Topic: Who can identify a CB400F?

[mmmpeanutbutter]

I saw this on ebay.  I think its a 77, not a 76 as listed.  Here's why:

1. front fender is missing front set of bracing
2. side cover is yellow, not black
3. has striping on tank
4. high handlebars
5. black long-style gas cap



Auction Link  (<---  photo is a little larger and more clear on the auction page)


Am I right?

I sent him an e-mail to let him know and his reply was a little rude.  But I think I'm right.  Was the UK bike different than the US one??

[Gordon]

Yep, it's a '77.

[6pkrunner]

You have to do your own research or know what you are after on eBay. A lot of items (not just bike stuff) is mistakenly identified. And a good lot of time it isn't done intentionally. Someone just found a brochure and put it up for auction. The person selling at times is less informed than the reader.At times this does work to your advantage.

[Gordon]

At times this does work to your advantage.

I can attest to that!  Got my '71 fuel tank with no dents or scrapes and good paint and badges for $80 (that includes shipping) because the seller listed it incorrectly.  If he had done ten minutes worth of research, he probably could have gotten well over $200 for it.   

[mmmpeanutbutter]

What bothered me was the rudeness of his reply... I was really polite and thouhgt I was doing him a favor and then he came back with "it says 76 on the brochure, I think I'll stick with Honda"


He was probably looking at the printing date, which was likely 76. 

Oh well.


I knew I was a cb400 master.        (although it is the easiest bike to identify)

[Gordon]

I've tried a couple of times in the past to politely let sellers know they've listed something incorrectly and never got a good response.  I try to look at it from their point of view, too.  They have no idea who I am or what my motivation may be for trying to get them to change their listing.  I just let them go, now.  They'll learn their lesson the hard way when they sell an incorrectly listed part to a not-so-understanding buyer who demands a refund and leaves them negative feedback. 

[nobrakes]

My 400F is a '76 model year, made in June '75 and has the flat, locking gas cap and pin-striping on tank, but has low bars, black side covers and both fender braces.  Then again it had an aftermarket 4-to-1 exhaust and Kerker tailpipe so there's no telling what the original owner did to it.  The plot thickens...

[mmmpeanutbutter]

They'll learn their lesson the hard way when they sell an incorrectly listed part to a not-so-understanding buyer who demands a refund and leaves them negative feedback. 

good point

[Gordon]

My 400F is a '76 model year, made in June '75 and has the flat, locking gas cap and pin-striping on tank, but has low bars, black side covers and both fender braces.  Then again it had an aftermarket 4-to-1 exhaust and Kerker tailpipe so there's no telling what the original owner did to it.  The plot thickens...

Your '76 is supposed to have black side covers and both fender braces.  The tank was a transplant from a '77, and who knows where else the rest of the stuff came from.   http://sohc4.us/?q=node/151