My New Project arrives after a 44 year wait!

[McCabe-Thiele (Ted)]

That's a nice looking 400 you have rebuilt Dave,  you must be well pleased with how it's looking so far.
Love the flow of the original front pipes.

First start up can't be too far away!

[magpie114]

Looking really good and I agree those pipes look good.

Would love a bike lift like that, maybe next year...

[McCabe-Thiele (Ted)]

Looking really good and I agree those pipes look good.

Would love a bike lift like that, maybe next year...

If you have the room and the funds a bike ramp does make life a lot easier - I was able to do lots of work sat on a stool or chair - much easier on my back. Being able to have my frame on the ramp albeit with a supplementary scissor stand meant I could fit the engine with no wheels fitted using the centre stand and staps to keep it stable. Mine has a removable panel at the rear section to make wheel removal easier.

Hardest job I had was getting the ramp out of the packing case and up my slightly sloping driveway into the garage - they are quite heavy.

[magpie114]

Well I’ve got the room for one but it’s a little hard to justify at the moment. I can see the advantages, I’ll almost certainly get one at some point.


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[AshimotoK0]

Great Progress Dave..that is gonna be some showpiece when you finish it.

I wonder if The Classic Bike Shop are getting their silencers from the latest incarnation of Brituro?

I have been revisiting my '75 400F over the past 9 months or so ..I rebuilt in 1986 and never started it since. At the time I cut corners a bit like using Takasago Suzuki branded wheel rims and plating  a lot of stuff nickel as there wasn't any real zinc kits around then. Been putting it back to bog standard but taken a lot more effort than I thought to get all the little bits correct ..e.g. it now has proper DID unscripted rims and everything is re-plated in BZP that was previously in nickel.. Hoping to start it up soon...will post on here when I do.

A few years back I used the now defunct (for regular punters) V888 form .. where you sent a cheque for £5 and they photocopied you every document they have on your vehicle. Mine has had about 8 owners (cost me £110 in '85) and it transpired it was the first demonstrator at Cowies in Sunderland (MBR 491P) ... the very bike I used to stare at in their window when I lived up there in '75.

One thing I still need to do is put all of the handlebar wires back (they all connect in a big rubber boot under the tank) Do you know how they are routed? This pic attached is the best I can find.

[Laverda Dave]

Thanks all for the kind comments. I had a good day in the man cave yesterday, still slow progress with lots of fettling and tweaking but getting there and enjoyed it again.

Roo, the exhaust headers are the originals so double skinned. The chrome was good once the rats urine and poo had been removed (I actually thought it was rust in some places!). It still took a large tub of elbow grease to clean them up but worth it in the end.

Ash, I have attached the wiring route diagrams, these should help you with the cable routing at the headstock (control cable routes as well). I can confirm the silencer is a Burito item and funnily enough it is cheaper to buy them from The Classic Bike Shop than directly from Joe!

Magpie, seriously get yourself a bike lift, it’s a no brainer. It will save your back and your knees. There were two used ones for sale a few months ago in Classic Bike Guide.

Off to the Bike Shed Show later today, I forked out for a press/VIP ticket as it has become so popular now it is crowded at weekends. Some seriously fantastic one-off builds. I need to apply some beard oil and get a flat cap before I go. I’ll take my own jam jar for my beer  .

[AshimotoK0]

Cheers! ... Spot on  Dave ..just realised.I need to get a wire clip bracket that the rubber strap thingy mounts on to from Yamiya.. have the rest of the harness mounting rarities though.Going to BZP my original horn today ..that will be fun 😁 Speaking of horns ..no horn on that diagram?

[AshimotoK0]

BTW my pic was from the mega money push-mile bike
.was it £16k ? It went for at auction at Silverstone Auctions. Seems the routing was all wrong.Always had my doubts about that bikes authenticity. Wonder who bought it?

[K2-K6]

Very nice work Dave, hopefully you'll get the exhaust you want to complete it.

The picture of Sheene on early RG 500 behind the bike, I saw the first one he rode UK meeting at Mallory Park and have some pictures somewhere as we were allowed to wander around the pits at that time.

[Laverda Dave]

Another update on Ratty’s progress and it’s been a very frustrating couple of weeks with a final disaster today to cap it all off! Apologies from the off for this long winded tale although I promise it is not a political manifesto!

All was going well with previously refurbished sub assemblies going back on the rolling chassis including the overhauled master cylinder and brake calliper with a new piston, pads and lines.

Things went downhill when I tried the original ignition key in the barrel to find it didn’t work very well. I took the lock apart to find all was in order although the hairpin spring on the little flap on the top to stop water ingress was broken so I fixed that before reassembly. The original key is very badly worn. I was lucky to find a trader on ebay who had a pattern key to match the lock (so keeping a match with the seat lock). This duly arrived and worked perfectly along with a blank genuine Honda key from DSS. Off I trot to the local locksmith who said it would be no problem to cut the blank key. An hour later I go to collect the new key with the lock and he’s broken it  . He had the cheek to ask a £5 as he’s cut the new key, he didn’t get it .  I spent a couple of hours at home with the lock apart and found the locksmith had been forcing the key into the lock and broke one of the plungers. I’ve had to leave it out and the keys now work but obviously the security of the lock is now compromised.

