Ok, I'll go ahead and tell my story.... but I'll have to post the pics from home later. Is it tacky to direct folks toward my build thread here for pics in the meantime?
http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=70938.0Oh, also try this:
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1455117109654.58112.1585114686#!/media/set/?set=a.1455117109654.58112.1585114686Anyhow... So i first became aware of CB400f back in college when I was really getting into messing around with 70's Japanese bikes. I had a few xs650's and a GL1000, as well as a CB550 I fixed up and gave to my cousin as a wedding present. Well, my landlord at the time was well aware of my interest and mentioned that he had a crated CB400f with 500 miles on it at his brothers house if I wanted to buy it. I looked up everything I could on it and fell totally in love, and sold my prized electric guitar and amp and went back to him with cash in hand, only to be told that his brother didn't want to sell anymore... oh well. I can tell you that that money didn't get spent on anything close to being worthy of its intent.
Fast forward plus or minus a decade and I've gone through several bikes, a marriage and two kids, and found myself all alone again and in need of something to occupy my time, so I started looking at motorcycles once again. I think somehow I ran across Benjie's site and started taking a second look at cafe bikes. I had always liked the standard look, and I did end up building up a pretty mean yamaha street tracker at one point.
So I started looking on Craigslist for bikes in the area. First I took a trip to look at a CB550 that I had every intention of buying but wisely walked away after a 2 hour drive. But then one day a humble looking '77 CB400f showed up just south of town, and I took a trip to take a look. Incredibly, it only had 5200 miles on it, and had been sitting a couple years in the workshop of this local go-kart builder. It was bought new by his brother and babied for several years and then sold to him. It was completely stock and pretty damn rusty, but because he knew small engines he had it running a few times in recent years, and I was able to both start it up, rev it, and ride down the street (with a smoking, half locked up front brake...)
There wasn't much on it worth keeping, though--the tank was dented and bondo'd, and the bondo was flaking off, the mufflers were rusted through, and it was missing a side cover. Spokes were rusted, seat was torn, etc, etc, you guys have seen this a thousand times. But the motor was strong and the frame looked straight so we arrived at an agreed price and I came back the next week to pick it up.
I really didn't know exactly what I was going to do but I knew it would probably be a frame up project of some sort. Well, that was set in stone when I got home with it and took it down to the frame that very night in my driveway and took it inside to my guest room, where I set up a workshop and got to work.
This build was one of those evolving sagas where you just sort of start working on stuff and then get ideas and do more stuff until you've spent about 5 times the amount of time and money you had planned on. I really do urge folks to look at my build thread cause I can't possibly re-create it all here, but here is a quick run-down of what I had in mind and what I did:
I wanted a functional and fun bike that really looked striking and would be an expression of my own aesthetic tastes. And I wanted something I could ride with confidence so performance and operation was also key. But I also wanted to do everything I possibly could do without special knowledge and machine-shop tools myself.
I did the basic frame stuff:
--stripped the frame and shaved off brackets, and smoothed welds
--constructed, with the help of a friend, a rear frame loop to support a cafe-style seat and hold electrics, then build a tray for the battery and what not
--powder-coated the frame
--installed new tapered head bearings
--sent off the swingarm to Hondaman to work his magic.
One arena I kind of went cheap on was the suspension, and it is the first place I will spend more money on if I ever make any changes. All I did was rebuild the front forks and purchase those new old-stock redwing shocks, which look ok, but feel a bit stiff to me. After spending $500 on super-fly rearsets from the 400fourstore I had no more taste for forking out any more cash!
I did rebuild the wheels completely (which I also had powdercoated in black), with new spokes bought over Ebay from Thailand. They laced up easily--this was my first time--and I trued them myself as well, with the helpful how-to post on the subject on this forum. For brakes, I just rebuilt the front caliper and installed new pads, got a drilled and resurfaced rotor off Ebay, and used a compact master cylinder I purchased from Mike'x XS (great site, btw!). I also got a great set of stainless lines from our fellow SS break line guy on the forums here.
On the motor I did not go cheap. Well the 466cc big bore kit, at $110 on ebay, was cheap, but the Webcam was not, and I had a local machine shop totally clean up the heads. I had quite an experience putting a top-end together for the first time, though, and I'll admit I've done it a second and third time now too, and am feeling much more confident with it! I also replaced the cam chain, the tensioner, and slipper while I was in there, too. amazingly, the tensioner mechanism was working just fine still and the bolt was not seized up at all.
I spent a good amount of time researching, the prepping and painting the engine cases and heads as well, and go into the process in my build thread at length.
On the electrics, I used the original wiring loom but replaced a lot of wire, reduced a bunch of the clutter and extra junk, and replaced almost every connection. I went with a new electronic regulator/rectifier, a dyna-s ignition and 5 ohm coils, and one of those tiny, less-than-a-pound accell 123 batteries that has worked flawlessly for the first 1200 miles so far.
For fuel and air delivery, I went with the stock carbs and gave them a thorough cleaning, and rejetting according to some advice gathered from Rick Denoon and my friend Kevin at the 400fourstore. I thought about having Rick bore out the carb bodies but he actually agreed in the end that unless I am really opening up the breathing of the top-end with more open pipes and oversized valves and headwork, it made little sense to do. Afterall, it was really the undamaged original headers that sold me on the bike--I just got them hot-tanked and jet coated and am super-pleased with the results. I did have to replace the muffler, and I went with a MAC, but took out the baffle and replaced it with a 2" kerker baffle that came out looking and sounding amazing. Other than that, I cleaned out the center electrics and air filter cluster and went with K&N pods (after reading through all the warnings, I know!). I did not go with cheap ones at least--I do think the K&N's are much better quality than Emgos, etc.
Finally, the biggest trial of this build was the agonizing wait and spilling of riches on having a tank and seat custom built. First, I hired Benjie to do it, and after a 3 month wait ended up with a product that did not fit the careful measurements I supplied and also seemed way heavier than I had expected. I asked if he could fix it and he basically said he wasn't interested, and was good enough to let me just send it back for a full refund. Back to the drawing board, and desperate, I contact Sean at Roccity Cafe. After another long and agonizing wait, and even more riches spilled, I ended up with a tank and seat I could only have dreamed of before I started the build. I have to say, Sean worked with me tirelessly to get to an end-product that we were both amazed by. We sent several drawings and measurements back and forth, and it was well worth the wait. His craftsmanship and customer service were outstanding, and worth both the price and the wait.
So I'll stop gushing now and catch my breath. This was really an incredibly fun and trying project. I filled up all the in-between time by polishing every little thing I could get my hands on, replacing nuts and bolts, and figuring out how to wire up my cool little gauges and such. Of course I got impatient at times and there are several other things I would go back and spend more time on, but for now, I am enjoying the hell out of zipping around town and taking short trips up the highway. I've hit 100 easily and with plenty of throttle left, and she rides really nice and smooth. I've never ridden a stock 400f, so I don't know what difference the added power and subtracted weight are making, but I can say that it is an absolute blast to ride, and she fits me like a glove.
So I hope you all have enjoyed my little journey and haven't fallen asleep! I know it's totally lame I didn't post pics yet but I'll try to get to that. in the meantime, click through my build thread or check out my FB album, both linked above. The only difference in the bike now is that I painted the clutch adjustment cover black, and it looks badass.
Oh, I also wanted to mention that Rick B and I both were building our bikes at the same time, and I took a lot of pleasure in watching him go through the process with me! His was a real saga!
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