Welcome. A little surprised your father in law would knock a bike from his era (I'm guessing). Modern bikes and their humpback tanks don't do it for me either. There are plenty of Harley jokes if you want to give as good as you get.

 

He has a vendetta against Japanese bikes. Said I won't ever find parts (which is fair) and that if I wanted a small bike a Sportster would be 100x better. Jokes on him I love Honda's and Suzuki's more and I don't have to pay the Harley premium for the same quality bike.

 

Nice looking bike for an original. IMHO I would spend the summer riding and enjoying the bike and take the time to learn the bike and decide what you want to do. Look for parts that you need or want. Buy or download a Honda full service manual and read it cover to cover .Spend the time to learn the bike before doing anything. Good luck and happy riding.

Bill H

 

Hi and all of the above...

The real joke is going to be on the really twisty bits of road watching the Harley disappear in your mirror, buy that's to come...

You know of cmsnl com for all that printer friendly really usefull info....

Enjoy...

 

Since you are new to riding and the Honda 400s a few things you may find interesting. The 400 motor is a 360 degree motor. This means both pistons go up and down at the same time. Both spark plugs fire at the same time. One on the compression stroke the other on an open exhaust valve. Some call it a wasted spark motor. It has a capacitor discharge ignition system. The ignition system is flywheel to stator to CDI to coils to plugs. It will run without the battery. The battery is for the starter and lights. As I suggested read the manual before doing anything.

For parts I go to my search engine and type in the year , make , model of the bike, with the name of the part you are looking for and the part number . If its on the net it will show up. you can find part numbers on the above named places .I do this when having trouble finding parts.

Have fun

Bill H

 

Balance shaft if it's a 6 valve motor, single overhead cam.

Avoid having to undo the 4 centre head bolts !!!!!

Any oil leaks or evidence of " sealer" at the front of the engine between cylinder and crankcase, and between cylinders .....?

Enjoy your ownership..

 

Your picture is a bit fuzzy...

May I ask please, exact model and market ?

Also, what size front and rear tyres please ??

Thanks

 

Bike looks good, if a little oxidized, nothing some polishing/wet sanding can't cure. My suggestion for a new rider, don't drink and ride, don't ride too fast, don't get caught up in the exhileration of speed,many first timers won't survive the first 6 months on the street without an incident, many who do,won't ride again, it is a crucial time for learning the dos and don'ts of motorcycling on the street. There are many things to learn, just take it gradually. Get a right side mirror, as you'll need it. I like to use my rt mirror for the rear view of the lane i'm traveling, and the left mirror for the left lane (on a 2 lane road). Looking at your pics, rotate your left mirror out further, so as not to get so much of your shoulder in the view. Man hole covers, the middle of lanes, especially at intersections, painted surfaces such as crosswalks are the most slippery, more so when wet. Personally i would swap out the handlebars for something more standard. Take the time to learn the maintenance of your machine, its important,straight forward and rewarding. I recommend using Stabil at every fill up, a fuel preservative which combats the effects of the lousy E10 gasoline sold in most US states, it will save you many headaches down the road(and carb rebuilds) Good luck with your bike, wear proper safety gear( hi viz jackets work), it is a high reward, low cost machine, which can be inherently dangerous if not respected. Disregard your knucklehead stepdad, does he expect you to start riding on a road king?

 

I actually just got a side mirror on ebay so I'm just waiting for that to arrive. What kind of handlebars would you suggest for a more "standard" one?

 

I should have added, always be aware of your surroundings. garjo

 

May I ask, is there s basic "test" a rider has to pass to be allowed to ride on the road in the USA ?

Or can anyone just jump on any bike and ride ?

 

Here in Mass you just need to pass a written exam

 

Also diesel...or anything else on the road really......including vehicle drivers !

 

Blimey, no riding skills test !

Your gunna have to acquire some "sixth sence" that is so necessary.

Assume everybody driving on the road wants to kill you, and, learn how to close the throttle.

Every moron knows how to open a throttle, they don't last long. The clever ones knOw how to close a throttle.

Done any off road riding at all ?

 

Also a new rider, I just got an 81 CM400T yesterday! Yours is way nicer than mine though. Definitely find the shop manual and read through it, I'm not mechanically inclined but for a bike of that age I'm going to have to learn and take my time fixing and restoring, and of course riding.

 

I'm also a 1981 CM400C owner! I've got a whole slew of websites and resources I've collected for the last 3 years I can dump here.
MotorcycleID, DimeCityCycles, Speedmoto, Replacement Seats, Kit for syncing your carbs, Honda Parts Direct, Partzilla, Cyclegear, The shop manual for that year's CM400 (off my drive since this site can't handle the file size), And a colored wiring diagram!