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Post by alankelly on Jan 18, 2020 20:51:36 GMT 1
Evening all Always has a soft spot for the CB400/4 And after a chat with the darling wife I am now a proud owner of a red 1977 bike. The bike itself is reasonably tidy and is running ok and even came with,when I opened up the seat, the original tool kit and a 43 year old owner’s manual 😳😳 The bike could do wilt a bit of work here and there and first thoughts were to restore it to an original bike, but to be honest I thought the same when I got the original “project bike” for the Yellow RD350LC project but I would rather have something that is still in keeping with the period but also has a few personal unique touches / changes Took it out for a quick ride today and the front brake is totally carp and is In dire need of either repair of replacement so first change will be to look at the possibility to replace the complete front disc brake with a more modern single piston floating calliper twin disc set up off a bike from the mid 80s just to keep the period look Once this is done and she has had a good check over (and a mot just to tick the box for insurance proposes as it’s not been for a mot since 2012) then I will use her for the summer in its current state while getting other goodies such as a Yoshi cyclone exhaust, ally rims and stainless spoke kit electronic ignition and a few other bits and bobs in preparation for the end of summer where it will be time for a complete strip and rebuild from the ground up just like the RD In the meantime will keep you all up to date on how goes including the front disc upgrade Best wishes Al
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Post by veg on Jan 18, 2020 22:13:24 GMT 1
Looks lovely al, restoration is over played, mich rather see something used and enjoyed
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Post by alankelly on Jan 18, 2020 22:20:30 GMT 1
Thanks veg
Yes I think restored originals are a bit too much for me
I think when they were new like the rd everybody put their “signature” on their bike
A mate at work had a yellow one with the cibe headlight conversion sports exhaust Boyer ignition and a dolphin fairing with rear sets and clip ons
It looked the biz to me as a Tomas moped riding 16 year old 😍😍
Best wishes Al
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Post by donkeychomp on Jan 19, 2020 0:05:49 GMT 1
Love it! Fishy brakes I have mentioned earlier lol. Get those ghastly red anodised bolts out first! And is the zorst the original one? If so I'd keep it or at least hang onto it if you ever sell the bike. They are unobtanium these days. Good luck with it!
Alex
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Post by alankelly on Jan 19, 2020 0:17:51 GMT 1
Evening Alex
Thanks for the comments
Yes she needs a bit of work and the exhaust is a motard that will be swapped out for the Yoshi pipe during the rebuild
As for the red bolts yes they need to come out ASAP but let’s sort the front brake first😀
Best wishes Al
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Post by donkeychomp on Jan 19, 2020 0:36:38 GMT 1
Thing is I've ridden one of these ages ago. The brakes seemed fine to me. I reckon you either need to ride another 400/4 to see...or strip the lot down and do a rebuild.
Alex
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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CB400/4
Jan 20, 2020 22:50:36 GMT 1
Post by Deleted on Jan 20, 2020 22:50:36 GMT 1
I too have a soft spot for them . Had a ride on one when I was 15 after a year or so on a cb100. One thing that really stands out for me is the standard pipes. I think I read somewhere that silverspoons purchased all the tooling awhile back for the original pipe. Hopefully it's not a figment of my imagination. Great bike. Wish it was mine.
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Post by alankelly on Jan 22, 2020 21:35:59 GMT 1
Hi all Well decided to take the plunge and convert the CB 400/4 to a twin disc front end😎 I know it’s not original but really like the symmetry of a twin disc front end and bike was alway going to be slightly different from original anyway There’s a bit of way to go yet as to get the correct fork length the fork assemblies are 400/4 stanchions / damper assemblies with CB400N lower sliders that will need the lower section of the stanchions modifying to incorporate the later Honda design that has a spilt bush on the bottom of the stanchion that runs in the slider bore rather than the complete stanchion leg Also hub and discs will need some changes as original disc is a four bolt mounting and the donor discs are five (And the plain discs will be drilled at some point too) Lastly due to the extra disc the speedo drive willl need a tweaking to get the drive past the extra disc, But none of the above are impossible to solve and I have alway enjoyed the challenge of solving problems )Also having access to a full tool room helps😀 😀) Plus the bike it will stop much better than the original pivot design👍 Catch up with you all soon Best wishes Al
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Post by lolly on Jan 23, 2020 10:19:47 GMT 1
i am with you on twin disc ; single disc just doesn't look right
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Post by Tobyjugs on Jan 26, 2020 8:53:02 GMT 1
Happy Birthday Alan.
