OK...I'm back on the road and here's what I found:
1. Riding with no front fender and without a brace in its place is a no-no. I realized "plug1" was correct in pointing out my lack of fender means the front end flops around in a most disconcerting fashion.
2. Can't figure out why I can't install the chain guard. It's a stock guard, not obviously twisted or misshapen but I can't for the life of me get it to fit between the shock and the sprocket plate. There's just no room there. Anyone else experience this?
3. Granted I've done all my cold starts during the winter and maybe this will change when the weather's warmer, but here's how the bike starts best: choke on, no throttle, run the starter, the motor "gallops" then catches but idles high, 4-5k. If I leave it alone it warms up and drops down after about a minute and I can open the choke and it idles fine. I don't like that drama at the start, but that's just the way it's gonna be for now.
4. How tight are my speedo and tach gauges supposed to be in their mounts? They're kind of loose, and because the mounting bolt nuts are acorn nuts they can't be tightened anymore. Whassup with that?
But anyway...sure is nice to get it on the street. It's fun to compare the improved technology over the years on these Hondas. This 400f shifts so sweet and gentle, a little nicer than my CB175, which in turn is a great improvement over my CB77 (1963). That last one won't even drop into neutral when coming to a stop unless you carefully nuance the shifter at juuuust the right rolling speed, and even if you're talking nice to it it only works about 1/3 the time.
