Soon to be 400F owner

[SumpMagnet]

Sadly ...most of the great pubs in Camden have gone or been ruined.

If the bike has only stood a few years, it should be pretty much OK. But a careful approach is better than stuffing on the jump cables and cranking it over.
If anything is siezed or stuck, it's better to find out when you turn it over with a spanner on the end of the crank so you can feel what it is doing. Pop the plugs out when you do this.

[mattsz]

SumpMagnet - last time I rode it (three years ago), the e-start was nowhere to be found anyway.  I'll pull the plugs and add some lubrication to the cylinders and take it slow.  The owner says it's been kicked over occasionally during storage, but I'm not sure what that means, exactly - I can ask tomorrow when the friend who stored it for him drops it off.

Years ago in another life when my wife and I were musicians, we toured the UK and one venue host introduced her as being an up-and-coming "star" from Camden Town - worth a good laugh as she wasn't any of the three!  Well, she's a star to me, of course...

[mattsz]

That oil will be fine, their spec is just for mineral oil but with regular changes in general use, it'll not give you problems.

To be clear: "mineral" oil = conventional, non-synthetic?

[Laverda Dave]

That's it, the old fossil stuff

[mattsz]

That's it, the old fossil stuff

Thanks!

[mattsz]

I've finished Nurse Julie's engine rebuild thread, well done!  A valuable resource, to be sure.

Comments were made regarding the usefulness of the Honda service manual and Haynes manual; on my initial perusal of the Honda download version, I find it light on a lot of details.  I've got a Clymer book on the way, for better or worse.  Do you guys think I'd be well served by obtaining a Haynes book as well?  If the Honda manual is useful, I'd really like to have a hard copy to work with...

[Bryanj]

Hard copies are rare and pricey, Haynes is no better than Honda

[mattsz]

Well, I've already committed to the Clymer, so we'll see what happens!

[Nurse Julie]

My comments on my engine build thread about the usefulness of the Haynes and Honda Workshop manuals were based mainly on them assuming that people carrying out the work had a good mechanical knowledge base. They tell you to do something but do not go into detail on the reason why you need to do a certain thing, or in a certain way, or what to look for whilst doing it or how to analyse if something is correct or not. I'm sure if you have a good general mechanical knowledge and know how, which I did not really have as far as engine building was concerned, you will be fine.

[Bryanj]

Should have said that the Honda manual is the same as the dealer manual and assumed you are a trained Honda mechanic. They were not really designed for sale to the general public but to none franchised dealers

[mattsz]

Understood, thanks for clarifying...

The bike has arrived!  Should I continue my introductory comments and questions here, or start a thread somewhere else?

[Nurse Julie]

Understood, thanks for clarifying...

The bike has arrived!  Should I continue my introductory comments and questions here, or start a thread somewhere else?

Start a new thread Matt, either on the 400/4 board or project board. Let's see some photos too, we love photos 😀😀

[mattsz]

Will do!  See you there, I hope...

[jon stead]

Welcome to the sohc forum. Looking forward to hearing your progress.

[mattsz]

Thanks Jon, and everyone!  Progress will be slow, I can assure you...