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Post by alankelly on Jan 26, 2020 9:06:28 GMT 1
Thanks mate
52 and still going 😀😀
Best wishes Al
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CB400/4
Jan 27, 2020 21:16:28 GMT 1
Post by cb250g5 on Jan 27, 2020 21:16:28 GMT 1
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Post by markhoopy on Jan 27, 2020 22:26:03 GMT 1
i am with you on twin disc ; single disc just doesn't look right Doesn't look right on the 400/4 .. or 500/4 .. 550/4 .. or the CB750 either. Were Honda just scrimping to keep list prices down or did they think gentle braking would suffice?
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Post by alankelly on Jan 29, 2020 20:18:35 GMT 1
Hi all Just a quick update Managed to dry fit the twin disc set up on the bike and all looks good so far As for the fork stanchions as I mentioned they needed a modification so that they match the original CB400N forks so they will work with the CB400N lower sliders, so spent some time in the workshop today modifying the ends to match the original CB400N forks stanchions Plan now as the stanchions are finished are the get them off to Brooks for rechroming and while they are away sort out the rest of the modifications like modifying the front hub from a 4 bolt disc mount to a five to match the new discs and refurb the rest so when the parts are back from Brooks I am in a position to fully rebuild the complete fork and brake assembly Think thats all for now Best wishes Al
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Post by alankelly on Feb 12, 2020 22:05:23 GMT 1
Hi all. Well the saga of fitting twin disc to my project CB400F continues To be honest its not an easy change and requires lots of slight changes and modifications. And due to the twin disc set up the original speedo drive does not fit as the second disc gets in the way of the cable run[emoji34] But after a bit of thought problem solved[emoji106] So decided to fit a drive from a CB400N also (as it’s the same ratio as a original CB400F unit) but it’s not a straight fit due to me wanting to keep the original CB400F front hub[emoji34] Needed to do a few modification to the drive itself as the original width was 32mm but it needed to machine it down to 28mm to suit the CB400F hub width, so have now modified the drive to this new width that including modification to the housing and drive gear Also due the the original hub design I lost the original drive dogs so designed and 3D printed at home a new drive dog part in an engineering nylon and then attached the to the original hub with two tapped M3 screws And then the speedo drive simple mounts on this new driver dog plate Really please with the final result and now have a fully sorted speedo drive[emoji106] Next step is to finish the dry build of the front end and then once happy get the sliders powercoated and finish the rebuild of the front end Think that is all for now Catch up with you all soon Best wishes Al Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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Post by donkeychomp on Feb 13, 2020 0:09:25 GMT 1
Wow. Top work matey but why not just slap on an entire Wet Dream front end? But credit to you, I know your engineering skills first hand. Always perfect. What's the next job to do?
Alex
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Post by alankelly on Feb 13, 2020 9:42:15 GMT 1
Hi Alex
Thanks for the reply
No did not want to fit a complete wet dream front end as wanted to keep spoked wheels and not fit those horrible comstar wheels that would look so out of place on a 1970’s bike so needed to get the CB400N speedo drive to work with the original CB400F front hub
As for the next job got new alloy rims and stainless spokes on order to replace the corroded originals and decided to build them myself so off to make a wheel jig and going to learn how to lace up a new wheel 👍
Should be fun😁😁😁
Catch up soon
Best wishes Al
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CB400/4
Feb 14, 2020 21:45:09 GMT 1
Post by rich on Feb 14, 2020 21:45:09 GMT 1
Very nice job, love reading stuff like this
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CB400/4
Mar 16, 2020 23:40:20 GMT 1
Post by donkeychomp on Mar 16, 2020 23:40:20 GMT 1
Any more news on this?
