CB400f Shock Disassembly

You are absolutely right with everything you have said. Harley has always built tractors and I am almost proud of the fact the little is left on mine that is factory. As far as value goes most of the money spent on this build was in 1977 and I have less than $7k in it. By the time I am done I may have $9-$10K in it but it was appraised a few years ago at upwards of $40K, so I will easily get my moneys worth out of it should I decide to sell, which I will at the first offer in that neighborhood, but I don't see a line forming to my right with buyers with cash in hand. This bike would probably sell to someone like Jay Leno who actually understands it's real value. Most Harley guys look at and haven't a clue at what they are looking at. When it was street machine in Ca. in the 70's my license plate said "HRLYSSK" (Harleys Suck)
The newer Screaming Eagle 1250 kit for Sporties are putting down 100hp, but the bikes weight close to 600lbs.
 
You didnt get the anwser you wanted and became agessive on the first page then when you got called on it you started tring to.prove your relevance with that race bike thing i seen it all befor. a harley guy that thinks his bike is the be all.end all. gotcha i could have went to a half way house, any bar, or a union meeting and got the same "my harley speech" people were tring to.help.you and you got pist and set the tone for this thread.
 
mydlyfkryzis said:
If you aren't into the Harley History, then Harley has little to offer. Resale value is a joke. Unless it appreciates in value, which they do not, then there is no positive outcome.

Not sure what you're trying to say here, but over here in Oz HD has the best resale value of any make. Probably something to do with the quotas we get shipped (there's up to a 12 month waiting list for some models).

You can walk into a HD dealer over here and the used bikes on the floor are selling for only a few hundred $$$ less than the brand new bikes.
 
I paid $700 for my 76 CB360 in 1978 with 1200 Miles on it.

It is worth about $3000 now that it is restored and running.

It appreciated nicely.

I paid $2k for my 91 NH750 9 years ago. Still worth 2K... Not too shabby either.

My 750, Stock, is faster than nearly every STOCK Harley too. Handles better too.

If I put 10K into it, it would really rock, and still be half the price, and 1/2 the weight of a Harley, and 1/5 of the volume.

Harley's have the aficionado's, but if you are more inclined to performance, than style, they really don't offer that much.

Harleys in the states are more of a lifestyle type of bike. They offer status (cost) and Bling. If that is your thing, Harley has a bike just for you.

But no vehicle is a good investment item. Not one that is used for transportation. I wouldn't buy any vehicle new as an investment, or used either.

Even a Bugatti loses value if you drive it. Well used Harley's are rare, at least around here, but they don't command a premium. It's the ones that the Dentist buy and park in their garage, ride it three times, put $10k of chrome goodies on, that have high sticker prices, but they still aren't getting their investment back.

A $33k motorcycle, with $10k of accessories, selling for $35K, is not appreciation.

No rant intended, but Harleys aren't any more special in the resale then any other bike. They just have more numbers in the price tags all around.

When the economy is down, the value of them drops just like everything else.

In OZ, HD's are "imported" so there is some cache to that.
 
I Oz EVERY bike is imported ;D

HD's hold their re-sale value over here better than any other bike. That's why accountants buy them.

I'm talking new bikes, BTW.

And I'm not saying I like them either......
 
This is what I was doing with the shocks. When I pulled them apart they had good rebound and absolutely no compression. So as mentioned I will mock one on the bike to compare color and then hang the before and after pair on the showroom wall to show what can be done with powder coating:
 
VonYinzer said:
In the end, they're still just the barely functional stock Honda shocks. Just my opinion, but your money would be better suited going towards some nice aftermarket performance suspension.
What part of " they are going to be hung on the showroom wall" did you not understand?
 
Perhaps I'm incorrect but until that last post, there was no mention of hanging them up but only cleaning and powdering them. I'm thinking that's why he "didn't understand"
 
ABCanuck said:
Perhaps I'm incorrect but until that last post, there was no mention of hanging them up but only cleaning and powdering them. I'm thinking that's why he "didn't understand"
You're right. I was jumping back and forth between a couple of forums. It was on the other site that I was questioned on why I was coating these worn out shocks and not putting my money into a more modern shock. My apologies to you others. VonZ just likes jumping in my chit for no reason without ever offering anything constructive. I see he has since deleted that reply. I will add though, that he did offer correct wisdom on my money being better spent on newer shocks like someone on the other forum mentioned. We were all on the same page. I spent zero dollars coating these. It is what I do for a living so while waiting on things in the oven I decided to go ahead and coat one to see what it looked like on the bike color wise and then use them as display pieces.

I made the same forum jumping error on the discussion on fiberglass tanks being illegal. I posted there that I had never heard of glass tanks being illegal and someone like yourself came on and said they hadn't seen anyone mention legality. That's when I realized the legality question was here. Apparently I'm just okay at multitasking. :)
 
Cool. Just thought I would chime in as this thread had enough tension as is earlier haha. Powdered shocks looked great by the way. Makes me that much more excited for when my gun gets here. Hopefully this week :-)
 
It still amazes me that you can a take rusty old POS part and in less than an hour make it look freakin awesome again. That's why I love what I do for a living.
 
Ya that's what I enjoy about it too. I used to restore and paint grain elevators and its pretty rewarding to see the transformation. Little different scale mind you haha
ebu7ede3.jpg
 
ABCanuck said:
Ya that's what I enjoy about it too. I used to restore and paint grain elevators and its pretty rewarding to see the transformation. Little different scale mind you haha
ebu7ede3.jpg

Can I see an after pic of that elevator? ;D
 
Ouch! Haha. For whatever reason they wanted that nasty red/brown. Plus it was a satin latex that goes on crazy heavy. Pretty much chocolate pudding. Great for sealing 50-100 yr old boards but looks like crap compared to an oil base. Don't have a before of the big valley one. Paint was about like this.

yzuqu8u6.jpg


But enough of the worst thread jack ever.
 
It's my thread so it's ok. The original issue was solved so no biggie. My first job ever when I was about 14-15 was painting barns in that same thick red barn paint. I hated it but it was money. In those pics are they 2 different very similar building or the same one with another building built in front later?
 
Different towns close to where I live. Esther didn't have an office which is the attached building. Other than that they are identical. Most of them, unless they had additional bins, are 36x36 plus the drive (where the trucks pull through). My brother and I could paint one coat in 4 hours by the end. Two coats and then the lettering. Money was very good for young guys not in the oil patch. Made 48k one summer. Paid for school, brand new triumph, a month in Cali and two weeks in the Dominican. That was a good year :-)
 
How in the hell could you possibly paint all that in 4 hours?
Painting with a pressure washer? hahah
 
Basically ya! High pressure wands running around 4000 psi with 21 tips. Takes a 175cfm compressor to run the two guns. So your pushing a lot of paint. Think that one was 120 gallons a coat. Guy on the ground paints the bottom 12 feet and mixes paint, in an extra large garbage can :-)
 
ABCanuck said:
Basically ya! High pressure wands running around 4000 psi with 21 tips. Takes a 175cfm compressor to run the two guns. So your pushing a lot of paint. Think that one was 120 gallons a coat. Guy on the ground paints the bottom 12 feet and mixes paint, in an extra large garbage can :-)

Awesome
 
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