My neighbor is a machinist and has a CNC mill in his basement workshop. He agreed to build a side cover emblem out of 1/8" aluminum from a design I did in AutoCAD for my 1976 CB400F, which is in the process of being conserved. The design has an overall shape reminiscent of an early CB750 side cover emblem The attached photo shows what I came up with, after drafting several different designs. I wanted something unique that reflected the nature of my bike, hence the "408" at the top for the engine displacement (the '67 305 Scrambler I had in high school was the inspiration for that; geez I never should have sold that bike!), and the big prominent "4" in the middle finished it off.
My neighbor translated my drawings into machine code for his CNC mill, and presto! 30 minutes later it was done. The lettering is painted a dark metallic blue. My tank and side covers are painted a dark metallic blue also--I was going for Varnish Blue, like the '75s had but was unable to find any paint that color. I'm not going for a faithful restoration--when I bought the bike in 2006 the tank and side covers were painted primer gray with black speckles. Clearly, that would just not do. Decal sets for Varnish Blue 400/4s are hard to come by, hence this side cover emblem project. The tank will sport old school Honda Wing decals like those used on the CB750 that was raced at Daytona.
I have the best neighbor on the planet. He refused payment, so I bought him a bottle of Maker's Mark, just so he knows he's appreciated
