Topic: 1975 CB400F -> Project "something fun to build and ride"

[gsnorcal]

What (if anything) did they have to say about the mottled coloring?  Is it a known issue? Could it be a bad batch of paint?

They seemed to know what I was talking about, and he mentioned that the aluminum color was particularly prone to it. I might call them again, just to see what they say. Maybe try to get some free black paint in exchange (for other projects).

[gsnorcal]

Front end machining work is COMPLETE!



I machined the last odds and ends tonight--axle spacers and a spacer for the lower steering bearing. It is now assembled in complete condition.

I also welded on a rear frame hoop this morning. Now I can start making a seat pan and cowl from fiberglass.

Dave

[gsnorcal]

I went into my garage today and saw my bike parts pretending to be a motorcycle:



OK, not really. I was just using the frame as a truing stand. Both wheels are now true. And I mean "true" in more of a politician sense than a machinist sense. I did put the new IKON shocks on, just to take a peek. Fork legs must change to black, for sure.

And here is what's for dinner:



I'm glad that project is done. It cures at 200 for 1 hour. I'll start motor assembly tomorrow or Saturday. That will be really fun for me. Easy stuff compared to fabrication and painting.

Dave

[FunJimmy]

Dave

You wife must be the best girl in town. 
That, or you're dead meat.

FJ

[gsnorcal]

Dave

You wife must be the best girl in town. 
That, or you're dead meat.

FJ

It's the former. And we did a test part the other day. This paint doesn't stink up the house too bad. Plus, she's hoping to ride this thing occasionally so she's being extra nice.

Dave

[Syscrush]

And I mean "true" in more of a politician sense than a machinist sense.

That is awesome.

The bike is looking great, keep up the awesome work!

[gsnorcal]

Today I reassembled the motor.

Here's a preview shot of the painted motor before assembly:



And during:



It went relatively smoothly, but I had to reopen the cases two extra times. It was weird. It seemed like the primary chain was too short. I just couldn't get the primary shaft through the bearing and the primary gear. The gear would not come into alignment with the bearing. At first I was worried that I got the wrong part form Honda. The number had changed, but it appeared to be a normal supercede thing, so I kept trying. Eventually, we got it into place. Not sure how. Kinda just kept looking and trying. We didn't change anything else, but it all of a sudden worked.

A note about the paint. As others have also experienced, the VHT paint (perhaps any paint), chips under fastener heads when they are tightened. I tried oil under the heads and that didn't seem to help. Even on the "dress" stainless fasteners, which got washers and a liberal coat of anti-seize, they still chipped. I can't tell if the POR-15 underneath is still intact, or if it is down to metal. But the good news is that it's silver paint over silver metal, so it's hard to see. But it feels bad having done all that work.

That's all for today, and it was a long one.

Dave

[gsnorcal]

I picked up a bunch of kit from MotionPro. They make a great product and I have lots of suspension tools from them. My recent favorites are these tappet tools. I've put off getting them for a long time and have made my own 4mm square wrenches before. But, these are so nice to use. And they will make my KTM valve adjusts a lot easier, too (every 15 hours on that bike).



I also got a bunch of fuel line from them, drain hoses, and a clutch hub socket. I also got a new DID drive chain, new sprockets, EBC clutch plates and springs.

This weekend I have a number of tasks lined up:

* start forming my seat pan/cowl, including underseat battery tray (all in glass or carbon)
* finish flap-wheeling my frame
* sodablast carb bodies
* polish carb bowls
* polish clutch cover

That's a lot! I'd better get out to the garage 

Dave

[gsnorcal]

I made some progress on the fiberglass projects today. Here is the plug for my under-seat battery/electrics box:



It's been shaped and has the first coat of Bondo on it. I did the layup of the female mold, but no pic. Tomorrow, I'll layup the part in carbon using the mold. I chose carbon because you'll actually be able to see this slightly under the seat. So, carbon instead of paint. I also got started shaping the seat and cowl. More of that tomorrow.

I also received my Brembo 11mm master cylinder from Yoyodyne today. I like the look/feel. It's basically the same as my KTM 525 with Brembo brakes. Then I dug through my box of KTM spare parts and found all the handlebar switches I need. The originals sorely need rebuilding and I'm happy to let another forum member enjoy that project. I'm also glad to save a few coins here and there, since this project is approaching the budget stratosphere. So, I took a quick look at what those will be like.





And while taking a measurement on the carbs, one of the boots separated. So, I'll be ordering 4 new ones, which it seems are still available.



Have a nice evening,
Dave

[-CB-Jamie-]

Dave, Are you gonna be ordering the four aftermarket intake boots that David Silver sells or four original ones? Just kinda wondering about the quality of the aftermarket ones David Silver is selling as I was considering them myself. Nice job so far by the way.

Jamie

[RickB]

I got the DSS boots and they're great. I didn't even notice they we repos.

[gsnorcal]

Dave, Are you gonna be ordering the four aftermarket intake boots that David Silver sells or four original ones?

Thanks Jamie and RickB. I was all set to order the Honda ones because I didn't know about the repros. Honda's are $33 each. DSS are only $52 for all four. And with Rick's comment, I'm definitely in on the repros. [update: ordered]

Nice job so far by the way.

Thanks Jamie. I've really enjoyed your build thread as well. That DSS exhaust looks pretty nice.

[gsnorcal]

My wife is getting tired of listening to:

"I WANNA RIDE!!!"

Now you get to hear it 

[FunJimmy]

My wife is getting tired of listening to:

"I WANNA RIDE!!!"

