to look the same when closed. Also found I could 'tighten my throttle cable' so to speak, using the nuts on the top near the throttle cable attachments. My throttle now does not have 20degrees of slack before it responds. I was able to rotate and lock the mechanism on the carbs using those nuts. I adjusted the throttle stop too, so it stops when the slides are 1mm from the top of the barrel, the manual told me to do that. Pretty sure that part allowed me to get a slide to the bottom and ‘jam a drill bit in there’ after turning the tick over screw to raise it. I put it all back together and started it up, have not took it for a run yet but I could get the bike to sit at 1200rpm. I will run it tomorrow and see if I can keep 1200rpm when the engine is at running temp, if not, when the engine is warm I will use the vacuum tune on it and see what I can get. In the meantime, thanks for all the help.
39
« on: September 20, 2022, 11:06:09 AM »
Well, they are back to front so looks like I willl be learning a new task today, removing and replacing slides.
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40
« on: September 19, 2022, 06:20:19 PM »
I would be surprised if the sliders are wrongly fitted as this would also cause problems on the top levered plungers unless they have been removed & put on back to front as well.
It will be interesting to see what you find.
I will photo-document it and if it proves to be 'an out of body experience' I will post the photos.If it is not the case, I may well get the idle and fast idle set knowing that it is me that needed expierience.
41
« on: September 19, 2022, 04:32:43 PM »
Is the emulsion tube where the needle jet fits and slides up and down fitted the right way up ? It should protrude into the Venturi a small way,looking like a small ‘cup’ if fitted upside down it will not be seen.
I will find out tomorrow when I take the carbs off the bike and I will have 4 boxes set aside for each individual carb should I deem it necessary to swap those slides.
42
« on: September 19, 2022, 02:08:12 PM »
Something lurking in my adled brain tells me that the carbs are "handed" so if you have a total box of bits(still got the 400 ones to do comfy, need felts) and you mix the slides up it is possible to get them in wrong. I may well be wrong on that myself, would be glad for confirmation
Then I am just going to remove the carbs from the block and look. The education alone from removing and replacing them gives me more confidence in doing my own maintenance
43
« on: September 19, 2022, 11:31:11 AM »
I did not remove the slides from the bodies at any point during my inspection/cleaning. That does not exclude some other owner having done that in the past. The question remains tho, could they be in the wrong body and therefore reversed?
I know about the grove on the slide, technical question; is that grove on the right hand side for all four slides? If so, then I guess they cannot be reversed. If, on the other hand, for example, they are on the right hand side for 1 and 2 and the left hand side for 3 and 4, that is to say the groves all face into the centre line of the carb bank, then the wrong slide could be in the body. Having never took one apart I can’t be sure if that is possible.
Don't know about blocked pilot jet, I did blast all Needle and Slow jets with compressed air (is the slow jet the pilot?), before re-assembly and air passed through those quite well in my amateur opinion.
44
« on: September 19, 2022, 09:20:28 AM »
Is that possible that my carbs are having an out of body experience?
I removed the carbs a few months ago after the bike choked to a halt, out on a run. After that I removed the carbs from the block, checked and set the float heights and specifically replaced the Carburettor float valves in all four carbs as they were stuck solid.
I then followed Bryanjs’ ‘Basic bench carb balance guide', replaced the gaskets (top and bottom) on the carbs and mounted them on the bike again. The bike runs now, however I have an issue getting the bike to idle at anything near 1200rpm, it is more like a minimum of 2000rpm.
I removed the carb block again to bench sync again, mainly because I messed with the slide adjusters too much. I decided I got it benched properly and mounted the carbs on the block again. I also used a vacuum carbtune kit, the perfectionist in me insisted, I still cannot get the idle down to 1200rpm.
I have also checked and set each air pilot screw, could be naming those wrong, to 2 plus one half turn open. On the carb tune I can only match the carbs to within 10-8cmHg. So, carb 3 may be at 16cmHg and carb 4 would be at 24-26cmHg.
The main observation I had and the reason for the question:
Bryanjs’ ‘Basic bench carb balance guide‘ says about the slides; ‘Engine side, it has the flat bottom not the cutaway.' During my observations whilst doing this bench sync I could really tell there was a cut away on the slide so I proceeded working on the engine side, my brain is now convinced that there was a different shape to the slides on the air box side. Too late for that thought, the carbs are now on the bike again and I don’t mind removing them again to check.
Questions are;
1. Could the slides be on back to front?
2. Can the slides be extracted from all four bodies without removing the bodies’ from the block?
3. If 1 and 2 are possible and I fix the issue can I just use the vacuum sync and be confident that the carbs are performing optimally if I then get 1200rpm tick over and a balance of around 16-24 cmHg and all four within 3cmHg of each other?
ThanksKenny m
45
« on: June 04, 2022, 06:55:10 PM »
Honda CB400-Four for sale. Starts well, runs well looks great with many original parts. This is an N-Reg 1975 example of the model and I use it to get to and from picturesque locations in the West of Cornwall. I recently replaced all exhaust gaskets (during the 'Spring Cleaning' routine) and bench balanced the carbs after re-setting the float heights.
Bike never goes out in bad weather and is garaged and covered when not out. I can't honestly say it is all 100% original-genuine replacement parts but it does look to be very original. I am sure others on here will know by the photos what is old or new.
This is not an exclusive advert for the bike.Selling this bike to move to a modern, maintenance free, (more bike riding) RE-350.
Happy to accept £4000 for it from anyone on the forum and I have listed it elsewhere for £4500.
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