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Hi guys. This is my firs cafe racer project. A 1977CB400F
These pictures are from the first day we got the little Honda from my wife's uncle. He bought the bike brand new in 1977 in Iowa. The last time the bike was registered was in 1985. We got the bike in December 2009.
From a distance the bike really seemed to be in excellent shape. Once I started taking apart it showed the typical signs of a vehicle that has been sitting for some time. Nothing in too bad of a condition. At least the parts that I will keep on the bike anyway.
Here are some of the first pics.
Here the work begins. At that time we were not sure yet what kind of project it would be. Maybe a modern cafe racer or maybe a classic one. Maybe even a full blown restoration project. At least we knew that we have to start taking the little Honda apart.
Judging by the way they looked I had my doubts if they could come back to life. Like I said before, the bike sat for several years, I would guess at least 15 years. So the gas left in the tank did some damage to the carbs as expected. I think that was the first bike I’ve seen to run on some kind of varnish. Though little Honda.
Taking the carbs apart was not a big deal. I had to deal with some stubborn little screws, but in the end they all gave up on fighting. I addressed one carb at a time, otherwise I would have had a bunch of unnecessary parts left over.
I got the carb kit from Jerry Cycles. Great place to find parts for the little Honda. The kit came with a stock main jet (#75) which I used to do the rebuild at the time. Since I will be eliminating the stock air box completely and going with the single pods from K&N, I will need to replace the main jets, probably a #90 or #95. There will be a lot of mantling, dismantling, testing and adjusting in the future for sure.
Well. Enough talking. Some before and after are interesting, not to say scary!!
The bike now is completely taken apart. Priority #1 was to work on the tank so I will know if it could be repairable or if I had to order a new one.
Once the tank was done it was time to clean the engine to remove all the grime and nasty stuff on it. Some more before and after pics are cool. It's ready for priming and painting. It will become a satin black engine with some copper accents (if I can find the right color).
Engine has been primed and painted. Cleaning the engine was a pain in the butt. But after a couple of days fighting with that it was time to get the spray can out.
There are still a few touch ups and I am sure there will be a lot more once it goes back in the frame.
The alternator cover badge will be replaced but I went ahead and painted the old one just to see how it would look. Exhaust pipe, carburetors and brake calipers will match.
BTW. The engine hoist I borrowed form my brother-in-law has been a life saver.
This is the rolling chassis with the tank and seat.
Ninja EX250 front end and both wheels. Now the CB will have disk break in the rear and a better system at the front as well.
The headlight with H4 bulb is from China. Will see if that's gonna last.
New 16" Pirelli Diablo Scooter tires. They seem to be soft, which is a good thing.
The instrument cluster is original showing the 9,333 original miles on the bike. Just got the woodcraft clip-ons last week and they worked really well.
The bar end mirrors are kinda small but who needs to look back anyway?
Rear shocks are new also. The stock ones not only were old but also chromed.
Next step is to take it all apart and send the frame to be powder coated and the tank, seat and front fender to be painted.
I think this will do it for now. That's the current stage of the project (May 2011). Can't wait to ride the little honda.
I think I finally have the rearsets issue resolved. It was an issue because since I have started this project, there was no other component that I spend the most time thinking about than the rearsets.
I really thought at some point that I would be able to hacksaw the 3/8 aluminum plate and make my own without compromising the alloy. I am not talented enough for that, so it didn't happen. Also no one I know has a CNC machine to do it for me.
The last option would be to get the ones on the 400fourstore.com. Beautiful pieces of art but the cost was almost prohibitive for a budget built and considering that I only paid $500 for the bike. I even got to order but they were out of stock and would not be available for several weeks.
Due to my impatience, I came up with a simple but so far functional solution. A lot cheaper than the $480 rearsets I almost got. 1" P Clamps ordered from Precision Cycle here in Sarasota ($20 each), a pair of my good old gixxer 1000 stock rearsets and it finally seems to be done. It looks structurally sound but some testing will be required.
Got the frame back from the Powder Coating Company. It took them 28 days, instead of the 10 days promised. At least the parts are here and ready to begin assembly.
Assembly begun last Saturday (7/23). Engine placed in the frame.
Not a lot of progress that day since I had to order a pair of swing arm bushings. The powder coating company left them there and they got destroyed. Luckily Haps had the parts in stock (they were there since 1978). Haha:
Front suspension in place. New steering stem bearings were a pain to install but they got there with some persuasion. Forks in place as well. Kick stand also in place.
After I got the bushings for the swing arm it was an easy install. New shock in place too.
The rolling chassis with the engine and front end. Still deciding on the location of the clip ons. Now under the top triple clamp.
Getting there. Brake calipers and new pads installed. Still need the braided lines. This is all the progress for this weekend.
I am using the stock seat pan and attaching the seat cowl on it. I had to trim the metal pan in order to fit. See the pics below. These are just a mockup. The tank and seat are the last thing to go on the bike but I could not resist to see how it's gonna look like when it's done.
The project is finally complete. It took quite some time and sweat but it's done.
Took for a 3-mile test ride around the neighborhood and it ran quite well for a bike that was sitting for several months during the project and 25 years prior to that.
The exhaust is quite loud but it will do for now. Really happy with how it turned out. Time to ride it after registering next week.
Surffly,
For the rear wheel installation I used all the Ninja 250 spacers, including the rear brake caliper bracket. However, for the chain tensioner adjuster, I used the stock from the CB400F. The front sprocket is the stock 16T. The chain is a 535 DID and the rear sprocket is the Ninja 250 39T, 525 steel sprocket. The sprocket studs had to be cut by 1/4" in order to provide clearance at the swingarm. Other than that, it all fell into place and the alignment was spot on.
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