Honda-SOHC

This is just a brief 'hello' and a warning that I'm probably soon going to be asking loads of questions....

I've just rescued a '77 CB400F from outside a colleague's house where it had sat unused for the last 7 years:



Before it was yellow it was red.....and before it was red it was blue.... 57k miles on the clock - it's had a rebore at some point apparently plus a new rear hub (and the rim isn't original) because the rear brake wore it too much. Motad exhaust that apparently "appeared mysteriously when the bike went in for work once" in place of the original (shame) and Koni shocks that pre-date my colleague's ownership. Maybe they can be rebuilt?

Aside from a disintegrated seat base it's not in bad condition considering it has lived outdoors for at least the last 18 years (the length of my colleague's ownership). First job is to strip the carbs and get them ultrasonically cleaned, then rebuild them - currently the thottle mecahnism is seized. After an oil change I'll then see whether/how it runs and take it from there but I'm hoping to have it on the road for the summer. Whenever that happens this year.

Any advice for getting a long-dormant bike back to life would be welcome 

First question - what's the accepted method for re-finishing the steel parts of the carb assembly like the choke lever?



I'll get the carbs themselves cleaned to an as-new finish so don't want to re-fit rusty bits to them.  What finish should they have - passive/bright zinc coated?

Thanks Steve. I no longer have pillion footrest hangers and the centre stand has gone too so it sounds as if any system could be made to fit. Needless to say, originality is not a concern......

I'll post the same question over on the US forum too in case they have suggestions.

High tickover is almost certainly carb adjustment along with possibly blocked pilots whilst heavy clutch is cable,

Both worth sorting BEFORE you strip it down

Thanks for the advice. The bike stood for over 10 years and I would guess the carbs weren't drained so there'll be all kinds of residue in them - I'm planning to get them ultrasonically cleaned. I'd replace the clutch cable as a matter of course during the rebuild.

What makes you suggest sorting these things before stripping the bike? Just to make sure they're not masking another problem?

Hello all. I've just signed up having bought a CB550K. Registered in '80 but I believe it's a '77 model. Looked like this when I bought it last week:



Looks like this now:



A bit more work to do (!) but with only 22k miles on the clock (10+ years in storage until a few weeks ago) it seems mechanically pretty good.... Well, it has a new MoT and I rode it home from the seller's house OK.

What's amazed me is how easily it all came apart - nothing siezed, rusted or whatever. A far cry from my '03 Transalp daily rider.