Topic: New Bike New Project - 400f

[csantelle]

Thought I'd show off my new project - a 75' cb400f! I'm getting started on a refresh and thought some would find it interesting and could provide some advice. First, some history:

I bought the bike a week ago from the second owner who is the original owner's son. The original owner made did some mods over the years including adding a steering damper, upgrading the front forks and rear shocks, adding a bar end mirror, and installing electronic ignition. He put the bike in covered storage in 1990 due to a loss of interest and soon after gave it to his son who kept the bike stored but started it a few times each season.

Before selling the bike the second owner got the bike running (I test rode it) but it is a little tough to start and is a bit sluggish. Here's my list of known issues so far:

-Fuel tank: Following up to another thread of mine, the paint is original and in really awesome shape but a sealer was put in at some point and I'm not confident in its integrity. I do have a spare with awful paint and a sealer that has halfway fallen off.

-Carbs: I've pulled them off and opened them up. They look ok except for the 1/2 inch of rust flakes and gunk in the far left (riders side) and bad gaskets.

-Front end: some weirdness here. The wheel is off center for some reason with about a 3/4 in. gap from the fork on the right side and 1/4 in gap from the fork on the left. Also, there is an excessive amount of flex in the forks - if I hold the wheel between my legs and push the bars back and forth there's about an inch of flex/play. Not sure what's up here

I'm sure I'll uncover more as I tear into the bike but that's it for now, thanks everyone!

https://flic.kr/s/aHsmCH8bHF

[robvangulik]

Nice looking bike, indeed needs agood look at the front wheel and forks.
Maybe the axle nut wrong way round, or a spacer on the wrong side?
And the addition of a front fender usually stiffens things up nicely too.
And then that steering damper....its a shame to put that on such a nimble bike, when things are put right on the forks again i'd take it of fast 

[carnivorous chicken]

Shame about the tank -- looks like Kreme. It might hold up, sometimes it does. I'd check your petcock filter and maybe put in an inline fuel filter. Someone will come along here any time and rant about inline fuel filters and how they are dangerous and... etc. But I've never had a problem. Sluggishness could be carb related, but you should definitely do a 3000 mile tune up -- valves, plugs, points, timing, carb sync, oil change. Those 400s will wind up great and thrive in the higher rpm range, above 5k. For the other tank, since the liner is shot you can use acetone or MEK to get it out without worrying about the paint. If the liner fails in the nice one, that's another kettle of fish.