Topic: Honda CB400 four: Ver. 8.0 for Cancer Awareness ON EBAY NOW

[MoMo]

Couple members have suggested I start another build thread so here goes.  Only other build I documented was the Red Rider frame replacement-being a mild computard it takes a lot of time for me to download photos and type that it seems to me that I'm wasting time and get very frustrated. I will persevere until the end.

This is called version 8.0 because it is the eigth 400 four I have owned, 7th that I have redone for myself(think I've done two others for customers).  The end result is a bike that will either be donated or sold for a cancer charity.  I am not sure how to go about that so if anyone has ever done it any advice or help will be greatly appreciated. My wife died 6 years ago from lung cancer, 22 years of marriage and 52 years old . 

No photos exist of the first 400 that was  ruby red.  It was purchased from a friend back in the late 70s and was complete with handlebar fairing/windshield(probably a Shoei), Bates? black plastic saddlebags complete with sissy bar.  It was my only  mode of transportation so the cruising stuff really came in handy.  I remember one trip when  I went into the heart of West Philly((I probably was the only white person there) to buy some darkroom equipment-I had two paper safes, an easel and various other stuff strapped  to the saddle bags and luggage rack(looked like the Honda version of the Clampetts .  I went everywhere on that bike and eventually sold it back to my friend.  He sold it but is longing for another if he ever gets financially stable.  Have to stop as it is taking forever to type-I hit a key and there is a delay before it shows ...Larry

[Bankerdanny]

I look forward to following along.

[MoMo]

A bit more background on Ver. 1.0.  Looking back on it it sure was fugly with the black plastic fairing, black saddlebags and high sissy bar with the big black back rest.  I searched the web for photos of something similar but I guess no one else was dumb enough to convert a semi-genuine cafe racer to a mini-touring bike. I was only 140lbs. at the time so I usually stuck with small to mid-size bikes for my daily riders.  TX500,  Seca 650, CB350, etc.

I look forward to following along.

Thanks,  I intend to go through all previous versions before I start on 8.  I have photos of most versions and 8 is actually close to finished but I have taken some photos along the way.  I have enough parts to make ver. 9 but lack a title so it won't be started unless a title can be sourced at a reasonable price(I am frugal as you'll probably be able to tell from my future posts on this topic)....Larry

[Tews19]

Thanks for sharing this build and subscribed!

[Stev-o]

Subscribed. 
Sorry to hear you lost your wife, I didn't know. My wife lost her father to cancer so it something that is always on our mind.
We would be be happy to help you get info on how to donate the money once the sale is made.
(You may have my address, just send me the money! Kidding)

[wowbagger]

Subscribing as well and I'm truly sorry to hear about your wife. I've lost two grandparents to cancer and my Mom is currently being treated for precancerous issues.

As far as the title for #9 goes, there was a thread a while back about getting a new title through Vermont. Here in Maine we don't need titles for anything older than 1995. Though, to get a title for an old bike it's just a matter of applying for one and paying the fee. I'd be willing to help get it titled here if you want. Then, I'll just sign it over to you. No charge other than the state fees ($30-$40). Check with your local DMV first to see what would be involved with buying an out of state bike.  Let me know if I can help.

[MoMo]

Steve, thanks for the offer, I'll be in contact via pm when it gets close to completion(painter has had the tank for 2 months

wowbagger,  I appreciate the offer of help getting a title and may take you up on it(I need to inventory what I have and make sure there  are enough parts for ver. 9 without going into serious expense(400f parts seem to be made out of gold).

Ver. 1 was sold sometime in the late 70s or early 80s and replaced with the worst motorcycle I ever owned( a 1982? Yamaha 650 Seca) slow as molasses, heavy and got poor mileage.  Outside of those drawbacks it was a somewhat decent looking bike.  I put a small Vetter fairing and luggage rack on it and rode it for 40K in the couple of years I had it before I got married in 1984 and sold it, becoming bikeless until my wife died in 2007.  Over 22 years without riding but that was an unspoken part of the marriage agreement.  When she died I took my two teenage children to Chincoteaque VA just to get away for a week, while there I bought a CB450 dohc off Ebay, fixed it up and sold it for 1300, bought another 450 and sold it for the same plus i received yet another 450 as partial payment.  I wound up owning 8 Honda CB450 dohc.






The 450 really is a fun bike, good power but a bit top heavy and quite the vibrator.  After my run with the dohc 450s I bought  CB400F versions 2and3  from a Craigslist ad  for the total sum of 1200.  When I called to get directions I found the owner lived no more than two miles from me and was willing to deliver both bikes and all the extra stuff.  Also, it was that  we both worked at Montgomeryville Cycle Center back in theearly 80s, but our paths never crossed.  His brother was killed in a cycle accident leaving a party that had been held at the shop.  It was not uncommon to have drug and alcohol events( during the 70s we even drank during work

Both bikes did not run but had clear titles and were complete,   although partially assembled and stored in a basement.  I sold both bikes for 2500 each





Only photos I have of both bikes.  Header and fenders had been painted by the PO-I do like the black fenders but should have painted the muffler to match the header. On to ver. 4.0 either tomorrow or the following...Larry

[70CB750]

Subscribed.

