Several months ago I acquired a 75 CB400F with 13,700 miles that had been dormant for at least 15 years. It was complete, unmolested stock but nasty. I did not document the resurrection process as well as I should have with pictures but I will share what pictures I have. The bike ran(barely) when acquired and the engine sounded OK. A compression check showed 120-130 lbs, so I figured the engine was basically sound. After a good cleaning(I hate to work on dirty stuff), I proceeded with a mechanical freshening.
#New fork seals, polish lower units, new fork top nuts.
#Replace master cylinder, rebuild caliper, new brake pads and hoses.
#Rebuild carbs, replaced air filter and air box top cover. The cover was missing and without it, the engine went
lean above 5000 rpm. Putting a cover on, solved the issue. Sync'ed the carbs.
#Adjusted valves, checked points, set timing. Replace spark plugs and caps. Adjust cam chain.
#Removed oil pan and cleaned. No sludge or part number found in pan.
#Changed oil and filter.
#Touch up frame paint as necessary.
#Remove sprocket, clutch and stator engine covers, strip and paint using VHT Wheel Paint(SP181).
#Disassemble, check and clean clutch.
#Lube all cables.
#Sandblast pitted chrome off of taillight, prime and paint.
#Clean ALL electrical connections and apply dielectric grease to all connections.
I am basically finished with the project. The bike runs great. Not sure of the muffler attachment. I think there should be a bracket between the frame and muffler. If this is true, let me know. David Silver sells a bracket but it is not depicted in the parts diagrams. The last item to address is paint. I have a friend who will paint the bike for me. The question is keep the Burnish Blue or go Red. What do you think?
