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Messages - Mikep328
1
« on: September 05, 2026, 07:20:08 AM »
I'm on a Norton Commando website regularly where quite a few people have installed oil pressure gauges and now spend a lot of time worrying/commenting about oil pressure. There is NO history of Commandos failing due to lack of oil pressure. But with a gauge it can now be observed and, therefore, worried about! If the engine is running well, not using oil, no smoke, etc, no need to worry about things just because you can!!! 
2
« on: September 03, 2026, 11:47:03 AM »
Many years ago I bought a E-Type Jaguar in need of "restoration." It was pretty cheap and I figured doing all the work myself (I had a real job at the time), it would take me about a year. Seven years later I sold the still incomplete car to another fool, er, I mean enthusiast who wanted to take a shot at it. Maybe he finished it; I don't know. A friend on the Isle of Man recently bought a Honda CB400F to restore; he sold it two months later after doing some rough figures on the cost of restoration... The point is: be prepared to spend a lot more time (and money) than you think you will.
3
« on: August 28, 2026, 09:50:40 AM »
"Mmmm. 12000rpm without any ill effects. How do you know? I’d be more concerned about the potential stress damage you can’t see without a granular, detailed check. Consider going to 12000 again for about 5 seconds and let us know how you get on?"
I wasn't suggesting that going to 12k was a good idea, just that the occasional missed shift at full throttle won't blow up the motor!
4
« on: August 27, 2026, 10:22:02 AM »
OK, not really but last week I was out and going through the gears to redline and missed a shift at full throttle into 4th gear and saw the tach whip past 12k RPM with absolutely no ill effect in the remaining 50 miles of the ride.
I was talking about that with a vintage Honda race tech guy here on the Isle of Man - we're here for the Manx GP - he said that the "Honda rev limiter" back then was valve float which would essentially "shut off" the engine when the RPM got to the "float point." He said valve float would occur long before engine RPM could hurt anything. He seemed to know what he was talking about since he was one of the techs preparing vintage Hondas for the races here.
5
« on: August 15, 2026, 07:30:22 PM »
Sounds way more impressive than electronic ignition!!! 
6
« on: August 15, 2026, 12:28:24 PM »
So if my (weak) math is correct, and the "distributor" cam is spinning at engine RPM, at red line (10,000RPM) those points are opening/closing more than 166 times per second. Holy moly!!! Is that even possible or have I grossly mis-figured?
7
« on: August 15, 2026, 11:07:31 AM »
Thanks! I was never good at math anyway!!!
8
« on: August 15, 2026, 07:18:09 AM »
Good info guys, thanks!! I'll check out the carbs AND the actual RPM!! Am I correct that reading "frequency" across one set of points would indicate 1/2 of engine RPM? IOW, double that reading would be actual engine RPM?
9
« on: August 14, 2026, 06:01:54 PM »
Interesting re idle speed. On page 6 of the CB 350/400F service manual it states idle is set to 1200RPM. Was there a bulletin or something that revised it to 1000 RPM or have I missed something elsewhere in the service manual re idle speed (that's certainly quite possible!!!)?
10
« on: August 14, 2026, 11:52:59 AM »
THANKS!!! Hadn't thought about the ignition switch. I'll check that out tomorrow.
11
« on: August 14, 2026, 08:11:00 AM »
Once in a while my 400F will be idling smoothly at 1100-1200 RPM and suddenly quit. On pressing the start button it will restart instantly and idle smoothly once again. Some days it will do the "quit while idling" and other days it won't. When it occurs, it might do it after idling for 10 seconds or it might do it after idling for a minute or two . Or, more often, it never does it at all on a ride. It's not a problem since the bike restarts before I can even remove my finger from the start button. But I'm a bit anal that things should work as they are supposed to work! I can't figure out what would cause this, especially the very erratic nature of the occurrence...
12
« on: August 13, 2026, 01:01:58 PM »
I've had K82s on my 400F for two years now and they have been excellent. Very pleased with them. I haven't done a lot of wet roads with them but the few times i was caught in some rain I didn't notice any bad behavior.
13
« on: August 09, 2026, 06:52:57 AM »
1. The erratic running you describe is not a timing issue. 2. Your timing light is functionally as good as one that clamps around the spark plug wire; it's just a bit less convenient to connect. One could argue that it's MORE accurate since there is no delay while the sensor "figures" out there's a signal and sends a message for the light to flash. Of course, since this all that occurs at the speed of light over maybe 1/2 metre, it doesn't matter!!!
14
« on: August 08, 2026, 06:06:24 PM »
I agree, and using the timing light corresponds to Honda's instructions re timing adjustment on page 5 of the CB400F service manual. Your timing light will work fine to check the position of the associated timing marks at 1200 and at 2500 RPM.
15
« on: August 06, 2026, 05:48:18 AM »
That's the same unit DSS sells - though both Electrex and DSS are out of stock on them at the moment. I had thought about replacing my rectifier/regulator with one of these back when I first bought my 400F several years ago but since the OEM units were working fine (and still are) I decided to wait until they quit!
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