While waiting for top end parts for the motor the chassis got some attention. The front end is where we went today. This bike has had the headlight assembly off before, can't fool me I went to College for 2 weeks.
This is a pic of the headlight bracket and you can see at the bottom 2 different types of rubber mounts. These mounts just slide into holes in the lower triple clamp. My best bet is the OEM one is the one with a flange and the one that looks like a crutch bottom came from the arrow tip bought at some Arizona Tourist Trap, kid's love 'em but they ain't that good for headlights . The assembly was loose and needed some tightening up.
I found this expanding plug at the hardware store in the "Nut, Bolt, Washer, and Other Stuff" aisle. Took out the guts, burned it through with a hot 5/16 drill bit and it worked like a charm. The headlight frame is just as solid as a rubber mounted frame can be.
This is why you don't throw good stuff away. When I finish a bike the remains get archived upstairs. One of the headlight reflector mounts on this bike had the reflector screw broken off inside. I could have drilled it out and tapped it but I went through the stuff in the 400F Archive, (Just a Cardboard Box Marked 400F Really but Archived Sounds Professional) and found one.
Lots of stuff got plated today too. These are the carb to engine side clamps. I have carb to air box clamps from another resto that will be being used, big cost savings there. The other pic is of all the engine mount bolts. This should be all the plating that needs to be done, yeah, right. Whenever I think the plating is done some oddball thing-a-ma-bob comes up and the whole set up has to come out again. When I was out in the field doing HVAC Work we had a saying, "Never put the torch away" If you put the torch away, sure as hec you will have a leak. I do the same thing with the plating, the set up stays assembled for the whole resto, just needs to be plugged in.
One of the non stock changes made to this bike was the bars. Back in the glory days of these bikes one of the most popular mods were Low Bars. I think they will look, and work well. These bars have a few hours in them as they have all the wiring running through them. The bars I purchased were not pre machined. I ain't no machinist but got a pretty good eye and a decent Black Magic Marker. That, with a Dremel tool and a Step Drill got it done.
The low bars are going to require a few mods. I took a chance and ordered a 400F upper hose from David Silver that fit perfect. Here is a pic of the reproduction master and the DSS upper hose compared to the stock Honda hose. Oh, and these reproduction Masters are great. I have used them on both Kawasaki and Honda restos. For the money it is so much easier and cleaner than a rebuild kit with paint. I already have some ideas for the cables when the time comes for these bars, we'll make 'em work.
