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1975 CB400F "un-cafe"
kartin:
Ok, some final grinding and smoothing to be done but I now have something resembling a normal frame! the welding is all on the back side of the hooks - it's not just those little bits you see on the seams. Also, that pinhole in one of the filled holes is really exaggerated in the photo - the paint will fill it easily.
kartin:
Starting to get paint on some parts. I'm all about DIY so I use wire brushes (on a drill for the heavy removal, on a Dremel for light removal and tight spaces) followed by a good de-grease until shop towel with mineral spirits stays clean. I use Rustoleum Stops Rust primer and satin black. Primer is Rusty Metal or Clean Metal depending on the state of the part being painted. I've used this combination on the chassis and floor of my homebuilt car which has been on the road since 2006 and it's stood up brilliantly. Have also used it on my RD400 and it looks correct (to me) and, again, has lasted well.
If you're wondering why a SOHC devotee has an RD400, there were two distinct camps in the UK when I was riding my 400-4 through the late 70s and early 80s. The Honda 4-stroke camp (400-4, 400T and 250/400N Superdream) and "the rest" which were all 2-strokes: Yamaha RD250/400 and 250/350LC, Suzuki GT250/380 and X7, Kawasaki KH250/400. So, when I decided to get another 70s bike about 10 years ago, I thought I'd see what the "competition" was like! I found someone who was selling all their RD stuff so I got one working bike, another in boxes and a ton of parts as a "job lot"! I cherry-picked all the best parts to make one good bike and sold the other. Hopefully soon I'll be able to make a side-by-side comparison test with the 400-4!
kartin:
As I mentioned at the outset, first target is just to create a usable, more or less standard bike so engine has gone back in without a full rebuild. When I gave it a brief run after I first got the bike, it ran well with no smoke or major rattles. I also looked inside the tappet covers while it was running and could see all the camshaft oil sprays working. Also had the borescope down the plug holes and bores look good. So, good enough for now... I have a compression tester but not the correct adapter for these plug threads so I'll check it in the future. Also I'll likely pull the valve cover and check the tensioner and guide blades before I do any lengthy running.
I got the engine out of the frame with the sump/oil pan still on but of course, to get it back in while preserving the newly painted frame, off it came. There was a little bit of detritus on the screen plus some sludge near the oil drain plug but I'm not sure if those would be considered bad amounts? The engine internals looked great visually - certainly no chipped gear teeth or anything like that. While I had access to the tensioner arm (by reaching in with a screwdriver), I released the camchain tensioner bolt and wiggled the tensioner arm and could feel it moving so it's not seized. All engine mount bolts were cleaned and anti-seized and I made very sure the lower bolts were not reaching right through their nuts and risking any case damage. Gearchange shaft oil seal had been leaking so was renewed. Still some cleaning to do around that area under the sprocket cover!
McCabe-Thiele (Ted):
I like your spray booth & gantry set up.
.
Bryanj:
As you are in US you may find it easier to get a 360G5 front end which is the same
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