Hi folks. I used to have a 400F before I knew they were "special". Got it in 1989 for $350 off a dealer who was moving. I loved riding that bike, but somehow got the stupid, wrongheaded idea that I needed a bigger bike. I wanted to keep the 400, but the old lady said "only one bike" so I traded it in on a 1981 CB750 in 1994. I eventually got to hate that bike because it had no heart or soul and sold it in 1996. I was without a motorcycle for the next 10 years until last fall. I got the bug again and started looking for a 400F. It was only then that I found out they were collectible and expensive. So I settled for a 1979 Kawasaki 650 SR because it was easy to get. It was nearby and ran decently. Well that bike is a lot like the CB750, it is bland and has no soul. I realized riding wasn't going to be fun again unless I found a bike that was fun to ride. So I spent the next 16 months trying to find a 400F that was decent and affordable. On ebay, I bid on plenty of bikes over that time, always coming a little short or stopping when the bidding went too high. This happened over and over again. A couple of months ago I finally got a 1977 400F with 11,000 miles on it for $1300. It has a perfect yellow tank, and the rest of it looked presentible. It ran rough so I took it to a local shop. They proceeded to ruin it. The mechanic was in over his head and apparently didn't believe in consulting shop manuals. I guess he was the type that liked to "wing" it. So now it starts up, idles at 6,000, smokes like a banshee and then quits after 20 seconds. They also burned out my headlight. For these "valuable services" they charged me $600. Very frustrated with this outcome, I went back to bidding on ebay again. Just last week I got another 1977 400F with 19,000 miles for $1100. I put in the first bid and on one else challenged it. I was the only bidder. Other than some relatively minor cosmetic flaws (clear coat coming off the tank in spots) the bike is very clean. The rims and fenders look new! It runs nicely and even after 17 years have gone by since I last rode a 400F, the connected riding experience the 400F delivers immedieately jogged my memory. All those little visceral riding feelings and details came flooding back in a tide of joyful recognition. The ride was so much fun that I was experiencing true elation. I was beside myself and felt an astounding happiness. We are talking about true love here. The moral of this story? If there is a bike you rode at any time in your life that was better than any of the others, get it!! Doesn't matter how much you spend, you have to go for it. In life we get disappointed by love, work, friends, family and so on. But with this, you can control the outcome. Don't buy something because it is easy to get, cheap, new or pretty. Find the bike that turns you on completely and do whatever you have to do to acquire it. In my case it was a journey of 20 years. When I started trying to find a 400 again, I was appalled to find they were collectible and expensive. It took 16 months and a mistake to get a good one. There are bargains to be found if you are persistant. Now I have a really nice bike and a back up parts bike. Probably not a bad approach, even though I came upon it by accident. I've learned my lesson though. Bigger is definately not better. It is a common thing to think you need a bigger bike, but as I learned the hard way, find a bike that fits you and stick with it. You will soon be a master rider with great confidence. You will have more fun and your riding will be safer too.
