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Topics - smoothoperator

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1
Desperately Seeking!! / Looking for next project
« on: September 15, 2022, 10:07:58 AM »
I have taken a deposit on my 400 so if all goes well it should be sold in a couple of weeks or so. Had a post sale ride yesterday and had that feeling of regret we've all been through where the bike seems to be running better than she ever has! So if it does fall through at least I won't be sorry. Anyway, I'm looking for my next project and I need the space in the garage. I've seen a couple of 500's on here, Bryan's looked good but as ever Ted beat me to that one! So I'm reaching out to see what else is tucked away by members here, pretty open at the moment but 500 or 750 or ? with some to a lot of restoring wanted. I won't commit to buying until the 400 has gone so at the moment I am at the window shopping phase. So if you have, or know of something, please get in touch.

2
Member 4 Sales / 400 Four
« on: September 02, 2022, 06:38:44 PM »
For sale, my Honda 400 Four. It's time to make space in the garage for another project. Also I'm in between cataract operations so I can't ride safely for a while. Now I don't expect any interest from all of the avid restorers on this site but I know it'll get spotted on the usual auction site so I thought I should post it on here. I'm going to advertise it for £5995 so should anyone happen to be searching on this site then I'd take £5500. It has been the subject of a restore thread so there is all the info about it on the thread. Here are some pics in any case. It's done 1500 fun miles since the rebuild so it's well run in!

https://photos.app.goo.gl/3rARH6X3aa499hS4A

3
I recently had great service from JEM engineering in Peterborough so I thought I should recommend them. My main stand was bent in such a way that it was narrower than originally, so the stop didn't reach the rubber on the underside of the silencer. I took the bike over and the guy said bring it in tomorrow, I gave him the stand and he quickly bent it back into shape, for which he charged me nothing. Not only that but he put me in touch with a local powder coater, a business that only started up 3 months ago, I couldn't find a local one back during the rebuild. Another really helpful chap who did it within a couple of days for £15. His company's name is Daleks powdercoating.

4
CB350/400 / Setting the timing
« on: June 27, 2022, 07:16:15 PM »
After 600 miles since rebuild I decided to check the timing, which I found was a little bit out. The bike is running well. Well it’s fair to say getting it spot on has had me baffled, you know the feeling that you have completely lost your marbles baffled. I simply couldn’t get both sets of points timed, I seem to have run out of range of adjustment. I decided to fit a new set of Tec points I found in my stash. I have now, after many hours, got pretty close, with the points gap set at 12 thou. Currently 2+3 is spot on, but 1+4 are slightly advanced. The main backplate is almost fully CCW and the 2+3 plate is fully CW. This should give me a bit of wiggle room.
Because it is close, and it has made me feel like a novice, I am loath to move it again until after Crich next Sunday which I am very keen to get to.
That said with the conflict between the Haynes and Honda manuals, could someone definitively tell me which way to turn the backplate to advance and retard 1+2, and which way to turn the 2+3 plate to advance and retard the 2+3 points.
Haynes manual says “Turning the back plate clockwise retards the ignition, and vice versa.”
Honda manual says ”Moving the plate to the right will advance the ignition timing and to the left retard the timing.” I am assuming that to the right means clockwise.
After all the adjustments I have made, you would think I would know, but my brain has turned to mush.

5
Desperately Seeking!! / NGK xd05f spark plug caps
« on: May 22, 2022, 12:27:40 PM »
Does anyone have 2 of these in black going spare? They are the long 102 degree angled ones that fit cylinders 2 and 3. I replaced the vd05f ones on 1 and 4 because 1 had failed. I have looked extensively to no avail. Numerous suppliers list them but when you look further you find there is no stock, or that the company has bad reviews on ebay. One supplier is listing them at £106.83 each! They are used on quite a few bikes including the gold wing.

6
CB350/400 / Loose baffle in original silencer
« on: May 15, 2022, 11:03:01 AM »
I would really like to keep my original Honda silencer however the baffle is loose and rattles. As far as I can tell it is only held on by a small remaining piece of metal, this is visible when looking down the pipe from the front, when off the bike of course. I think at the back it is probably completely detached. Does anyone have experience of a repair? Alternatively removal of the baffle??? Also, any experience of what happens if it falls off! Silver has the copies in at the moment but it wouldn't match the patina of the downpipes, so would probably lead me in the direction of replacing the whole lot. £££

7
Misc / Open / Silverstone auction
« on: May 14, 2022, 05:04:20 PM »
Just come back from the MCN show where I spent some time at the auction. Notable highlights for me were a Z900 in very good nick guided at 15 to 18K that went for 8.5K. A couple of others went nearer to 13K which were also guided at around 14 to 18K. Most bikes were going for around 10 to 20% below the minimum estimate.
A 400 four rust bucket went for £5,500. Someone must have swallowed the blurb about its 900 miles, believed to be correct, and some spiel about its first owner being a James Bond Art director!
There was a stunning 550 four, pictured, but I missed the sale, i'll look it up later.

