Topic: My CB400F story....

[jeff kushner]

 Hi guys,
No matter which forum I'm on, we all like "acquisition stories" so here's mine and why I have joined your very talented group...
I am located in MD and have restored, acquired, collected dozens over the years but yesterday, I came across a real classic that I couldn't walk away from. Mostly my collection is made of 2 strokes but I also have a yammy turbo and a venerable CB350 (same as my first bike).  I found the following C/L ad yesterday:
**************
Motorcycle is in need of restoration. It is all there, but rusty. Only 6300 original miles, but may only good for scrap. Have title, willing to give up for free.
Chrome is pitted, tires are flat. Engine turns over. Gas tank looks fine, plastic looks fine.
**************
I wrote to the seller and told him that I wouldn't take it unless I honestly believed that I could restore it to it's former glory since I didn't really need another project. I also refused to take it for free if it was worth restoring. That must have convinced him to let me come and look at it. I was shocked to receive this picture from him! It is a CB400F with less then 6400 original miles.  He rode it less then 400 miles after he bought it, then parked it where it's been since.

My daughter and I drove over to his house last night. I was amazed....the bike is complete, needs a set of handlebars and muffler from what I could tell just looking at it in a large garage lit only by a 40w bulb but the tank is perfect inside and out as are the side covers and seat. The front fender felt fine but he said there's a scratch on it somewhere. I asked him how he kept the tank so nice and he said when he bought it, he knew it was going to be a while before he would be able to get to it so he drained the tank and carbs. He removed the plugs and sprayed the cylinders too! The engine turns over and I might, might even get away with not having to do the tedious task of rebuilding the crabs although all the tubing will be replaced as a matter of routine for me on a old bike. The seller is a prince of a man who told me that he had received well over 50 emails yesterday!
He bought it and has owned it since 1978 hoping to one day get time to restore it but realized that day would never come so he was more interested in giving/selling it to someone who would put it back on the road....a perfect project for my GF and I! He had no idea what it was worth so I told him that even in this condition it was worth several hundred dollars and I asked if he would accept 200. I just didn't have the heart to offer any less even though he was offering it for free. It's just too nice to have taken advantage of him by trying to get it for nothing.  I paid him the grand sum of $200 and took the signed title. I'll go pick it up this evening and I'm stoked. I was planning on doing my H1F next but I'm going to slide it to the side and do this one first since it's going to take very little to get it right. Maybe my GF will be able to ride it for her test later this summer!

Yeah, it's not a triple like most of my bikes but it was too good to pass up. Sometimes, we got to get a classic just because.... so I'm hoping that when I come to those "stuck points", you guys will be able to help me out so I can get this beauty back on the road where it belongs.

jeff

[mono]

welcome and nice find!   

[toytuff]

Welcome. Yeah, great find. Another survivor!

tt

[MoMo]

Welcome, and you did a very honorable thing- those always come back...Larry

[Stormer]

Welcome from Brazil, very nice find!

[jeff kushner]

Welcome, and you did a very honorable thing- those always come back...Larry

 Thanks guys, I appreciate it......and I agree Larry, what goes around......


I knew all of us can appreciate a story like that. I know that I am a smoker at heart but I love small bikes. That's my biggest gripe about my vstrom is that it's just too big and heavy. The RD's and smaller CB's are more fun at 60mph then most bigger bikes at higher speeds. I rode one of these trackside many years ago and "smooth" was what I remember best. Not super fast or explosive like some of the modified 2 strokers but it handled like a dream and was very smooth....and at the track, smooth = fast laps.

I went and picked it up in my truck last night even though I shouldn't be driving it at all due to the rusted rear supports but I just knew it had one more short trip in her. I was greatly relieved when I got back home though.
I had taken a spare  12v bike battery and emerg compressor and both tires held air which made it easier to move but I'll be replacing them anyway.

Wheeling the bike out of Tommy's garage and into the light of course revealed a lot more but I had prepared myself for the worse so I was pleasantly surprised. The tank, seat and side covers are indeed perfect as are the controls and even the carb slides move. The headlight shell and all four signals are good.  The wheels and the vertical portion of the fork covers have some mild rust but we'll see how they come out once they been brushed with my secret sauce. The fork tubes also have some rust but thankfully, it's all above the travel so they may be ok too once I remove and polish them. I did make a mistake above though, the REAR fender felt fine, the front will need replacement. I guess the accumulation of dust and moisture caused the rust over the years.

I did a bit or reading on them yesterday after joining here to figure out exactly what I have and get the production numbers cause I'm always curious about that kind of stuff. The info I found was a little confusing but it looks like I have a CB400F1 Overall, they built 38,000 original "F"'s ('75), around 8280 F1's('76) and 4,100 F2's ('77) for the US market but it was also shipped to many other countries and total worldwide was around 105K total units built over the 3 year model run.

So that's it....and I'll post up when I get it completed but Kerry(my GF) reminded me to take some pics BEFORE I start since I usually forget that part.

Thanks again for the nice "welcome" and if anyone needs anything, just holler and I'll help if I can and will tell you I can't if I don't know....instead of pretending I do<LOL>

jeff

[MoMo]

You are not all that far away from my house in Gap.  I may have an extra front fender and I do have a baby 2smoker(66 Suzi s32) . Have fun with the project, I am building a 400f for cancer awareness-it has been a very long project(over a year to me is long) and still time and money to invest...Larry

[jeff kushner]

You are not all that far away from my house in Gap.  I may have an extra front fender and I do have a baby 2smoker(66 Suzi s32) . Have fun with the project, I am building a 400f for cancer awareness-it has been a very long project(over a year to me is long) and still time and money to invest...Larry

Hi Larry,

Pretty cool to be building a raffle bike. No, you aren't that far and you're lucky to live in some of the best riding country on the East coast. I ride up to White Rose for their events and to Gettysburg with my GF every summer. I appreciate the offer for the fender since I know I'm going to need it. I'm not sure if I'm going to buy a new one or try to get a nice used one but when you get a chance, shoot me a pm and let me know what you want for it plus shipping and I should be able to let you know for sure by the end of the long weekend coming up. I don't want to leave you hanging.  I'm hoping to draft someone to help me get it out of the back of my Expedition so I can get it out without damaging it.  Once I get it out, then I'll remove the tank and seat before firing up the HP washer. I usually give them a good bit of soapy sponge and rinse from a few feet away so I don't soak down the electrics of tear the paint off then I'll screw in a feeder pot full of baking soda and blast the engine pretty hard. I found that it works pretty well to remove a lot of the stains and to brighten the aluminium but again, got to be careful not to hit any frame or other painted parts.

take care,

jeff