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Topics - kartin

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Project Board / 1975 CB400F "un-cafe"

« on: July 24, 2023, 01:14:20 AM »

As I mentioned on my new member intro thread, some time back I had started a project thread on the US site since that's where I am physically but I'm keen to get more exposure to the 400-specific knowledge here on the UK site. I've decided to just duplicate each post on both sites. Of course the first few posts here will just be to catch up with where I've got to so there will be a flurry of them to begin with that are not in "real time"! Also, I'm not going to post all the back in forth with people who replied - if you're interested, you can see those on the US Project Shop (same topic title).

Where's My Old Bike? / 1977 CB400F: YAA 403R

« on: June 16, 2022, 04:42:00 AM »

I sold it in 1990 and DVLA shows tax owing as of 1996 so somebody kept it going for a few years at least!

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CB350/400 / Request for measurements: side panel "hooks"

« on: June 14, 2022, 03:40:10 AM »

I am starting to "un-cafe" a 1975 CB400F and one of the unfortunate things done to the frame was to cut off 3 of the "hooks" that locate the top of the side panels. About to fabricate and weld on some new ones. I have one good reference on the left side but both are missing on the right. I would have assumed both sides are the same dimensions but some closeup pictures I could find on the web gave the appearance that the horizontal section is longer on the right? The left is 14.5mm - see picture for where I am measuring. Are the right-hand ones the same? Probably not crucial but I don't want to go to the effort only to find the the right hand cover is pinched by the frame rail and I don't have an actual side cover (yet) to reverse engineer it.

Many thanks!
Missing :-(
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One good on left - measuring inside the vertical faces approx 14.5mm:
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What should it be on the right?
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New Member Introductions / Hi from Dallas, 1975 CB400F needing "un-cafe" treatment

« on: June 14, 2022, 03:24:17 AM »

Usual story... Had a 400 Four for many years when I lived in the UK in the 70s/80s. I put 50k miles on that bike and indeed, for many years it was my only form of transport so got ridden in all weathers to work, shops, race meetings, France, you name it... The original exhaust and mudguards rusted out so it had a Yoshimura "crossover" exhaust, a plastic front mudguard from another CB model and a homebrew rear. Then we moved to Canada in 1990 and I reluctantly sold it. Fast forward to 2020s and 3 more international moves later and I started looking for a 400 Four where I now live near Dallas, USA. Of course I've hit the 70s bike "craze" so not many for sale nearby and not for sensible money. I was about to post a "WTB" on the US forum when one popped up really cheaply on local classified ads ("local" meaning it was only 200 miles away!). Of course it was rough and not running but it had correct paperwork (so many don't...) and good compression so I went for it. The bad news is that somewhere along its life it had received a poor cafe conversion attempt and was missing the original tank, mudguards, instruments, front wheel, front brakes (it has a drum brake!), muffler/silencer and lights. I want to gradually bring it back to standard - I realise that little lot will quickly undo the cheapness of the bike but I'm looking forward to the challenge plus it doesn't all have to be done to make the bike rideable. Anyway, I still have all my old maintenance notes and workshop manual so already it's like re-acquainting myself with an old friend!

So far the progress has been to clean the carbs and go through all standard service items and then it sprang to life quite nicely with no smoke or abnormal rattles - result! So now begins the hunt for some original parts - I know the tank and mudguards will be pricey (likely DSS repros).

I'm going to post this on both UK and US SOHC forums (same username). Even though I'm in the US now, my perception is that the 400s are a smaller percentage of the US SOHC population plus I'm in the UK regularly so can pick up parts if needed. Looking forward to interactions on both forums!

The original bike:
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...and the recent purchase (no laughing...):
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Cheers,
Martin