Down under, an idiot and a 400F

It's a big thing buying the rims, they are incredibly expensive with anodizing and SS spokes. Don't want to bugger it up.
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Hey Neevo! Too right mate! Having just ordered 2 alloy rims I've found the most important requirement has been the ability to grit your teeth and just do it!! The pain is only temporary (assuming you can avoid marital breakdown in the process) but the wheels will last a long, long time and the pleasure you will get every time you walk into the garage and see your awesome bike sitting there waiting to be ridden hard...well, what price can you put on that!? It's almost like you can't afford NOT to do it 8)
 
The real pain is less about the cost, although they are bloody expensive! It's more about getting the right width, wide enough for the look I want without compromising safety/handling.

I have no real plans to go racing around on the bike too much but it's good to be able to if you want :)

Like you said ducatiboy I just need to order the stuff, then make it work. The WM3 WM4.5 combo takes the tyres ok that fit on the bike, fingers crossed there are no rubbing/handling issues. Don't have another $400 to fix any issues.

At least I can admire the beauty in the garage, even if it is unsafe to ride ;)
 
Carbs have been acquired!!! Found a set of 350F carbs on eBay that I snapped up. They look in good condition and the plan is to strip them, clean them up and put back together with fresh o-rings and jets.

Can anyone suggest some places for carb bits? Should I buy a rebuild kit? What about needles and jets? They will be installed on a 466 kitted motor with shorty muffler.

Also I have a question about vapour blasting. I've found someone local who is incredibly well priced. He will be getting the carb bodies and engine cases. What should I do with the parts afterwards? I was going to leave the carb bodies as they were but I had planned on painting the cases natural Alu. Is this needed?

I want to keep the parts looking clean and like they have just come out of the mold. Thoughts are appreciated.
 
It will run, it's not a race bike.
You could get them bored,it's easy enough.
Find local model engineer, little mill and fly-cutter will work.
Not as fast as CNC set up but not impossible.
Just make sure they don't touch bottom of carb bore (just make slightly wider and higher)
Width can be 1mm smaller than slide diameter, height, level with bottom edge of slide at full throttle
I've run 490cc motors with stock 400 carbs (56mm bore)
Lot more torque, wheelies easy without touching clutch lever in second
 
Hey people, Neevo is in Australia, it probably isn't practical to ship carbs to Canada.
I don't know if the 250's mentioned are available in Oz? they don't exist in USA,Honda couldn't sell enough 600 Hornets to be viable, 250 has no chance
Stop being so damn 'local yokel', www. is WORLD wide web
 
CBR250 or Hornet carbs won't work on a 400f because those engines have the wrong intake port angle. Putting them on a horizontal port motor like the 400f would result in the fuel pouring back out into the airbox / pods.

Just stick with the 350 carbs mate - it will work OK ;)
 
Yeah I think I will rejet the 350 carbs and see if they are still lacking. Sure I can get them bored if required.
 
Bought me another sheet of steel during the week with the plan of finishing the seat panels:

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Also bought some 5mm plate which is going to replace the frame bracing and also act as the frame for the seat:

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Cut and positioned:

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The original brace is just there to stop the frame rails spreading, it will be removed once the new ones are put in. I plan on welding some nuts under the braces so I can drill through and attach the seat with some rubber washers in between and some flat headed bolts.

Also re did the seat section from my new sheet metal so it was made from 1 piece rather than 2:

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A very kind friend is going to help me weld my frame this weekend for the price of Wild Turkey cans. Will be doing the following:

1. Hoop
2. Lower frame repair
3. Rear frame repair
4. Reattaching side stand
5. Under frame rail tray
6. Nuts on seat braces
7. Seat braces

May also try and tack weld the seat a little so making the compound curve is a little easier :)
 
Swivel I agree about the holes and the original brace had a huge hole in it do that sounds like a good option.

My question is about the suggestion on where to brace, the original was no where near that far back so wondering how different my plan is. Also I am keen to have the extra height by welding on top of the rails, any suggestions on how I can achieve this other than welding another 5mm plate on top?

Here's stock:

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No probs Swivel. My brace is a little wider to cover where the shocks mount to reduce any potential flex there.

Hadn't thought about triangulation in the frame sections, is flex normally an issue there?
 
Maybe I need to drill some holes in mine :) My bike vibrates like an SOB.

On my XS it was recommended to add bracing between the side plates of the frame that carry the swingarm and the center tube of the frame to reduce flex in this area. You can see the two tubes added in the bottom pic.

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XS650Project20080611013.jpg

XS650Project20080610001.jpg

IMG_7480.jpg
 
2x1 box section would be stronger and lighter.
The front of seat/tank tubes are where the major flex happens and that is mainly coming from steering head area.
Go back to the link and look at the pics, red is 'bad' blue is 'OK'
http://www.denoonsp.com/cb400f-frame-bracing.htm


Tim, do you have enough clearance between swing arm and brace for drive chain?
 
The original 'plate' is pressed to give it some strength/stiffness.
Flat plate will not be rigid and will flex.
 
5mm actually Swivel, I think it's going to help to stiffen up the frame rails especially with 3 of them!

Passed a milestone today, went to see my chum Juha who helped me with the first round of welding. I now have a complete frame with no cuts or damaged sections:

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Side stand frame rail fixed:

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Rear frame rail fixed:

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Just grinding back the welds so it's neat when it finally gets powdercoated.

Also welded in the 3 frame rail braces, started with 2 but I was worried about flex in the seat as its only 1.5mm thick sheet metal, so an extra brace went in. The seat will sit on 6 rubber feet, 4 of which will have a bolt through them.

Braces, rear hoop and under tray welded on too:

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Under tray:

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I was going to weld nuts to the underside of the braces for the seat to mount into, but Juha had these rivet in style threads, awesome!!!!!!! And replaceable too if the threads get damaged:

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Tack welded the new lower profile seat bump too and cut off the excess, starting to look good:

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Gratuitous shots with the tank:

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Swivel any tips for tidying up the other welds around the tray? I want the welds to look tidy once it's powdered and I hear the powder is not as forgiving as I would hope.

I hit it with a sanding disc but it was hard to get it perfect because of the edge if the tray and curve of the frame rail.
 
Fair point about doing things the hard way, however I have never done anything like this before so I am making it up as I go along.

I definitely want to powder it though as I want a super gloss black all over the frame. Thanks for the sanding tips on the frame rails, currently using an orbital air tool which is fine on the rails but not very good on the welds on the tray.

The powder will be the last thing to happen, to make sure everything is good and no mods are needed. Don't want to be buggering about with a powdered frame as it would need to be done again.

Looking to build the bike up, get it roadworthy, then strip and powder and reassemble.
 
Will be scrapping the bends in the swingarm brace too, cutting out the straight sections and replacing the curves with pre bent sections. Will also be getting some extra tube to lift it up a bit more and add some strengthening sections on the sides too.
 
Heard it loud and clear re the chain clearance. Currently the brace is at the top of the old chain guard but I was keen to still run a lite guard and so will be lifting the brace about another inch, hence the extra tube needed.
 
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