[RAFster122s]

Larry, was the ruby red the candy ruby red metallic color? If so, my '70 S90 is that color. The March '68 through end of production S90 were painted in that color or the Candy Sapphire Blue.

[MoMo]

Larry, was the ruby red the candy ruby red metallic color? If so, my '70 S90 is that color. The March '68 through end of production S90 were painted in that color or the Candy Sapphire Blue.

A friend painted both tanks on vers. 2 and 3 for $400 using a color that he custom mixed to get as close as possible to the original.  I think the three 400F colors were ruby red, varnish blue and parakeet yellow.  Red was the fastest, yellow second and blue the slowest

[MoMo]

Ver. 4.0 was another Craigslist find, for the princely sum of $125 I purchased a  non-running CB400f  complete with Vetter fairing, luggage rack and a title.  Sold the fairing(only Vetter fairing that I was able to sell ) for $45 and the luggage rack for $75-should have gotten more as it was immaculate and made to fit the 400f.  Problem with the bike was the PA title was not signed by the owner who had the bike previous to the person I bought it from. I managed to find a way around that(probably not a legal way either ). Bought tires, had my friend paint it varnish blue and applied lots of time and elbow grease.  Probably spent a total of 500$ after breaking even with the purchase price and parts I sold that were pretty much equal in value to the cost of the bike. Sold the bike for $2200

Have a few photos(I had photos of many of the first builds but I had a computer crash and lost all that info )





 That is all for ver. 4.0

[MoMo]

Ver. 5.0 was yet another Craigslist find, for the outrageous sum of $125 I purchased a titled(albeit totally disassembled) 1975 400 four. I mean totally taken part by the owner's brother, who had unfortuneately died at a very early age from alcohol complications. He took everything apart-carbs, motor, wheels.  I had box after box of stuff that had been stored in a basement that did not have outside access, so we had to cart all the pieces and boxes  up the cellar steps, through the living room and out the front door. I was able to stuff everything in a Blazer.  The alcohol must have led him to take everything apart and fanatically polish most every part-crankcases, hubs, carbs tops and bowls, master cylinder(it was so beautifully done I sold it for more than I paid for the bike).  On my bikes I am not a fan of the highly polished look-too much work for my liking. I'd rather put the time to something else(like working on another bike).   I used a motor from another bike I had and reassembled the bike, bought tires, had it painted parakeet yellow , put in the normal hundred or so hours and sold it for 2500 on Ebay Also, sold tons of new parts that the brother had purchased for at least another $500 . 

I do have several photos left of it...Larry














That's all folks ...Larry

[Stev-o]

I'm not normally a yellow guy but that parakeet looks good. Nice work.

[MoMo]

I'm not normally a yellow guy but that parakeet looks good. Nice work.

thanks for the compliment Steve.  I never liked the yellow either but I had done the red and blue so naturally I needed to do yellow.  After doing it I really started to like the color. It is highly visible, that's a great safety factor.  I even managed to find a Schott yellow, black and white leather jacket.  I did not blend into the scenery but stood out(some may say like a sore thumb but I did like parakeet yellow...Larry

[Lyle]

Have you chosen the next build yet?  Do we know the color? I'll be following, you really do nice work.

Steve

[RAFster122s]

Momo has built them all but #8 which is now in progress, he is gather photos and sharing them of the past builds leading up to version 8.0 which is to be donated for the auction to raise money for cancer research.

[MoMo]

Have you chosen the next build yet?  Do we know the color? I'll be following, you really do nice work.

Steve

Thanks for the compliment.   Rafster answered the question but in going over my past purchases I think I may have built 8 and am leading up to 9 with 10 in the waiting.  After I document  Vers.  6 & 7 I'll know for sure if I somehow missed one(all these were done in the past 5 years or so along with selling a house and buying another so the memory is a tad foggy).  Sounds exhausting when I write it out...Larry

[MoMo]

Ver. 6.0 was yet another Craiglist find, this time $300 for a non-titled 400 four that a young girl bought with the intentions of rebuilding it.  Of course, that idea never came to fruition and I came home with a sadly neglected bike and a bill of sale that she typed up but would not sign.  I managed to get a title from ITS before they jacked up to price to $300, only cost 85    Top end repair and the normal tires, brakes, seat cover along with hour upon on hour of good old-fashioned elbow grease and this is the result.  Sold it to a friend for 2000. It is my second favorite build, Ver. 7 is my favorite.   I got more compliments on this bike than any bike I've owned other than my Suzuki S32











Really was a sweet running bike, only defect was the dented head pipe...Larry

[RAFster122s]

The yellow ones and blue one are my favorite so far but knowing the next it is hard to beat...
David

[MoMo]

Ver 7.0 was also a Craigslist find, $400 for a complete 400 four .  Complete with title but neglected by the owner, who had bought it with the intention of reliving his youth but never got around to restoring it,  then along came Larry to the rescue .   The tank had been painted an old Chevy maroon color, the tank is on the right bike


I completely stripped the tank down(no dents and the inside was immaculate) as well as scuffed the chrome fenders, then used Duplicolor Self-etching primer followed by Duplicolor high fill primer, multiple coats of Rustoleum Pearl and finally several coats of 2K gloss clear.  No problems at all with spilled gas and total cost was less than $50-all the other bikes had been painted my a neighbor for anywhere between 2 to 4 hundred dollars-depending upon the amount of body work and how generous he was feeling.  His prices are fanastic . So it is the 400 I am most proud of as I did all the work.





