The General Motorbikers Discussion Thread

I'm now the owner of a Honda CB400t! I'm on the ferry at the moment so it'll be a bit before I have a thread up.

If it's the one I pointed you at off Craigslist, I'll post up the ad.

3n23p93lbZZZZZZZZZ96l32ee2076c51c1bb9.jpg


1978 honda cb400t hawk - $1500 (west seattle)

10 k orig
all works
exc mech condt
new; brakes,tires,top end,batt,seat,shocks , fork seals,chain spocket, head light!!!
tabs and title good
5 spd
elec and kick start
chrome rack


full asking price to test drive
1,500 cash

A good buy, people like those middleweight Hondas and they're still in demand here. The ComStar I wheels are maintenance free, unlike the spoked wheels on so many other bikes in this class. And it's got CDI instead of points for an ignition, IIRC.
 
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Yep that's the one. The guy hadn't riden it much and had limited gararge space. So I benefit from all the maintence he put into it. Started well on a cold start and had little cosmetic blemishes. I managed to drop it while loading it on my trailer, but it fell on padding so I'm going to guess it is ok. Righ now I am transporting it on it's side, ye yea I know, it isn't topped off with fuel and there was minimal leaking.
 
Yep that's the one. The guy hadn't riden it much and had limited gararge space. So I benefit from all the maintence he put into it. Started well on a cold start and had little cosmetic blemishes. I managed to drop it while loading it on my trailer, but it fell on padding so I'm going to guess it is ok. Righ now I am transporting it on it's side, ye yea I know, it isn't topped off with fuel and there was minimal leaking.

That's... not good. Make sure you wash it thoroughly when you get it home and pray you have no dents. How hard did it fall over?
 
I managed to drop it while loading it on my trailer, but it fell on padding so I'm going to guess it is ok. Righ now I am transporting it on it's side, ye yea I know, it isn't topped off with fuel and there was minimal leaking.

Speaking of which, I managed to drop the Beemer last week while pushing it out of the garage, luckily onto our front garden so nothing was damaged.
Unluckily, it fell on the bit with a rose bush on it. And christ, that thing is heavy...
Anyway, after I managed to get it up again I noticed that something had leaked through the seam between the front fairing and tank. When I tried to start it, I had to let the starter run for a bit before it eventually fired up. My guess was that maybe some petrol got out of the carb...?
But then again I got the impression that it needs more choke to start up now...? :?
Apart from that it still runs ok, but I'm nevertheless a bit worried that maybe something got damaged and needs fixing.

PS: After watching Long Way Round and Long Way Down, I'm wondering, why are you (apparently) supposed to stand up when riding off-road?
 
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Speaking of which, I managed to drop the Beemer last week while pushing it out of the garage, luckily onto our front garden so nothing was damaged.
Unluckily, it fell on the bit with a rose bush on it. And christ, that thing is heavy...
Anyway, after I managed to get it up again I noticed that something had leaked through the seam between the front fairing and tank. When I tried to start it, I had to let the starter run for a bit before it eventually fired up. My guess was that maybe some petrol got out of the carb...?
But then again I got the impression that it needs more choke to start up now...? :?
Apart from that it still runs ok, but I'm nevertheless a bit worried that maybe something got damaged and needs fixing.

PS: After watching Long Way Round and Long Way Down, I'm wondering, why are you (apparently) supposed to stand up when riding off-road?

You may have stirred up some of the trash in the bottom of the tank or in the bottom of the carb float bowl. This may mess up your carburetion and require you to clean the carb.

As for standing up, it is called "posting" and it comes from horseback riding. You stand up on the pegs to allow the motorcycle to move about without your mass on the back - instead you turn yourself into a self-suspended component whose weight is more centered over the bike and is effectively concentrated at the footpegs. This moves the bike's center of gravity much lower and allows the bike to move about without tossing you around or even off the bike entirely. In addition, the bike becomes more maneuverable and can lean or pitch more at a lower speed without falling over.
 
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That's... not good. Make sure you wash it thoroughly when you get it home and pray you have no dents. How hard did it fall over?

It didn't fall too hard, and the anti-bike-harm-bar-thingy (technical term) saved anything from harm.
 
Ah, good. That's what the crash bars are for. I assume it didn't roll over onto the handlebars?

Those crash bars/hoops are some of the best things you can have fitted to a learner's motorcycle. :D The rule is that new riders will drop their bikes at least once in their first six months while riding it. (That's six months worth of riding, not six months chronologically.) Everyone does it. Anyone who says otherwise either hasn't got six months' riding in yet or is lying - there are no exceptions.
 
