Ahem --Taps on mike--
Hey all, how she going' eh?
I'm Roger, from Canada. Have been biking for almost 35 of my 40 years, and this past fall, have joined the SOHC ranks.
My screen name, comes from my Yamaha days (sound of thunder rolling), when I had various Yammies, but notably a stock, and really ratty RZ500, and after that, a breathed on RZ350, in Team Marlboro colours. I had been bikeless since 2012, when I sold my almost never ridden '08 KLR650. 600 miles on it in a year.
The bike bug hit last fall, and I was -this- close to going out to look at a clean (and cheap) '84 Nighthawk S, then my wife asked: "is that really what you want?" to which I responded no, I really want a CB400F. She asked why I didn't buy one, and I told her that they were quite scarce.
I have had a soft spot for the little CB since a day about 35 years ago, my uncle showed up home with a '77 CB400F, 900 miles showing on the clock. Being a fellow Honda rider (Z50R), I thought that his next move was going to be walking on water. Not terribly long after buying it, he laid it down, and sold it to a young fellow who patched it, and promptly and thoroughly destroyed it.
Fast forward to the week before I was to go look at the Nighthawk, when in the local version of Craigslist, a '76 CB400F showed up, about an hour and a half from home. Price was ballpark, pictures had it looking decent, and the next week after looking at it, brought it home. Turns out the bike belonged to a lady whose significant other is a member of this site, "Operator". They seemed to be really good people, BTW.
After seeing on here what he paid for it, and put into it, I figure we shared in a pretty decent deal. I told my wife, the only bike I'd be happier with right now, is a pristine CBX, RG500 Gamma, or a CB400f in better shape than mine. Smiling like a kid on Christmas day, I was...
It was what I'd classify as a rough runner. The parts were all there, but some of them had seen better days, and some I just wanted to have, "just because" it got"
New handlebars (the stock ones were likely dealer installs, high ones--this is a USA model)
New OEM grips
New headlight (the low beam was burnt out, and there was a bad connector under the tank)
New clutch cable
New muffler (DSS repro)
New seat (repro)
New paint and decals (base/ 2k clear, and repro decals)
New spokes, front & back, the old ones were beyond polish, and I needed a project where I could pull my hair out, lol
New Hagon shocks
New fork seals, RT springs and emulators
New horn
Anyhoo, after a couple of months' worth of elbow grease, and forking over considerable amounts of cash to David Silver Spares and 4into1, among others, today, I finally got it ready for the season.
Witness:
