I was bored so I bought a 1980 Honda CM400T

I bought the rearsets on eBay. Kinda pricey but they work well.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=110509490162

I had to drill out the rear passenger peg holes to fit the new rearsets. On the shift side I simply flipped the stock shift lever backwards. Its an ok length for me and works well. You just have to get used to one up four down shifting. Not too bad. I might bend it in a bit to make it more straight.

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On the brake side, I cut my stock brake rod to length, threaded the end, and bent it in an S shape to go around the shock. Flipped the brake lever on the wheel upside down and connected. It works pretty well. A little flex in the rod. I will probably replace this later with a better made one.

IMG_0801%20%28Large%29.JPG


Now as for the tuning... omg kill me now lol. It ran like absolute crap. After trying a bunch of different jets, configurations, etc I settled on stock 72 jet and increased the main from 118 to 128. It runs so so in mid but kicks in well in upper. It still is running like crap ie backfires on deceleration, popping in intake, running hot, etc so I know theres a long way to go. Since these carbs have a fixed pin I dont think Im going to be able to tune it properly, but Im going to keep trying to see how good I can get it.

On a side note, it looks like its leaking oil from either the chain tensioner bolt, or the cylinder base. aarrgh :(

I wonder can I use hondabond in place of standard gaskets on cylinder and head if I take it apart again?
 
Wow. Comprehensive. Thanks for all the info and pics! I gotta look into the rear sets sometime. As for the gasket.........I would just stick with the paper. No gunky clean up if you have to take off and put on the side covers. Just buy a few for each side.
 
idk about the cylinder gasket, might work, but for the head I've heard that the hondabond doesn't stand up to the compression or heat. A complete gasket set on ebay is very cheap, that's what I went for. But those with more experience than I may tell you differently.

Dan
 
Even with the fixed pin in the carbs, you can cut some metal shims to make it adjustable. Not easy to get them right, but possible.
 
+1! Good work!

What's up with the little filters under the tank pads? Breathers?
 
That's what I thought. I like em. Until the close up I thought they might be in the way of your knees but now I'm sure there's some room.
 
Mighty fine! ....How`s it running with that setup (cone filter + loud exhaust)have you rejetted,had the same on my cb400 and it didnt work at all,but ugly foamfilters and lownoise muffler got it to sing!
 
Can you explain how to take the shocks apart? Thats one thing thats been killing me! I can't figure out how to get those top caps off...

What do you do when you compress the springs?
 
Baby Shaun said:
Can you explain how to take the shocks apart? Thats one thing thats been killing me! I can't figure out how to get those top caps off...

What do you do when you compress the springs?
Click to expand...

Put a wrench on the nut below the top. Stick a socket extension in the eye of the shock, hold the wrench and unscrew the top, the shock comes apart without compressing springs, just make sure your preload is at the lowest setting. to get the wrench on the nut, you have to put it in down lower in the spreing the turn it through the coil until it gets to the top of the shock. To put them back together you can lean on the spring enough to get the top thread started and just crank it back on.

Cheers,

Maritime
 
Shaun: I made a rig using some 2x4 and a winch tie-down. I put the tie-down through the spring and secured with a screwdriver. Then I just winched the tie-down to compress the spring and expose the nut that I needed to access to take em apart. Just be careful when winching and compressing that spring. It tends to want to jump up at ya! Have a buddy hold it down while you loosen the nut.

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or maybe something like these....if you think you may do that more than once in your life..

Buuut, seeing as how this thread is ancient, something tells me you figured something out...
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I gotta a question for you, even though its been a year now that you've posted on this blog. Ive choped/ bobbed a 1980 Honda CM400T and im running into an issue right now with with the tune. i have the same air filter/exhaust setup you have and me and my tuner have set the needles and its close. it starts and idles decent, but at mid range rpm/cruise its choppy and in the final gear up a hill it runs out of power. down shifting is necessary,,,,, not acceptable.. the engine has passed all tests and the carbs are prime so im left to believe the problem lies with the jetting was wondering what you had come up with i built the bike from ground up and im anxious to ride it. hopping for your help
 
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