Enter myself, proud owner of a much modded CB175 twin, keen enthusiast, who was looking for a Euro-tourer on the cheap, my days of new bikes finished off because I had just become married, having narrowly escaped this fate three times in the past but finally succumbing. Rather than give up bikes I decided to ride cheaper, less desirable mounts. While the CB175 did the run to work and shopping trips (two-up), on long runs it felt underpowered, which will surprise no-one who has ever had the, er, pleasure of owning one of these hacks. More importantly, my wife claimed to be embarrassed on the CB175 and refused to go to Germany on the bike, although I would have been almost content to coax the Honda along.
As well as the noisy engine, the poor old 400/4 looked and sounded absolutely disgusting. The alloy was corroded, paint faded and chipped and the seat torn. It was the kind of thing that the dustmen would have taken away if it was left in the gutter for too long. At least I wouldn't have to worry over someone nicking it.
A deal was sorted out over a few pints and the massive sum of £12 changed hands (yes, I gave him the money, not the other way around). My wife threw her hands up in horror when she saw the bike and said she would rather use the bus. Once in the dining room I set to work on the bike. The tank and seat came off relatively easily. The exhaust pipes took two days to remove and I had to cut the oil filter housing off because the corners of the bolt were rounded off (which was surprising considering the last owner never bothered to change the oil). I wire brushed the engine and covered it in black Hammerite (shock, horror). The same was applied to the frame.
I drained the oil and then took off the sump plate to clean out the mess. The noise was caused by the camchain. The adjuster for the tensioner was stripped. Removal of the bolt revealed that there was little adjustment left. Insertion of a nail in the hole, plus a re-tapped hole and a screw Loctited in position, reintroduced an adjuster system of sorts for zero cost.
It soon became apparent that I needed to buy some new parts - oil filter, oil housing, oil filter bolt, clutch cable, tacho cable, seat cover and chain. Armed with, this list I approached my local friendly Honda dealer. He only had the filter in stock, so I didn't buy anything from him. I then approached my even more friendly local breaker who sold me a housing and bolt for £1.50, pattern cables for £2 each, a chain for £10 and I bought a Crossland filter (CF350, British made) for £1.50.
With nice clean oil, the bits fitted and the camchain adjusted, the motor sounded much quieter, especially taking into account its 40000 miles of abuse. The tank, side panels, chrome and alloy were all polished up and three weeks after buying it, the Honda was back on the road.
The first trip, two-up, to the Yorkshire Dales gave 40mpg at a steady 50mph. Back home, the air filter was thrown in the bin and it improved to a much more acceptable 60mpg at 50mph. Running a bike without air filter does not bother me in the least; if I have to breathe in the polluted air, then the bike can as well - it helps if the value of the bike is minimal.
To my mind, the CB400/4 is a little gem to ride. Light in mass (375lbs dry), reasonable handling from the front Siamese Rubber Corp tyre (Bangkok rules - Ed) and Avon Roadrunner rear. The motor is smooth and gives a sporty growl from the Dunstall silencer (I'm busy making a silencer at work - I found some scaffolding last week).
I was a bit worried with my high tech solution to the camchain problems, so we had a few gentle 50mph runs up to Scotland to test it, and so far has proved acceptable. I performed the same trick on another 400/4 and it's done another 12000 miles without any problems.
After the first oil change, the timing was adjusted, the tyres kicked and, with a few crossed fingers, the starter button pressed, with the 400/4 transformed into a Euro-tourer, first stop Dover. Keeping 70mph on the speedo, the much abused motor whistled along smoothly without a care in the world, but with a healthy bark thanks to the Dunstall silencer and no air cleaners. The bike made Dover with no problems and averaged 50mpg.
We camped in France. Drinking cheap wine, I had time to reflect on the life of the Honda four, wondering what the other five owners had done to it - had it been abroad before? I was just descending into a mild dose of paranoia (Martin had run it for 18 months without changing the oil, should I really be touring on a ten year old bike, etc) when my thoughts were disrupted by Mr Bigot who must have overcome his dislike of dubious characters and motorcyclists: "By jove, thank god you're English! Place is full of dirty Frenchies! There're even some Krauts and Eyeties, here." We were invited to his tent to meet Mrs Bigot and 2 bigots minor. Over tea, Mr Bigot proclaimed his hate for Fuzzie Wuzzies, Frenchies, Krauts, Scots and Irish. By the time he'd finished his litany we were happy to escape.
On the second day we progressed through France and finally made it into the German heartland. We spent a day cruising around then one long day's journey back to Bolougne. The bike ran without giving any problems, although I did treat the engine with a certain amount of respect and didn't try running it down the Autobahns at 110mph; in fact, I never went over 70mph. It used a pint of oil and averaged 50mpg.
It's been said often enough before, but you can tour on an old/cheap bike. The grin factor is high, even more so if you've made some of the parts yourself. There was also a great sense of achievement, if I hadn't bothered with the bike it would probably have ended up stripped down in a trillion parts. With a bit of skill and bodging, the engine stayed together over a 1000 mile tour.
Things could easily have gone the other way. I could have ended up with an engine that exploded as soon as I tried to use it and left me stranded in the middle of nowhere. I could also, just as easily, have spent five hundred notes on a bike that turned out to be a pile of scrap. But that's all part of the fun. My stable consists of a CB175 and the CB400, but I won't sell either because the £200 I'd get wouldn't buy anything better.
William Gould