1981 CB400NB Superdream Renovation - Winter 2023-24 Project

I agree with you on the tedium of cleaning cylinder fins, I've found though that using red 3M scotch bright on old six inch steel rulers fitted with self adhesive Velcro makes the job less of a chore. The little 15mm wide Silverline ruler even fits behind the fin support bars so you can access most of the head with this method..

I've made slow progress of late but it's now starting to move forward.  I couldn't get a good finish by polishing the crankcase so eventually resorted to Halfords VHT spray paint in their 'aluminium' colour and I included the valve cover in the process. It's not a brilliant look but it is neat and clean and is starting to look better as components are added.  I've used the existing down pipes and silencers which have a lot of rust but I'll replace those in the future if I decide to keep the bike for the long term.

The carbs are on, the instrument binnacle has been cleaned and fitted, most of the wiring is connected and new clutch, choke and throttle cables are ready to fit.  I can't find the original tacho cable so I may have to buy one of those but it can run without it whilst I continue the search.  

I've given the tank and panels their initial paint coats using the lovely blue colour recommended by Duffer (I bought the paint from his local supplier in Stoke- excellent service).  I'm flatting those with 1200 grit wet & dry in preparation for adding decals and final clearcoating. The latter will be one or two coats, depending on how the first one looks.  

The new rear tyre and tube isn't holding pressure so that will have to be rectified but that's a minor irritant.

So getting closer to running the engine and looking forward to that milestone.

Excellent work. Can't wait to see the painted bits fitted too.

Thanks guys. I put on the decals and the warm weather earlier this week provided the opportunity to apply the final clearcoat layers.  A few bits in the first coat led me to give it a light 'sanding' and add another coat.  It looked great when it hardened off but there were still a few bit of dust and debris in them and, worse, a couple of runs. I thought I'd have to remove the runs and respray but managed to flat them them with 1200 and 2000 grit wet & dry (after two days curing and some IR lamp heating) and they then polished up beautifully. So I'm pleased with the overall paint finish but less so with the decals.  The angle of the tank decal is wrong and I found a bubble on one side.  I could have taken the decals off and bought new ones before the final clear coats but decided that it'll look ok for a 43-year old bike.  I didn't want to apply the IR lamp to the plastic side and seat panels so they're in the airing cupboard for a couple of weeks for final cure.  It's about 30C in there which makes a big difference to cure time compared with the colder garage.

Back to the wiring now and then it'll be ready to run.  I have a few things on at the end of this month and early June so I suspect it'll be a couple of weeks before I add fuel.

That looks great. We are our own worst critic and when you do a paint job, you know where the imperfections are. In my experience, no one else but you will see them. Excellent work 👏

Put the rear wheel on and checked the sparks yesterday; they were strong.  Had a bit of time this afternoon so put the silencers on and added a temporary fuel tank so I could go for start.  Full choke, pretty much instant start and good idle - very gratifying.

Warmed it up a bit and took the choke off.  Picked up nicely but a small misfire on the left side at about 1/3 throttle so some fettling required - not really surprising as it hasn't run for 33 years!   Started and stopped it a few times and very quick to start.  A bit noisy at the top so may need a new timing chain and tensioner; the previous owner had said as much but I'll ride it first before making that decision and get someone more familiar with these engines to listen as well.  Next winter's project perhaps.

was this what you used?  Cheers.