1975 Honda CB400F Supersport - Page 2

equ · 04-22-2015, 09:30 PM

I asked around to at least 3-4 people. No one has garage space in this damned NYC area.

zach · 04-23-2015, 04:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by equ

I asked around to at least 3-4 people. No one has garage space in this damned NYC area.

It's impossible in Boston, too. I want to buy a warehouse, basically, and nobody wants to sell me one.

John V · 04-27-2015, 02:23 PM

The guy had a fun introduction to CB400F charging systems on the way home. The generator doesn't produce enough power at idle to keep the motorcycle running. Honda was banking on having enough battery capacity to run the bike in traffic, I guess. Well, Baltimore beltway at 5PM, plus rain plus an aftermarket lithium battery... yeah. He killed it in traffic and it wouldn't start on the kickstarter.

Ironically, it probably would have worked fine if I hadn't replaced the points ignition with a transistorized unit.

Eventually got it where he needed to go, so all is well.

BahnBaum · 04-27-2015, 02:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by John V

He killed it in traffic and it wouldn't start on the kickstarter.

This is how he responded when I first texted him to see what he thought of the bike. (Understand that I touted you when I sent him your way).

"So much for ur buddies engineering skills. I'm sitting on the fucking side of the fucking road with a fucking dead bike".

Anyway, he got it started, got it home and seems very happy.

Alex

blee · 04-27-2015, 02:54 PM

Is this something where the generator could be upgraded to prevent situations like this from occurring in stop-and-go traffic? Seems like something that might have been addressed by the aftermarket by now. Not sure why I'm asking, because I don't have a 1975 CB400F Supersport.

bren · 04-27-2015, 03:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BahnBaum

This is how he responded...

John V · 04-27-2015, 03:37 PM

Ha! That's funny. I had actually trekked up to where he was stopped with another (higher capacity) battery but he was gone when I got there.

He was in such a rush to get on the road and "beat the rain" (it was already raining at my house before he left) that I didn't have time to explain to him all the nuances of old Hondas.

Blair, when I got this bike I had dreams of running a MicroSquirt (mini EFI setup) on it, but discovered the generator was too weak to run the computer and there is no way to cram a better generator in the engine case so I dropped that idea.

04-22-2015, 09:30 PM	#11
equ Alphanumeric Join Date: Aug 2005 Carmudgeonly Ride: 981S, 340i Posts: 9,583	I asked around to at least 3-4 people. No one has garage space in this damned NYC area.

04-27-2015, 02:23 PM	#13
John V No more BMWs Join Date: Apr 2005 Carmudgeonly Ride: Ram, MS3, CX-5, RX-8 Location: Glenwood, MD Posts: 14,753	The guy had a fun introduction to CB400F charging systems on the way home. The generator doesn't produce enough power at idle to keep the motorcycle running. Honda was banking on having enough battery capacity to run the bike in traffic, I guess. Well, Baltimore beltway at 5PM, plus rain plus an aftermarket lithium battery... yeah. He killed it in traffic and it wouldn't start on the kickstarter. Ironically, it probably would have worked fine if I hadn't replaced the points ignition with a transistorized unit. Eventually got it where he needed to go, so all is well.

04-27-2015, 02:54 PM	#15
blee Doctor Mudgeon Join Date: Oct 2003 Posts: 6,433	Is this something where the generator could be upgraded to prevent situations like this from occurring in stop-and-go traffic? Seems like something that might have been addressed by the aftermarket by now. Not sure why I'm asking, because I don't have a 1975 CB400F Supersport.

04-27-2015, 03:37 PM	#17
John V No more BMWs Join Date: Apr 2005 Carmudgeonly Ride: Ram, MS3, CX-5, RX-8 Location: Glenwood, MD Posts: 14,753	Ha! That's funny. I had actually trekked up to where he was stopped with another (higher capacity) battery but he was gone when I got there. He was in such a rush to get on the road and "beat the rain" (it was already raining at my house before he left) that I didn't have time to explain to him all the nuances of old Hondas. Blair, when I got this bike I had dreams of running a MicroSquirt (mini EFI setup) on it, but discovered the generator was too weak to run the computer and there is no way to cram a better generator in the engine case so I dropped that idea.