Cb400/4

steve hughes

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These were the bike to have just as i went out of bikes due to family kids pressure!

Looking at aquiring one as long term, low seat height , mechanical excellence, and i just like em.

Are there ones to avoid , or love?

Lastly other than dave silver are parts an issue?

Thanks in advance

Steve
 
as with ant SOHC Honda buy as good a condition one as you can . The Chrome work on all is expensive and hard to find . David Silver can source most bits , but at a price . Biggest problem with bikes put away for a while is carb blockage making them run poorly / need ultrasonic clean . I have just helped my son out with restoring a CB550 , it looked great when we bought it but has needed carb rebuild , fork seals base + head gasket and loads of helicoils / oil leak sorting out . He's very happy with it . As for the 400 definitley see a few , they are quite small compared to modern bikes and you may have grown :D . They are easy to work on , but if you farm the work out be prepared for shelling out a fair amount of money . :thumby:
 
Did Kenny not put some piccies up of one of these a few days ago that he was thinking of selling?
 
CB400 four

Just bought one myself 1975 USA spec just trying to get it uk registered
 

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Is that a first generation 400/4 with pillion pegs on the swinging arm
 
Back in the day :beerjug:

Scan10003-XL.jpg
 
Went through the same process 5 years ago, found a very decent 400/4 which had a complete renovation by previous owner. Collected in van and couldn't wait to get it home and get out and ride it. Boy was I disappointed. not expecting modern standards but gawd the brakes were awful, the handling "imprecise" and the performance from the engine was asthmatic at best. Yes it was tuned properly... sold it after 3 years for about £800 profit so wont complain. They do go up in value or at worst hold value depending on how well you buy it.
 
...and the performance from the engine was asthmatic at best.

They weren't ever that powerful and they were reasonably heavy, a good RD250 could run one close.

So I wouldn't buy one for its performance, but I might for those down pipes...
 
They weren't ever that powerful and they were reasonably heavy, a good RD250 could run one close.

So I wouldn't buy one for its performance, but I might for those down pipes...
Before I bought my 400 I had a new RD350B, one of the very last ones, top speed was the same but the 350 was much more fun making the 400 quite bland by comparison.
 
Before I bought my 400 I had a new RD350B, one of the very last ones, top speed was the same but the 350 was much more fun making the 400 quite bland by comparison.

4 strokes verses 2 strokes, there is no comparison, really.
 
Interesting comments, I absolutely loved my f2 400/4, it begged to be thrashed which didn't seem quite right for an 30yr old appreciating classic, still, it was a giggle & handled rather well too IMHO although I remember the rear shocks being rock hard (whatever they were).
Does it matter if there is better/faster stuff out there, if you enjoy what you have?

Sent from my SM-A320FL using Tapatalk
 
Interesting comments, I absolutely loved my f2 400/4, it begged to be thrashed which didn't seem quite right for an 30yr old appreciating classic, still, it was a giggle & handled rather well too IMHO although I remember the rear shocks being rock hard (whatever they were).
Does it matter if there is better/faster stuff out there, if you enjoy what you have?

Sent from my SM-A320FL using Tapatalk

Yes!!
I had a Dunstall pipe on mine and used to put a tablespoon of castor oil in the tank, then turn around and ride back to catch a whiff.
Astrid, the local Jubilee beauty queen was my pillion and more in those days.
Happy days :) :D although not much has changed!
 
Plate

Got the V5 back and it’s had it’s first run, going for a new front tyre tomorrow as it’s DOT is quite old as in Manufactured in 2002
 

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It’s funny how these bikes seem to shrink as the years go by , when they first came out they seem a decent size but now when you come across these bikes they are tiny . I spotted a Suzuki GT250 A a few months back and it was tiny ,yet when I had mine it seemed quite big and I used to carry a pillion a lot of the time
 


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