Alex
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Post by alankelly on Mar 17, 2020 21:25:59 GMT 1
Hi Alex Progress bit slow at the moment as have been doing other stuff but got the rechromed stanchions back from Brooks this week so can start to finish of the front end But while waiting for the stanchions I have been doing some other small jobs like made up a splitter for the twin disc/ calipers set up the other day that uses the original brake light switch so I can keep the original brake master look and planning to model up a cover to fit over this assembly The original front headlight was not great, but as I wanted a different look from a original bike going to move away from original and playing around with possibly fitting something like this with more better looking indicators Also on the go I am currently rebuilding the original clocks And lastly got the new alloy rims the other day from CWS So like I said progress is a bit slow at the moment but lots of jobs progressing well And think it won’t be long before I am home full time so will have plenty to do when in self isolation in the garage That’s about all for now But to everyone keep safe and wish you all good health to you your family and friends Best wishes always Al
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CB400/4
Mar 17, 2020 23:44:24 GMT 1
Post by donkeychomp on Mar 17, 2020 23:44:24 GMT 1
Those clocks look amazing! Did you cut out the redline and make a new one?
Alex
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Post by alankelly on Mar 18, 2020 9:35:43 GMT 1
Hi Alex
Yes very please with how the clocks came out as I love the look of the original Honda clocks and central pilot light assembly
The actual faceplates were replaced with a new set supplied by a company in the Netherlands called CB750faces.com and they have also supplied me two new glass bezels too, as the originals were badly scratched and lastly they also stock the replacement rubber boot for the speed trip reset knob,so once finished they should look like new
Catch up again soon
Best wishes Al
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Post by alankelly on Mar 21, 2020 16:08:25 GMT 1
Speedo and tachometer finally finished and fitted Just the brake callipers to rebuild and a few other bits to sort or tidy so the bike looks presentable and then she’s ready for a mot and summertime Best wishes Al
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Post by donkeychomp on Mar 22, 2020 0:06:54 GMT 1
Sweet!
Alex
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CB400/4
Mar 22, 2020 15:21:36 GMT 1
Post by guiri on Mar 22, 2020 15:21:36 GMT 1
Nice work mate.. but its just screaming out for original down pipes which are the identity of these bikes..its what sets them apart..
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Post by alankelly on Mar 22, 2020 15:26:43 GMT 1
Hi Yes those pipes were unique and sexy But as it’s going to be a bit of a hybrid like the front disc change and the plan to fit alloy rims planning to fit these as the next phase of changes as alway nice to have something a bit different from the norm Best wish Al
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CB400/4
Mar 22, 2020 22:29:29 GMT 1
via mobile
Post by midlifecrisisrd on Mar 22, 2020 22:29:29 GMT 1
Speedo and tachometer finally finished and fitted Just the brake callipers to rebuild and a few other bits to sort or tidy so the bike looks presentable and then she’s ready for a mot and summertime Best wishes Al Clocks look brilliant I've just checked and that place does GT750 clock parts too so happy days 😀 How did you find opening and crimping the rings? Did you buy new ones Steve
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Post by alankelly on Mar 22, 2020 22:49:18 GMT 1
Hi Steve No in the end I decided to reused the old rings and also found opening and recrimping was not a problem after looking at this as this tutorial on YouTube But I did make a special tool on the lathe at work out of a piece of nylon and get a large pipe clip like I saw in the videos to allow you to both remove the ring without damaging it, and also you can use the white ring tool to fully support the fully assemble clock like in the video to prevent damage to the new painted clock surrounds while you push over / recrimp the ring 👌 Also providing you take your time the recrimped ring is hidden by the new damper rings so it does not need to be perfectly flat Now that the clocks are finished and I don’t think I will need these tools again so if you want I can post the bits to you so you can use them as I think my shed is already full of bits and bobs I no longer need 😳 Best wishes always Al
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Post by tony2stroke on Mar 23, 2020 0:42:36 GMT 1
A good job well done, kudos
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CB400/4
Mar 23, 2020 16:19:18 GMT 1
via mobile
Post by midlifecrisisrd on Mar 23, 2020 16:19:18 GMT 1
But I did make a special tool on the lathe at work out of a piece of nylon and get a large pipe clip Now that the clocks are finished and I don’t think I will need these tools again so if you want I can post the bits to you so you can use them as I think my shed is already full of bits and bobs I no longer need 😳 Best wishes always Al That would be brilliant Al I've got 3 sets of GT clocks to do now There was a set on the bike that the glass was broken and needle missing so I bought another Speedo Then I bought a complete set of clocks but the inside of the glass needs cleaned Then I bought a "mint" set with only 3k miles on them. Pity en route from America they have been upside down and all the dust from inside made it's way onto the glass of the tacho 🙄 With those bits I can make 3 good sets with a few parts from the cb750 site I'll send you a pm Steve
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