Now you get to hear it 

It's just as bad or even worse, having the bike finished, but the worst spring weather in recorded history. 

[gsnorcal]

Another productive day...

I sodablasted the carbs and assembled the rack. Not permanently because I need to make replacement felt washers tomorrow. She has new needles and emulsion tubes, gaskets and o-rings. And the bike never had a stock airbox (since '76), so I got new K&N pods to replace the old generics.



And I laid up the carbon battery box. I need to clean the mold release wax off tomorrow and then consider clear coat. If it looks good, I'll keep it. If not, I may consider doing it in steel instead.



And finally, I started shaping my tail section. Basic design mimics the angles of the tank. Flat rear section accommodates this light that I found. It has red leds with amber halos for turn signals.



Dave

[-CB-Jamie-]

Nice job so far by the way.

Thanks Jamie. I've really enjoyed your build thread as well. That DSS exhaust looks pretty nice.

Thanks, I actually have a bit of a problem with the DSS header now, I finally started the bike yesterday for the first time with the new header and was just checking to make sure each header pipe was getting hot to make sure it was running on all four. Anyway as I was checking the number 4 pipe I felt what seemed like air escaping from somewhere and I just thought I hadn't clamped it back on to the block properly or something. But then I investigated further and it looks like there's a seam that runs down the length of the pipe and it has little splits every now and again along the seam. Pretty pissed I'm just in the process of emailing DSS about it now. I'd say there'll be no problem getting it sorted though. I'll update my own thread with pics later.

[gsnorcal]

More progress today...

I picked up some felt and made some new felt seals for the carb. I finished putting the carb back together, including resetting the float height (to 21mm) and bench synching. I also tested the float valves by letting the carbs fill with gas. All the bowls filled, and none overflowed. So, we're in business on that front. It has 80 mains, 42 pilots, stock needs 1 clip richer than stock (4th clip), and pods. She had a horrible stumble (almost stalling) going from idle to mid-throttle, like when pulling from a stop, when I bought her. I suspect the pilots are too rich. However, with the 466, all bets are off. I hope to find some smaller pilots and also some larger mains. I called Sudco today--they have no pilots, but do have 80 and 98 mains (maybe some bigger, too, but none in between). Sirius Consolidated has the mains I need, but on backorder. And I think Honda still has pilots in the sizes I need. I have access to a dyno to get things dialed in, without guessing.

No photos of the battery box. The outer surface (mold side) didn't come out great. I'm going to give one shot at sanding it and adding another layer of epoxy. Otherwise, I'll just paint it. Was worth the try anyway.

For the seat, I decided against making a female mold. I'm laying up on the bike. My foam, tape, and sheeting are resistant to the epoxy (I tested), so this seemed easiest. And the final part will be painted, so Bondo is not a problem. This photo is one layer of Knytex (a thick fabric combining weave and strand). I will add two more layers, and probably some Baltek core in the seat area and then give it a rough fairing out with epoxy and micro-balloons. Then probably 3 more layers of the Knytex before final fairing, primer, and paint.



In other news, I ordered some Avon Roadriders. I had some Metzeler ME-33/77 with probably less than 100 miles on them. But they were 7 years old. So, I figured I'd just get new and not worry about it. Should have those in and mounted mid-week.

Cheers,
Dave

[Syscrush]

I had some Metzeler ME-33/77 with probably less than 100 miles on them. But they were 7 years old. So, I figured I'd just get new and not worry about it. Should have those in and mounted mid-week.

Good policy.  7 years isn't that old compared to what I'm sure some folks here are running, but it's too old to be confident.  Some fresh rubber is cheap insurance.

[Greggo]

Everything's looking great Dave, can't wait to see it when it's done!

[gsnorcal]

Anyone got a photo of the CB400F battery (-) to frame/motor connection? I can't remember how this was made originally. I thought I had a photo, but I don't.

Thanks,
Dave

[leogriss]

Another project that I will be subscribed!
I have a questions by the way; did you remove the rubber bushing out of the hub when they were getting powdercoated? or did they survive from extreme heat??

[gsnorcal]

Another project that I will be subscribed!
I have a questions by the way; did you remove the rubber bushing out of the hub when they were getting powdercoated? or did they survive from extreme heat??

Hi, thanks for following along!

If you are referring to the four cush bushings in the rear hub, yes, I did remove them. New ones in their place after powder. I couldn't fathom rebuilding this entire bike and not replacing them.

Dave

[RickB]

I would love to know how you got those cush drive rubbers out of the hub? Aside from a chisel, I tried just about every non-destructive thing I could think of. In the end, I just left them in. I still have the replacements in case one day I figure out how to remove the old ones.

[gsnorcal]

I used a minimally destructive method. I actually prefer to call it customization :-)

Sorry I don't have any pictures. Just imagine driving the outer ring of the bush outward. The bushes are pressed into a cavity in the casting. So, I drilled a single small hole from just through the casting, from the back side, located to expose the outer steel ring of the bushing in the center of the hole. Once exposed in hole, one can just use a punch to drive the bushing out.

I'm a big fan of using heat as well. As long as the finish won't be compromised, the temperature of a propane torch poses little danger to most materials. And it does wonders to grow things just enough to make life easier. YMMV, but my torch is one of my "go to" tools for this kind of work.

Dave

[SanDogDewey]

And while taking a measurement on the carbs, one of the boots separated. So, I'll be ordering 4 new ones, which it seems are still available.

Have a nice evening,
Dave

I'll make you a deal on a brand new set from Honda. I ordered them and could not get my old ones off without destroying the screws. I have the boots and the "O" rings that go behind them. PM me if you are interested.