Topic: Lil Red, Shakedown Ride...I am SO happy...VIDEOS!

[Lil Red]

Well after allot of fiddling around...I think the 400F is done...I did the petcock (glued and looks to be working fine...we'll see if it lasts)...The breather system, the fairing, the chain...the exhaust leak has been resolved.

I never thought that hooking up the crankcase breather would change the the character of this bike...The sound has changed...it's not so frenetic...just very measured...it used to wander a bit (revwise, surge?) on the highway...now its just a rock...throttle is here...revs and mph are THERE...unwavering (unless theres an elevation change or wind)...The power delivery is even more linear before...any speed, any gear, any throttle setting...It's almost whisper quiet now...no longer the angry little hornet...BUT...it sounds huskier....more serious...and the idle...I thought it was fine b4...but now it's unwavering...I timed it at 5 minutes...needle didn't move...I guess the carb vacuum depressurises the crankcase and makes it sound different and run differently...I used the "mong"...(that's what my Filipino friend calls dirty snotty breather oil humidity)...I wiped the back of the motor down and even used it to polish up the case protrusions on each side...SO SHINEY...and after a bunch of WOT in the heat...it's powder dry everywhere...It's more cold blooded  but not by allot...at first I thought..."this isn't good"..instead of 2 blocks...it took two miles to wake up...but when it did...it was a wonderful experience...I think that the snapped petcock tube made for some random slight fuel starvation as well...any hiccups are gone...I moved the headlight up about 4 inches so that it would square up (or better round up) to the fairing opening...before at night the light would shine on the inside of the fairing and cause problems...Had to fab up brackets...Working like the monkeys at the beginning of "2001 a Space Odyssey" before the arrival of the Monolith...using vice grips and my teeth to bend brackets by dead reckoning...hammering on the stoop steps and the railing...f'd up the railing so now that's the table mat and the railing...but luckily my wife came home early for the long weekend to add the extra hands and thought processes and motivation to keep me from taking a hammer to it all...

SO!...have a great holiday weekend...May Providence look after ALL our Vets...THANK YOU!!


CB400F Shake Down ride I

CB400F Shake Down ride II

CB400F Idle

[dhall57]

Red, your 400 sounds and looks good, but please be safe and wear a helmet next time out

[Lil Red]

Well it was only a couple of blocks..I most always ride helmeted and jacketed...My wifes got a new phone and of course she could not figure it out...I could not do a duct tape helmet cam like I did on my first post...We ran 3 takes prior (me with the helmet and jacket) but she didnt save them...I figured if I did ONE more pass up my street the cops would be called...you know 50 miles an hour screaming down a 25mph residential street is kinda dumb as well but I thought I'd only have to do it once. She didnt want to ride cuz of the heat...but finally I just took off my gear and then decided on the short trip...she got on bearfoot!!!...she would NEVER do that..but my frustration was showing so she just hopped on.

NO helmet law in KS either...but I'm with you on the safety gear...Thanks for the concern...

[Really?]

Makes me miss my 400F. That was my first bike when I was 14. 33 years ago.

[dave500]

good fun stuff,watch those double yellow lines aswell!

[cmonSTART]

Sounds awesome and looks great!  Nice job!