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Newbie Project '81 CM400A

509 views 2 replies 3 participants last post by  BrianHull 
#1 ·
Hello all, after closing around the forum for some time i finally decided to join... I bought my cm400a from a guy for $400... he had previously just had it sitting for about three years and wouldn't start...I kno it probably wasn't the best financial decision but I really feel in love with this bike. Plus I'm a beginner s.o i kno it's a good bike to start on and i figured i can learn as i go...so far I've replaced the battery, throttles cables(push cable was completely frayed, but decided to order and change both), ordered new shocks, oil filter kit, a new bobber seat, ignition switch... the biggest issue in having is finding a carb kit specially for my year...I've been able to get it to start but it won't idle, so I assume it could be a carb issue... I've pulled the carbs out, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous about getting everything back to proper adjustments...

Don't mind the double seat, I was taking pics of what it'd look like if I put that set back on...
 

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#2 ·
Gotta start somewhere, 400$ ain't a bad buy and you'd likely make that money back if you decided to sell eventually. Usually I'd advise against buying another person's project but your bike looks complete.

You have come to the right place for advice. I am not experienced with your bike specifically but don't be afraid of your carbs. They MUST be cleaned spotless, take them off and get acquainted. As long as you don't break or lose anything you will be fine, get a FSM if you don't have one already.

Someone will come along after me with some useful links, I would link you but I don't have anything helpful on hand for your bike.

Welcome to HT
 
#3 · (Edited)
Hello, I have a 82" Cm450E. Sounds like you have a VB24 carb, a little different then mine. I believe there is an idle adjustment knob under the carb. You might try adjusting this to see if it helps. There are also carb adjustment screws that give the carb more or less fuel as needed. Did you pull out the spark plugs and look at them? Spark plugs will tell you a lot about how rich or lean your running. See the chart in this link https://www.hondatwins.net/forums/6...1654-carb-information-years-jetting-more.html

Since your bike has been worked on before, you need to get knowledge of what the previous owner has done to it? It looks like you have the factory air box still on this. Probably a good thing. Sometime guys will install pods air filters and rejet the carb and the bike starts running bad. If it's sat for a while then it would be a good idea to run seafoam through the carb or clean and rebuild. Probably needs an oil change too. Look under the carb section for your model bike and get familar with this carb and how to test and tune.
 
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