Honda CB400NA Superdream - new money puddle.

[McCabe-Thiele (Ted)]

Down to the skeleton now.


.PXL_20241111_200316917 by Macabe Thiele, on Flickr

[Laverda Dave]

Dave - is £100  to check and straighten it as well?  Was that a spot on Watford?

Hi Andy.
The price included minor tweaks although if the frame is bent and needs heat it will cost more. The 350 Morini frame I took to him needed a crack on the rear seat rail welding up and that cost a bit more.
Howard who owns the business is very honest and is an ex aerospace engineer. He was building a wicked looking Norton Commando cafe racer in a Featherbed frame last time I was there.
The company is called Hybrid Motorcycles and they are located in Croxley on the road between Croxley and Sarratt. It is opposite a prep school and is just a driveway, blink and you'll miss it!

[andy120t]

Thanks Dave. Not far from me so I'll investigate further.

[McCabe-Thiele (Ted)]

I'm planning to get Max (former member) to make me a set of SS wheel spacers for the Superdream so thought I would find them ready for posting out..

I found the rear spacers within a minute or so.  I have failed to find the front wheel spacer as it was not on the front axle bolt with the speedometer drive where I should have put it during dis-assembly.

I've checked all the boxes on the shelves yesterday & again today, it really bugs me when I can't find a part.

[Laverda Dave]

I can 100% guarantee Ted they will be in last place you look!
I dropped the small centre pin that links the no 2&3 carbs on the 400 last spring. I looked everywhere and couldn't find it even sweeping the floor with a magnet. I bought another from Steve @400/4 bits.
I was tidying up the garage last week, pulled out a storage box from under the bench and sitting on the lid was......the carb centre pin!

[Bryanj]

Read my bits at bottom of posts

Of course it is in the last place you look---------- YOU STOP LOOKING WHEN YOU FIND IT

[Laverda Dave]

😂😂

[McCabe-Thiele (Ted)]

This evening I've put some small  tool racks back on the garage wall that I had to move to make room for my 400 & 500 at one end. I was fed up with rummaging for tools in  boxes.

Honest I've not looked for the missing spacer at all, just been trying to think back 10 days. No point in looking in the same places for a third time, well not tonight anyway.☹️

[McCabe-Thiele (Ted)]

Found it! 😄

Took another look this morning using a pencil torch to peer inside the front hub. On one side I could see the bearing & center spacer (left speedo drive side).

When looking at the other end there was clearly something else there as well as the inner spacer & the bearing, yep it was inside the hub seal where I had pushed it back in after inspection ten days ago.

[McCabe-Thiele (Ted)]

New problem found today - I'm hoping there is an easy fix.

The center stand pivot on the Superdream is held in place slightly differently. For some reason they changed the fitting so there is a clamp on the right side only plus a threaded bolt hole in the pivot that is tightened up with a bracket arrangement. I'm thinking that bracket is to ensure the stand moves on the shaft, rather than the shaft rotating in the frame clamps. No clamp on the left side unless it's missing.

When I came to remove the center stand shaft from the frame the bolt in the center was several threads undone so this did not prevent the shaft from rotating. Even worse still the center shaft was in fact broken near where it fits close to  the frame acting like flexible joint, I actually thought briefly that it was a rag bolt design.

The original shafts are no longer available, the SD website sells a SS replica that comes with the center bolt. The new shaft is a nice bit of kit, it fits firmly into the frame on the right side - a different story on the left side as the hole in the frame has enlarged over time so it fits like you know what in a stocking.

Not sure at the moment what the easiest decent fix is going to be, my first thought is a steel or alloy plate needs to be fitted on the outside of the frame with the original sized hole in it for the shaft to be held in place. It might be the plate could be held in place by a couple of bolts or brazed in place not sure at the moment if there is an easier fix.

broken stand pivot by Macabe Thiele, on Flickr

[Bryanj]

Must admit to never having took one off Ted so thats a new idea to me

[McCabe-Thiele (Ted)]

I'm pretty sure the center stand has never been removed previously judging by the layers of road tar and grime on the area around both stands.

[McCabe-Thiele (Ted)]

The photo tells the story, the enlargement is almost round!


.PXL_20241123_103720742 by Macabe Thiele, on Flickr

[Orcade-Ian]

You could press a short sleeve onto the new shaft with its O/D slightly larger than your wonky hole (so to speak!) then carefully file/dremel the hole so that the new sleeve is a good sliding fit in the frame.  With it clamped correctly it shouldn't go anywhere.

Ian

[McCabe-Thiele (Ted)]

My thoughts are in that zone, I used a cut plumbing olive as a starting point, not helped by it being to big in the first place.

Finding a suitable sleeve will be the hard part- not sure how they are listed on ebay - I'll scour my many boxes of bits first.

The shaft o/d is 18.65-18.85 mm according to UHSD site.