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Not Your Father's 400 - Honda CBR400RR

Started by The Red Scourge, August 13, 2021, 02:24:58 PM

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85RZwade

megazip.net also a good resource; they have a U.S. warehouse
I post waayyy too much

The Red Scourge

Quote from: 85RZwade on September 06, 2021, 10:41:55 AM
megazip.net also a good resource; they have a U.S. warehouse
Quote from: busa1300 on September 06, 2021, 09:06:12 AM
If you need parts, Japan is the place
https://auctions.yahoo.co.jp/search/search?p=nc23&va=nc23&istatus=2&exflg=1&b=1&n=100&mode=2

The build quality of Home market bikes, especially from Honda is in many cases works of art.
I had a NSR250R R5K for a short time, and it was just as high spec as the RC30 was from the same time period.

Thanks!  I wasn't familiar with either of those.  I'm already running into parts availability issues lol.
'76 Yamaha RD400C
'71 Kawasaki G3SS
'88 Honda CBR400RR
'90 Yamaha FZR400/600 hybrid

peaky

Quote from: peaky on August 30, 2021, 08:35:29 AM
Hey! I got a swinger off that bike if anyone's interested  :celebrate: :celebrate:

Just posted it in the for sale section—-the FRZ400R swinger.

The Red Scourge

Progress has been painfully slow recently.  Family stuff and work has taken up nearly all of my time.  I did finally manage to get the carbs cleaned thoroughly.  I bought a big ol' (30 liter) ultrasonic cleaner that helped quite a bit.  They look much better than before.  This was my first experience having to reassemble an inline 4's carburetors, and man, getting all those springs back in the throttle linkage sure is fiddly work!
'76 Yamaha RD400C
'71 Kawasaki G3SS
'88 Honda CBR400RR
'90 Yamaha FZR400/600 hybrid

busa1300

Got a couple of your float bowls crossed up.
The drain screw needs to be accessible from the side of the bike
RZ350-RZV500R-TZR250RSP 3XV2
RGV250 VJ21 SP/VJ22 SP/VJ23 SP
RS250 for track - KD80 - JR50 for kids
https://youtube.com/@wedgehorsepower9869?feature=shared

m in sc


The Red Scourge

Haha, you guys have good eyes!  I noticed that some time after taking the pics and remedied that before re-installing.
'76 Yamaha RD400C
'71 Kawasaki G3SS
'88 Honda CBR400RR
'90 Yamaha FZR400/600 hybrid

The Red Scourge

#37
Finally got the wheels prepped and painted.  The paint was generally okay, but was chipped around the rims.  Initially I used PJ1 Fast Black satin, but their definition of satin is far more matte than mine.  The wheel bearings were also an adventure.  The rears looked to be factory bearings with the metal dust shield, not fully sealed.  Anyways, they were so rusted I had to break them apart to get them out.  I sometimes get frustrated with my own process.  I really hadn't planned to fully go through this bike.  Quick refresh, and go ride.  These are the times it pays to get caught up in those small details I suppose. 
'76 Yamaha RD400C
'71 Kawasaki G3SS
'88 Honda CBR400RR
'90 Yamaha FZR400/600 hybrid

The Red Scourge

Decided to repaint the wheels with VHT Roll Bar and Chassis paint (gloss), my general go-to black paint.  They came out a little glossier than I'd like, but I'm okay with it.  When it eventually get a complete tear down rebuild I'll have the powder coated.  Rotors back on and fitted...after forgetting about the spacer that goes between the bearings.  I destroyed a good set of wheel bearings by torquing the axle down without that spacer and wondering why it was binding up.  Oh well, I've destroyed more expensive things.  On to the brakes!
'76 Yamaha RD400C
'71 Kawasaki G3SS
'88 Honda CBR400RR
'90 Yamaha FZR400/600 hybrid

The Red Scourge

#39
The front brakes were another case of "I'm glad I put in the time to inspect them, just to be sure".  Brakes worked great, but line was leaking, so I acquired some braided stainless lines.  The calipers were in the worst shape I've encountered yet.  Pistons we're close to being seized, seals torn badly.  There's damage to both calipers and brackets.  I've never seen this before.  There are dents all over.  I ordered another well worn set off of eBay, and even they had the dents!  These are the oldest aluminum calipers I've rebuilt, is this a common thing?  I mean, I know the bike had been tracked and needs some TLC, but this is kind of weird to me.  I wouldn't think that pebbles or other road debris could damage them like this.  I'll try to clean up the corrosion on the originals and use them.  If not, I'll paint the black ones and use those.
'76 Yamaha RD400C
'71 Kawasaki G3SS
'88 Honda CBR400RR
'90 Yamaha FZR400/600 hybrid

The Red Scourge

...
'76 Yamaha RD400C
'71 Kawasaki G3SS
'88 Honda CBR400RR
'90 Yamaha FZR400/600 hybrid

The Red Scourge

So Ive been steadily working on the CBR, just haven't posted in a while.  I cleaned up, sanded and painted the brake calipers.  They look good, the gold is a little loud though.  Paint right next to brake fluid is a short term solution.  When I eventually break it all the way down to rebuild it right, I'll powder coat these.

One of the final issues is a frayed throttle cable.  Sourcing a proper one from GF Racing in the UK was looking like north of $60 US, for only one of the cables.  It took a lot of trial and error, but I soldered my own cables and it came out really nice.

Got it running and was dumping fuel out of the 1 & 2 carb overflow lines.  I'd forgotten to check float height, so I figured it was that.  When I opened up the bowl on #1, the float needle had somehow fallen out of the channel!  No wonder it was dumping fuel! 
'76 Yamaha RD400C
'71 Kawasaki G3SS
'88 Honda CBR400RR
'90 Yamaha FZR400/600 hybrid

85RZwade

I am envious of your progress, Red. You're doing great
I post waayyy too much

The Red Scourge

Quote from: 85RZwade on July 25, 2022, 10:25:09 PM
I am envious of your progress, Red. You're doing great

Thanks Wade!  It feels like very slow progress on my end lol.  Once I get all the air out of the brake lines, it'll be roadworthy!  Still haven't worked out the lack of instrument backlights though.  I am narrowing it down though.
'76 Yamaha RD400C
'71 Kawasaki G3SS
'88 Honda CBR400RR
'90 Yamaha FZR400/600 hybrid

Evans Ward

What did the brake caliper pistons look like? Was there any pitting on them? Were you able to find new seals too?
1984 Yamaha RZ350
1976 Suzuki GT750
1972 Kawasaki H2 750 Mach IV