Next up was fitting the rear indicators, easy, a 10 minute job. No, when I put the earth lead onto the tang that is spot welded onto the indicator bracket it broke off. This was probably due to previous corrosion, bending and then being blasted before powder coating. I had to think of a way of connecting the earth lead but without drilling into the freshly powder coated bracket. Rummaging around the scrap bin I had an idea of using an old 10mm bolt turned down and drilled to accept the power lead to the indicator itself. I found an old picture hook and cut this down to make a new earth tang. I then tapped the inside of the indicator stalk to accept the cut down nut and tang. It fits just perfect (as Alan Millyard would say).

Onwards and upwards, I was now on a surprising roll of soon to be misplaced optimism so I decided to fit the ignition switch to the top yoke just as a bit of Peter Green began to play on the music system, I was now mellow and took a sip of warm tea as a celebration, dinner can wait for 30 more minutes, my rebuild is far more important. I found the threads for the ignition barrel bolts were clogged with powder coat, two threads I forgot to tap out at the time. I couldn’t get the tap in place as the area was crowded with cables etc. No choice but to take the top yoke off and all that entails. This was where disaster struck. The top yoke came off easily and I tapped the threads and fitted the barrel before re-fitting the top yoke, yes sometimes I feel gifted enough think ahead without it hurting all the time.  When I went to torque the centre steering nut to 65Ibs (is the Haynes manual really correct, 65Ibs does seen very high for a nut with such a fine thread?) I got to 30Ibs and soon had that sinking feeling of ‘this isn’t getting any tighter’. Yep, the thread has stripped, not on the nut but on the steering stem itself  .  I think this has been caused as a result of the taper steering bearing kit and the virtually non-existent amount of thread left on the top nut after fitting it. When I initially fitted the kit I got one and half turns of the nut so took it all apart again and removed the top bearing and replaced it with a ball roller bearing but I still only got 2.5 turns of the nut and thinking about it loading the nut with such a high torque setting probably stripped it. I know the taper kits have given other forum members trouble and I probably wouldn’t have known about the damage had I not removed the top yoke.

So, this evening when I came back in I said enough is enough and I’m taking an enforced break from the bike whilst I look for another lower yoke. If I do find one it will need blasting and powder coating prior to fitting. It’s the thought of having to strip the completed front end and getting the new bearing off the old stem and onto the replacement stem that really irks me and has killed my enthusiasm for it at the moment. I think a break and riding my bikes instead of working on them for a while will help.

The good news is the Speedway GP and BSB are on the TV this weekend  .

If anyone has a lower yoke they are currently using as a door stop or a boat anchor they are thinking of selling I’m your man  .

[Matt_Harrington]

Dave, at least you found the yoke issue this way rather than some horrible accident when out riding. Great progress and it won't hurt to have a break....

[magpie114]

Better to find out now about the yoke. I had the same sort of issue with taper roller bearings on my VFR. Various problems fitting them and then on my first outing I could feel something wasn’t right thro the bars which I couldn’t rectify. Replaced them with a standard Honda set which immediately cured it.
Have a few days off and enjoy BSB.


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[Laverda Dave]

Yes Matt, at least I found this the easy way rather than have the front end come loose after hitting a pothole when riding! Interesting that you have found the same problems exist on more modern bikes as well Magpie, don’t these sellers realise they have to undertake some form of R&D before selling kits that are potentially dangerous and could lead to an accident!

I did contact Pyramid Parts when I found the kit they supplied didn’t leave enough top thread exposed and in my view it was potentially dangerous. They replied and gave me my money back and said they would investigate the problem ‘with restorers of these bikes’ and would be looking at fitting a stepped bearing as apparently they do for the Kawasaki KH series. I just checked their website and the same kit is still for sale with no stepped bearing listed. This topic has been discussed many times on the forum and yet the suppliers still churn out the same kits despite all the feedback.

I measured the length of exposed thread on the steering stem above the thick washer, it is 3mm. The depth of thread in the nut is 9mm. This is with a hybrid set up of a caged roller bearing fitted on the top and the 14.5mm taper bearing on the lower with a 2mm spacer and dust seal below the bearing (any less than 2mm and the yoke was binding on the lower steering flange of the frame). It was only 1mm with the top taper bearing fitted, there is no way that could be safe, that’s why I changed it to the caged bearing but I think the damage had already been done to the thread when the taper bearing was fitted and I torqued the nut up and found I could only get 1.5 turns of the centre nut.   I checked the Haynes manual again for the torque settings in case I made a mistake. The manual states a setting between 57-86lbs. I torque the nut up in stages starting at 20lb, then 30lb and that was as far as I got before the thread gave up.

Yes, a few days off from it would do me good.

[Deano400]

Dave,

Steve at 400/4bits has a bottom yoke showing on his website.

[Deano400]

Dave,

When you say one of the lock plungers is broken, do you mean the little spring loaded gates?
If so, you could post me the broken gate and I'll see if I have a matching one.