8
CB350/400 / Spade connectors
« on: April 27, 2022, 06:50:40 PM »
I need to replace a couple of wires in the spur from the generator to the block connector that sits on the left hand side of the frame. These terminate as female bullets at the generator end and as male connectors in the block. Does anyone know the correct type. Kojaycat list 0.5 to 1 mm squared and 1 to 2.5 mm squared. Also is Kojaycat the best source, I seem to recall they have a £15 minimum order, I've bought some other bits from them before. Maybe I need both, the green wire is thicker than the white wire, these are the field coil connectors.

9
CB350/400 / Charging fixed but...
« on: April 21, 2022, 07:33:17 PM »
Bike not charging so I have been reading through the posts on the issues. Regulator seemed a good place to start. The upper contacts were badly pitted so I cleaned them up with 800 grit, as well as the two lower contacts. Put it back on with no improvement. Next I looked at cleaning two connectors from the alternator, the white and the green - maybe striped I can't recall. All the yellows looked good so I left them alone. Started up and now charging OK by testing the voltage across the battery. I then disconnected the battery with the engine running and it kept going, which gave further reassurance.

Here's the but... Sorry it is a bit long winded

I've included photos which should help. Basically, the post that holds the contacts is adjustable, I removed it to get better access to the contacts for cleaning, then noticed the retaining screw goes through a slotted hole, allowing for up and down movement. Securing it in the upper position means more force is needed to pull the upper contact down and therefore a higher voltage? My question is, is there an optimum height to set this post.

I fitted the regulator to the bike with the cover off so I could see it in action. When the ignition is turned on, the electromagnet pulled the contact down, this is one of the clicks you commonly hear when turning the key. When I started the bike, the contact moved up, into the charging position and the voltage increased across the battery. After stopping the engine and waiting a minute or so, then turning the ignition on, the contact didn't move down this time, presumably because the voltage was now a bit lower. Started the engine and charging commenced straight away. I'm concerned with the post height where it is, it could be overcharging.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/371c31D4Nqcc2iQx8

10
Other Bikes / Carb balancing the old fashioned way
« on: February 21, 2022, 07:46:28 PM »
I've been getting my Youtube fix lately enjoying Tyrell's classic workshop. One of Iain's specialities is balancing carbs for various owners using no more than a rubber hose, a screwdriver and years of experience, often on million pound plus 8 or 12 cylinder super-cars of old. Got me wondering if anyone has used the listening technique on Honda fours, as there is so much on using vacuum gauges on the site.

11
Misc / Open / Brake grease
« on: December 31, 2021, 06:30:58 PM »
What is a good grease for the rear brake drum pivot please. The stuff I've cleaned off was nice and sticky and what I have in my grease gun is just general purpose, clearly too runny for this job. I have searched the forum but to no avail. Google wasn't much better.

12
CB350/400 / Neutral Switch O ring
« on: December 03, 2021, 06:25:17 PM »
Does anyone know the size of the O ring fitted to the neutral switch on the 400F?

13
Misc / Open / 750 K6 for sale
« on: November 27, 2021, 05:31:27 PM »
The second image on this advert shows a buy it now price of £2,600, and a contact for the actual seller. Anyway current bid at £1600 with 1 day to go looks worthy of investigation for anyone looking for a 750. I think I must be missing something.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/144307371855?hash=item219963bf4f:g:hFwAAOSwmCthoPc~

14
CB350/400 / Exhaust gaskets
« on: October 20, 2021, 07:02:05 PM »
Sorry for the low level question, but does it matter which way around the exhaust gaskets fit into the head? Already put one in and THEN noticed that they are slightly different on each side.

15
CB350/400 / Weird Balls
« on: September 20, 2021, 08:03:21 PM »
Removed the front tyre with the aid of a hacksaw, dremel and pliers. Several balls of hard fibrous material came out of the tube, up to 1 cm or so. Has anyone else ever come across this? Just out of interest. Whilst I am at it, can anyone confirm if the tyre was made in 1982? It is an Avon Roadrunner.

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