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Messages - Pops400

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211
Project Board / 75 CB400 "Dad's old bike" project
« on: January 24, 2016, 08:18:30 PM »
Started today on tearing down my Dad's old bike.  (Introduction here : http://www.sohc.co.uk/index.php/topic,9471.0.html)

I knew it was a basket case, but in the cold light of day... Holy crap, this is in a bad way.

First step, pull everything to bits, bag everything up and label the leccy on the way, see what is salvageable or saleable. Bugger all budget to do it, so a lot of elbow grease and pulling favours from various people I know will be going on.

Today, took the Girl with me, as she is excited as hell about it. She loved the tea breaks, anyway.  ;D

A quick overview of all the issues...
The beginning [ Guests cannot view attachments ]

All that remains attached of the seat base... [ Guests cannot view attachments ]

To be fair, a few blobs of weld might sort it... on second thoughts, off to the tip with the original seat. Nothing is saving that. [ Guests cannot view attachments ]

Casings are all in a shocking mix of brush paint, pitting and grime. [ Guests cannot view attachments ]

212
New Member Introductions / Re: Hello. Basket case rebuild.
« on: January 18, 2016, 06:19:31 PM »
Quote from: MCTID on January 18, 2016, 02:01:36 PM
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.  ;D

213
New Member Introductions / Re: Hello. Basket case rebuild.
« on: January 18, 2016, 06:15:25 PM »
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.   ;D

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.  8)

214
New Member Introductions / Hello. Basket case rebuild.
« on: January 17, 2016, 11:02:15 PM »
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 ]

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