REALITY SETS IN…
There is a whole separate story about the poor shipper who
bid on the bike’s shipping costs and got waylaid during his trip, but I will
cut to the chase and evaluate what showed up at my residence a week or so
later.
The bike was dirty, oily and smelled of gasoline when it
arrived. The rims had rust, spokes were dull, the rear brake backing plate was
devoid of its factory finish, both fork seals started bleeding oil after
arrival and the battery was held in with a bit of copper wire, plus lacked the
requisite battery vent tube. Lacking the vent tube, battery acids flew
backwards, beneath the bodywork, spraying sulfuric acid on the frame tubing and
the rectifier, which is bolted to the frame on that side. The drive chain was
dirty and rusty and there were unsightly blemishes in the black paint where
apparently a tarp was laid across the bodywork for a few generations. The master cylinder was drooling a bit of
brake fluid and the caliper proved to be packed with decades-old muck, requiring
replacement of the seal ring, piston and brake pads. The fuel tank was seeping
fuel out of a lengthwise crack that had been unsuccessfully repaired with a
layer of fiberglass cloth and resin. The
leak drooled gasoline all over the cylinder head and much of the upper end of
the bike, which mixed with old dirt, oil and other contaminants.
It appeared that the engine might have been removed before
it was painted satin black, as there wasn’t any noticeable overspray to be seen
on the frame mounts. Whatever it was, after 40 years, the paint was no longer
staying adhered to the engine components. I was tempted to call the bike
“Calico” due to the blotchy spots of paint that remained all over the engine.
Apparently, the Tracy bodywork installation required removal
of the side cover anchor bracket on the left side and removal of both of the
welded-on seat brackets. Perhaps the mislabeled bike title “1975 CB450” was a
clue as to the actual ownership knowledge of the machine. The fuel tank had
some kind of silver coating, which was disintegrating rapidly. The petcock
appeared to be an aftermarket copy of a dual outlet CB750 SOHC unit, but only
one fitting can be used on the single feed CB400F carb sets. An interesting
side note is that the big rectangular tail light lens has Suzuki on the edge
and appears to be from an early 1980s GS850 or similar model. I finally got the
key (copy) in the mail with the title, but the bike only turned over a few
times before the battery went dead. It showed 11.75 volts on the bench before
connecting the charger to the terminals.
A day later it was showing 13.25 volts, so there was some hope for it.
In the meantime, the 1-piece bodywork was wrestled off the
chassis and rolled over to expose some ugly fiberglass work done on the bottom,
probably to address fuel leaks there. The tail light wiring was held together
with wire nuts and the two bodywork mounting bolts at the rear frame had no
nuts attached.
As mentioned previously, the engine had been painted satin
black, perhaps 40 years ago, but the paint was peeling off in many areas. The
carburetors were fitted with K&N pod filters, instead of the factory air
box. There was old gasoline and oil residue all over the top of the engine as
well as underneath.
I decided to just pull the carburetors off and disassemble
them for cleaning and to see what jetting sizes had been installed. All four
carburetor throttle bodies were coated in a brown, slimy coating on the
insides, leading to the intake manifolds and inlet ports on the cylinder head. The intake manifolds appeared to be originals,
so new replacements were ordered, along with new carb kits, brake parts, fork
seals, spoke kits, a battery strap, spark plugs, tune-up parts and lots more,
which ran up a $300 bill at 4into1.com.
A lengthy carb strip, cleaning and installation of new
o-rings brought the carbs back up to spec and the bike started up and ran
cleanly, initially... I was pleased to see that the jets installed were #40
idle jets and #80 main jets. Stock jetting is #40 and #75, so obviously the
bike needed extra fueling to compensate for the 4:1 Kerker exhaust and the lack
of a proper air box/filter for the intake side. Additional main jet increases
may be required due to the CA alcohol infused fuels, which is the only option
these days in California. The carb rack is nearly identical to the one used on
the CB350F predecessor, which are calibrated with #35 and #75 jetting.
On subsequent restarts the engine would only run on 3
cylinders, leaving #4 with a cold exhaust pipe. The carb rack was removed again
and a tiny piece of fluff was found to have gotten into the #4 cylinder’s pilot
jet. With carbs reinstalled, the engine fired up sounding healthy once again.
While checking for other #4 cylinder possible problem areas, a test of the plug
caps found that all of them had between 9k and 10k ohm resistance readings, so
they were all replaced with new NGK 5k ohm caps.
The engine now sounds good with no unusual tapping, clicking
or banging around inside. An oil cooler had been fitted to the bike, but 40 year-old
oil lines were dripping at the connections. New hoses, oil and filter helped to
clean things up, inside and out.
An additional $250 was spent on new tires, tubes and rim
bands. The 4.10x18 (replaces 3.50x18) sized tires were mounted on both wheels,
which were over-sized for the rim width up front and were probably 40 years
old. The bike got a good bath to degrease and clean the engine and chassis,
while a fresh batch of Caswell tank sealer was ordered to help remedy the
failing fuel tank cavity.
Removing the points cover revealed OEM Honda points and
condensers in place. Once the engine has been evaluated for reliability,
perhaps a Dyna ignition will be installed.
Compression readings ran right around 170 psi on all cylinders, which is
right at OEM specifications.
The bike did come with some takeoff parts, including a poorly
repainted stock fuel tank (with dent), a stock seat, one repainted side cover,
the OEM rear outer fender (also painted yellow) and tail light assembly, plus
the matching Tracy quarter fairing, which had not been installed on the bike.
The fuel tank had an aftermarket keyed gas cap latch, which was missing the key
portion. A screwdriver was used to open the latch and mercifully the fuel tank
was shiny and clean inside. The OEM petcock was with the tank and a good usable
part. The seat was original, but starting to split along the heat stamped
seams, so would need a new cover, but can’t be used on this chassis due to lack
of brackets.
