75’ CB 400F

Look at that exhaust shine… The most important thing I have learned in building my first bike was patience. Not just your normal dinner and a movie before sex patience, but close. It takes a couple of times to realize this importance. Motorcycle riding is worth waiting and doing it right the first time. Do not rush your building to get it on the road!! Your build will suffer.


The most noticeable part on this bike is the exhaust, by far. This four into one is close to perfect. Someone had taped the seat and tank a bit to conserve the original paint and seat. So bad 30 or so years of Florida’s heat made seat and tape one. The tank with only one small ding ended up being in workable condition. And a big enough crash bar to take down a moose at 40.

Chrome work
Spend a fare amount of extra time and money in this department. It will pay off. I bought a bench grinder at the Pawn America and found a couple of cloth wheels for buffing. Look what I crapped out..

July 10

The only big problems so far had been the carbs. Years of abuse and gas had really taken a toll on the small parts within the carbs. Broken float posts, clogged fuel passageways, corroded cast and sticky valves. O I did drop the bike on its oil pan…new one cost $20.

List of random fixes

• Bars Front Caliper (Thanks Hutch)
• Paint Tank
• New Seat
  
• Hours and Hours of Carb work
• New Tires
  
• Made new connections for Spark Plugs
  
• Fresh Frame Paint
  
• Enough Chrome to enter SoCal’s Bling Comp
• Carb Work

Right out of the womb I should have let the carbs soak in something, anything. Live and learn. This might have freed up about a thousand parts than I broke. I’m a sucker for salvage really. I could have bought a complete carb assembly, but that was too much moola for a student. Several times I tried to reattach the float posts I had broken. JB weld it hold it for now. It seems to work well with gas but I have not ridden it enough to verify. I did find a used carb body assembly minus carb 1, with a plate mount for $25 (Thanks Cycle-Re-Cycle). The only problem was I needed a 1 and 3 carb. So looking at the carbs for a few minutes I realized I could use a carb 2 with some modifications and reversal. It should work