1978 Honda CB400 Type II

[aaronb]

i have an '81 400t.  bought it two years ago for $650.  it is in pretty good shape (much nicer than the one you showed on CL).  bike bandit still sells many oem parts, and the aftermarket has been fine.  so far i have replaced the head bearings, clutch, and o'hauled the front brake (ever see 27 year old brake fluid?).  the clutch was EBC, bearings were All Balls, and everything else including lots of little bits not mentioned were oem honda. 

oh and power wise, it does great on city streets, still quick compared to most cars.  it gets a little winded above 75 n the freeway, although i have had it up to 90. 

[He Man]

i went to see it today, the bike kickstarts right up, the starter hangs and will buzz. he says he spoke to a guy and the pistons are fouled up cause the bike runs rich (plus the dude revs the crap out of hte bike to warm it up with the choke on)  so i should either take it down and sand the pistons.

I figure you can just rejet it, sea foam straight thorugh the carbs and let it run for a bit at high RPM, and a new battery should get the starter spinning?

Front brakes are non existent, inspection revealed NO BRAKE FLUID! The dude spray painted EVERYTHING with no predijuice. Wires, and part of the fork leg too .

Says $500 without the cargo stuff.

Also is it normal for the shifter to continue to move after you shift into first? Its like it wants to go into 0th gear, but it doesnt click in.

THe bike almost smokes a hella lot when he kick started it with the choke on.

im not willing to pay $500 for this. Maybe $400. but thats it.

WHats your recommomendation? wait for another or jump in and negotiate @ $350?

[NAKID]

With all the stuff that's wrong, and potentially wrong, $350 would probably be a good start. Make sure you tell him why you're only offering $350...

[ducatiz]

starter problem may be the sprag gear.. not a huge deal, but requires pulling off the flywheel.  try putting a battery directly to the starter and see what happens.  if you are careful, you can disconnect the starter's wires and connect an external batter directly to see if it will start that way.  best to have 2 folks to do this.

decoking the pistons can be done by putting water down the carbs.  it's ugly and sounds horrible, but it works.  search around on the net for how to do it.

the shifter sounds like either the bearing is shot or the selector forks are loose.  i would want to check that out first.   it shouldn't be surgical-tight but it shouldn't move more than 1/4-1/2 inch.

I might pass.  I doubt he took care of it.  No front brakes?  WTF?

[He Man]

by no front brakes i mean they dont work at all (might as well not be there is what im tyring to get to)

 wont even hold the bike from falling down the hill.



i guess the consensus is 1/2 buy 1/2 dont.

$350 offer. not sure how high im willing to go. I think 400 is my max.

[NAKID]

Yeah, I would just start to walk away if he even hints at asking for more than $350. Those forks are crap too....

[He Man]

he wants $500-600 or else hes gonna part it. Just called in, dropped an offer and he sounded pretty upset. oh well. keep looking?

[aaronb]

that sucks.  he is going to go through the work tear that bike apart and will be lucky to get $400 for all the bits. 

[He Man]

thats if someone doesnt steal it. dude doesnt have a garage and lives in an apt on the upper west side. you see how close that car is parked up against the bike? lol

[Popeye the Sailor]

I'd walk, unless it was $350.

[DEVO!]

My first bike  was a 1975 CB400F! that looks like the first Honda Hawk that came out way back when, I rode it in 81' and it is what it is for a 2 cylinder dont expect too much I agree 3-400 is about right make sure all the electricals are ok those items will be hard to source but lots of other parts from hondas of that era will cross over.

[dbran1949]

It makes you wonder, what could have been the internal dialog going on during that paint job. 

[He Man]

the same thing that goes through people who buy darks.

[ducatiz]

the same thing that goes through people who buy darks.

buying a dark is totally different from spray bombing your forks and wiring etc.. 

one is style, the other is laziness.  looks like he didn't even tape off anything at all.

i would pass man. no telling what demons lie inside that crankcase.  that is one unloved bike.

i'd offer 250 and tell him to have fun parting it on the sidewalk if he doesn't take it.  i seriously doubt he's got a shop on the UWS. 

[dbran1949]

I think it was more like:

1. "I'll just spray this little bit here"
2. "oops, got some over spray on that thing there"
3. "better spray that part I got the over spray on"
4. GOTO 2