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The handlebars didn't hit anything so I will just clean up any fuel that leaked out.
 
OK after cleaning up and letting it sit for a bit I fired it up. I now have an oil light. I guess most of it leaked out and to pollute the land during transport. I might as well change it. What should I use? And where is the oil filter located?
 
The oil filter should be front and center behind the header pipes on the front of the engine. It is a replaceable element type, much like an air filter, except it filters oil. It will be carried in a finned "can" protruding from the front of the engine. It is held on by a single bolt; you need to replace the o-ring around the bolt and around the can every time you change the filter. Fortunately, the filters come with these.

32d1_1.GIF


As for the oil, you used to be able to use car oil. Unfortunately, in the name of "protecting the earth" car oils now carry substances that poison your wet clutch and no longer carry the materials needed to prevent wear in air cooled engines.

You can use special motorcycle oils - or you can use diesel-only oils, as they do not carry the clutch poisons. One favorite among those that do is Shell Rotella and Rotella T, both of which have been tested and found to work. You may also be able to find Honda's GN4 or HP4 oils at a reasonable price at your dealer or many bike shops. Weight should be 10W30 or 10W40 and is usually indicated either on the dipstick/filler cap or somewhere nearby.
 
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Cool cool. I just found a copy of the shop manual on-line.
 
And just to warn you (but hopefully not to scare you off): if the bolt is anything like the one on my CB550, then it's going to be a humongous pain in the ass to remove. If it's stuck you can either grind the bolt off, which is simple and straightforward but may necessitate a new oil filter cover (find one on eBay), or you can hammer in a socket that's slightly smaller than the bolt, hit it with lots of PB Blaster, sacrifice a chicken to the Gods of Motorcycling, let the chemicals sink in for a while, then try to loosen it from there. You'll destroy a socket in the process, however.
 
Actually, that whole Twinstar series has the later larger style bolt heads that are harder. :D He probably won't round it off like what was so common on the SOHC/4s. The Twinstars' bolts usually come off with no muss, no fuss, and they don't have the headers in the way.

FYI, there's a retrofit bolt for the old SOHC/4s.
 
Actually, that whole Twinstar series has the later larger style bolt heads that are harder. :D He probably won't round it off like what was so common on the SOHC/4s. The Twinstars' bolts usually come off with no muss, no fuss, and they don't have the headers in the way.

FYI, there's a retrofit bolt for the old SOHC/4s.

Well, he's luckier than us, then. And I already bought the 17mm EMGO replacement bolt (as well as a new oil filter housing that I was lucky enough to score on eBay for $10 instead of the usual $60 for a NOS one.
 
Woot for I. I will go hit up some of the local motorcycle shops for the filter/oil. It doesn't look like NAPA or O'Rilly have bike parts.

Do I just ask for engine oil or do I need the specific Honda GN4 or HP4 stuff?
 
Well, he's luckier than us, then. And I already bought the 17mm EMGO replacement bolt (as well as a new oil filter housing that I was lucky enough to score on eBay for $10 instead of the usual $60 for a NOS one.

Luckier than you, anyway. While I had the EMGO bolt on my 750K5, I don't have to worry about that now, since the 700S uses an automotive-style spin-on filter. :D
Still just as much as a PITA to get it off, though - headers are still in the way. :p

Woot for I. I will go hit up some of the local motorcycle shops for the filter/oil. It doesn't look like NAPA or O'Rilly have bike parts.

Do I just ask for engine oil or do I need the specific Honda GN4 or HP4 stuff?

NAPA and Pep Boys carry the motorcycle's filter, as does AutoZone.

You need motorcycle specific oil, and many auto parts shops stock it. Any motorcycle engine oil (except Harley's) will do.
 
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I am assuming that O-ring goes around the bolt end. Do I just cut off the old one then stretch the new one and push it down to where the old one was?
 
I am assuming that O-ring goes around the bolt end. Do I just cut off the old one then stretch the new one and push it down to where the old one was?

Little o-ring goes on the bolt, big o-ring goes around the "can" or "cup" in the groove provided; don't forget to lube both with clean oil prior to installation and wipe off the mounting surfaces first. So, yes.
 
Yea I figured that and went ahead with it.

Happy good times for me. Smoke seems to be escaping out of the header where it meets the mufflers. I took a look and it is rusted. I awesomely enough hadn't noticed this when I bought it.

https://pic.armedcats.net/a/ar/argatoga/2009/06/29/fuck.jpg
 
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