I have to say that I failed to do my “due diligence” before
the purchase in getting more detailed photos, asking more pertinent questions
and working out the paperwork details. In hindsight, it wasn’t the best
purchase I have ever made, despite being a hard to find CB400F with the
one-of-three (reportedly) Tracy bodywork. The photos of the bike didn’t reveal
the paint discoloration, leaking forks (which is an automatic with these bikes
for some reason) and other details. Still, it had “good bones” but was probably
over-priced for the condition that it was in.
Wrestling a 4.5 foot long hunk of fiberglass became taxing
in a hurry. In order to seal the fuel tank, an order of Caswell epoxy sealer
was made and received. They recommended using a quick splash of acetone or good
old Dawn dishwasher detergent and lots of water to flush. The difficulty with
the Dawn rinse was getting the tank dried out again afterwards. Plus there was
quite a bit of the old thick sealer bits floating around inside which needed to
be extracted mostly by shaking the whole assembly upside down. The whole thing
is quite unwieldy to say the least, but after a few rounds of compressed air
and a heat gun, it seemed to be ready to seal up with the Caswell product.
The petcock had been removed and the holes sealed with a
couple of 6mm screws and a rubber plug for the center hole. A plastic storage
bag was employed to seal up a spare gas cap, when the tank was inverted to seal
up the top surfaces. After mixing the sealant cans and pouring them down inside
the tank, the cap was installed and the whole unit turned in all possible axis
and angles in order to fully coat the rough interior of the tank chamber. Surprisingly, once the gyrations were
completed, virtually no excess sealer drained out of the tank openings. I’m not
sure about the actual capacity of the fuel tank chamber, but it appears to be
more extended than first realized. The bumpy internal surfaces seemed to have
absorbed the fuel tank sealer, due to excessive surface area than would be
found inside a steel fuel tank.
The tank cured in the SoCal sun for 2 days, hardening to a
fuel-proof (I hope) glaze. Before remounting the Tracy bodywork, more repairs
were made, including trying to piece together the original airbox and air
filter assemblies, which were gutted because of the installation of the K&N
pod filters. There are numerous pieces to replace in the air box assembly,
which is mostly a carryover from the parent CB350F model. A few of the pieces have been reproduced, but
building up a system from scratch could run up into the $300 range. I slowly
picked up bits and pieces from eBay sellers and my friends at 4:1 in SFO to
resurrect the OEM air filter system trying to keep the cost down around $100,
but I had to pay $50 just for the air box lid.
As an alternate to the Tracy bodywork option, a roundup of
OEM headlight components was initiated to replace the massive H4 unit installed
upon rather crudely-welded and modified headlight mount. Again, an eBay seller came up with a whole front
bracket and turn signal light assembly at a fraction of the “new price” or even
some of the used parts on the market.
The inner rear fender liner was missing, so another check of
eBay found a decent one for sale at a good price. The rear mounting holes are
fitted with 6mm sized bolt holes which are a good bit smaller than the big
holes drilled for the Tracy bodywork setup. A couple of fender washers will
help take up the hole size in the rear frame crossover bracket and should clamp
the whole assembly down securely.
The rest of the chassis was treated to new front fork seals
and dust boots and the 13.25” Koni shocks replaced with a supplied set of
vintage Mulholland branded shocks of the correct 12.5” lengths. Both wheels
were stripped apart, cleaned and re-spoked with kits from Marty at the
4onto1.com site. The front brake caliper was cleaned out with a new piston and
seal ring installed. New pads completed the front brake repairs, but the master
cylinder remains to be rebuilt.
The engine was first degreased then a spray-on, citrus
based, paint stripper used on the leftover black paint splotches. For the most
part, the 1-2 punch cleaned and removed much of the black paint, but there are
still little nooks and crannies where the spray didn’t reach effectively.
Small stopper brackets were made to prevent the centerstand
from hitting the drive chain in the retracted position. The usual stopper for
the stand rests against the OEM muffler, which is no longer present.
New wiring leads were made for the sub-harness coming back
from the rear bodywork section which feeds the tail light and turn signals. It
isn’t clear as to whether the rear signal units are still available and of a
kind which will mount up to the OEM Honda headlight mount and signal stalks.
After paying DMV handsomely for current registration and
tags, the bike was ready for a short test run, finally! With a 16t front
sprocket, the acceleration was brisk and the engine ran cleanly all the way up
to redline in lower gears. The rear shocks/springs, which date back almost as
old as the whole bike, seemed to have decent spring rate and damping, but these
chassis are still 40+ years old and lack refinement to match even the cheapest
of today’s street machines.
Surprisingly, the Kerker exhaust is relatively well muffled,
but still gives off a distinctive sound when the revs come up to 5 figures.
With a 458cc kit and a hotter camshaft, the whole package would be more in
keeping with the futuristic body styling. The handlebars are stock OEM first
generation low riser types, so the whole riding setup is café style, but not
unbearable for us older folks.
To date, a week after the fuel tank sealing adventure, there
is no sign of gasoline leaking from the tank. The petcock location is somewhat
unfortunate, in that the petcock fuel fitting location puts the fuel line up
next to the carburetor body. The whole bodywork package precludes use of the
tool tray, which normally sits atop the air filter housing, so the practicality
of this bodywork option is lacking in that regard.
Hopefully, the tainted paint work might rub out with
compound and a good wax job. The whole bike is a bit above “rat bike” status,
cosmetically, but it seems to be solid mechanically and is fun to ride, so far.
It will either be the bike that I take to my grave or perhaps someone will feel
the need to take over a restoration project like this and wind up with one very
unique CB400F.
Bill “MrHonda” Silver
No comments:
Post a Comment