Battery running low, more photos to follow...Larry

[fendersrule]

I'm liking that CB450 the most...

[RAFster122s]

Fugly 450s IMHO, 400 fours are pretty bikes. 450 grab rail curves don't coincide with seat lines and things like that make the 450 Fugly in my opinion. 400 four has fluid lines whereas later 450s just have pasted on appearance of some stuff that really aren't appealing.


This last 400 Four is gorgeous I think...really like the pearl paint. The parakeet yellow is probably the 2nd one I like best.
You do very nice work Momo.

David

[fendersrule]

I disagree entirely. As they say, to each his own.

The CB750 SOHC styling was designed very closely to the CB450; they are sister bikes. Like most CB750s, the later CB450s have very similar grab rails. I guess I don't understand your point on the seat lines and the rail curve. Most year CB450s don't have those grab rails, anyways. I don't like the grab rails on later CB750s, even though I still like the bikes. They're kind of accessory items that you can remove, or put just a side rail on if you'd like.

The CB400s are gapingly dissimilar in styling in things that are not "accessories" compared to the classic SOHCs. In my opinion they have a fugly shaped tank that look like half-eaten cheese wedge. The bent pipes may be cool to some, but off-centered and disproportional to others. I also like the more classic look like the CB750/CB450/CB450s that kept their seats flat and didn't look like the back of a winged insect. I also slightly like the look of gaiters more, which all CB450s had.

Larry has a killer collection, and very killer bikes. I'd like to see him post his CB450s sometime since he mentions he has lots. Must be for a reason. 

[MoMo]

I disagree entirely. As they say, to each his own.

The CB750 SOHC styling was designed very closely to the CB450; they are sister bikes. Like most CB750s, the later CB450s have very similar grab rails. I guess I don't understand your point on the seat lines and the rail curve. Most year CB450s don't have those grab rails, anyways. I don't like the grab rails on later CB750s, even though I still like the bikes. They're kind of accessory items that you can remove, or put just a side rail on if you'd like.

The CB400s are gapingly dissimilar in styling in things that are not "accessories" compared to the classic SOHCs. In my opinion they have a fugly shaped tank that look like half-eaten cheese wedge. The bent pipes may be cool to some, but off-centered and disproportional to others. I also like the more classic look like the CB750/CB450/CB450s that kept their seats flat and didn't look like the back of a winged insect. I also slightly like the look of gaiters more, which all CB450s had.

Larry has a killer collection, and very killer bikes. I'd like to see him post his CB450s sometime since he mentions he has lots. Must be for a reason. 

Fenders,  I had lots of 450s,  they are all sold.  My favorite thing is to rescue a bike from oblivion and resurrect it so that someone can have a fun, reliable, vintage ride.  All the 400 fours are gone except Ver. 8.0, which is still in progress.  See my avatar to see the bikes I own and had.   Thanks for the compliment...Larry

Fugly 450s IMHO, 400 fours are pretty bikes. 450 grab rail curves don't coincide with seat lines and things like that make the 450 Fugly in my opinion. 400 four has fluid lines whereas later 450s just have pasted on appearance of some stuff that really aren't appealing.


This last 400 Four is gorgeous I think...really like the pearl paint. The parakeet yellow is probably the 2nd one I like best.
You do very nice work Momo.

David

Thanks, David.  But......................I really like the look of a 450 too- a classic look almost in the old British style.  There are two old Honda styles I do not like- 750 K7-8 and the CB650.  To me, it seemed as though Honda was trying to make those bikes look as big as possible rather than the streamlined style of the era...hope all is well...Larry

[MoMo]

The seat was one of those fugly double height seats that were as comfortable as can be but ugly as the wicked witch of the west.  I took the cover off,  cut the back half of the seat off, trimmed the foam and cover and reattached the cover.  Certainly not a professional job but very passsable and to me it is in the retro, English style of the bike,  and it is comfortable .  and did not cost anything.  Sold the bike to a friend for 2000. It is one I do regret selling,  mostly because I should have gotten more moohla.




The front license plate is my design
[/img]http://i705.photobucket.com/albums/ww51/photolar/white%20400%20four/P9279556.jpg[/img]





Looks like I should have painted the triangle cover


The rear tail light is from an old Yamaha TX500

Top end was done, valves, rings, and gaskets

Not a big fan of the fork ears and turn signals but they were laying around and seem to fit the style of the bike.



That is all the history I have for the previous 7 400 fours, on to Ver. 8  Thanks for looking...Larry