1976 Honda 400-4: Classic bike brief ride
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 28 ส.ค. 2020
- This is a bike we've restored in our shop at Beechdale Motorcycles, Nottingham. I've never ridden one of these before so it was a real treat.
Roadcraft Nottingham is a UK motorcycle school which was established in March 1989.
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You're spoiling us! Your VFR750 and now a 400/4! Park this old lady in Matlock Bath on any Sunday next to any of the latest bikes costing £18K and upwards and check out which bike is getting the most attention. Very rarely see anyone 'checking out' the latest 'exotica' to be honest. Just my limited experience. Enjoying your recent content, keep them coming! Where's the review of the Triumph you promised?
That's why I love a bike that's different, crowd drawers for sure. Yes I'll have to upload the "why I sold my Tiger within a year" video soon. ☺
@@RoadcraftNottingham All those things you were saying about how much better it was than your Pan European eh, bet your glad you kept hold of the old girl now eh?.... She still looks in great condition by the way!
@@paullee6663 oh yes, so glad I kept it! The problem wasn't the actual bike as I loved it. It was Triumph manufacture quality and reliability.... I'll explain later but would have happily kept it.
The 400 f doesn’t come alive till you reach 6,000 rpm, rid it like you’ve stole it, fast gear change and it will run and sound great, I love my 400.
Yeah I agree
My old man had one he’d pick me up from school on it when I was 12 he’d get to the front at traffic lights and the lights would change he’d wind the throttle back slipping the clutch
He got 105 mph out of it with me on the back holding on for dear life thinking fk sake Dad slow down I don’t want to die a virgin 😂😂
I had one of those in the 70s that really signed on the mountain roads
My all time favourite bike .Still remember the reg. JKB 375P
This was my first bike in 1975 after passing my test on my mates Honda CB250, and it's true what they say about your first love 😍
had many bikes since, many faster but none handled like the 400/4...sure is a true legend!
Ahh yes, I would have been very much in love with this bike when I was 16. Weird that I waited almost 40 years after that before I started riding! Such a great bike.
My Dad had this bike in the 1970s. The night he picked it up it was raining and he rode it home anyway. That was the most excited I had seen him over any material item. He had it for several years and he bought a Gold Wing. Not sure but I think it was the first year they came out. I wasn't there when he picked that one up.
I had one in 1978 a purchased a lovely '76 Honda 400 four it was a fantastic little machine. I wouldn't mind
owning one again
Terrific bike. Love the simplicity of the 4-into-1 without a cat in sight. Just as the biking gods intended. Bliss.
Oooooh those waterfall exhausts ❤
Best handling Japanese bike I've been on and the engine was like a Rolex.
Wow!.. I had 2 of these 400 fours. A red one and a burgundy type colour :) Loved em both :)
Mine was burgundy too 😢
My brother and I purchased one brand new in 1975/76, still have it.
And we got a great deal on it, because the dealer had it in stock for over a year and could not sell it
Because of the European styling.
Lovely bikes, eventually refined into the 400 super dream, which was utterly devoid of character and soul.
Same......lusted after these before I got my provisional and a Fizzie. Could only dream of how the power of a 400/4 would feel. All these years on despite having had modern super sports etc. would still love to own one !!
I had the identical F1 model, seeing the prices they make today I really wish I'd kept it - the sweep of the four exhaust pipes is a thing of real beauty.
The exhausts were the first thing I loved too
I owned a blue 1975 when I was 16 in the late '70s. Very special bike for sure.
Had a Kawasaki 550 as my first motorbike. One of my all time favourites of all the bikes I've owned. These old bikes never seem to grow old. Lovely!!
A Honda 'Super Sport' 400 was my first ride on a road bike and sold me back in the eighties.
I love seeing a proper back to standard refurbishment like this. It's like seeing a brand new bike from my childhood again
Yeah, I'm a bit of a purist where older bikes are concerned. Exceptions are things that were fitted as extras during that period like microns, fork braces etc
Reminds me of my brother’s 400/4 (blue), which I borrowed for a week or two when I got a despatch riders job back in the day. Great little bike that sounded gorgeous!
I had a blue one that me and the Mrs rode everywhere, pillion comfort was improved with later models when they moved the foot pegs off the swing arm to their own brackets.
BLESSED ALL THESE GUYS WHO LIVED THAT AGE (70'S) WITH THESE "TOOLS" ON THEIR OWN!!!...SO DAMN BLESSED!!!...😇😇😇😇😇😇😯😯😯😯🤗🤗🤗
Sounds nice i love these classic bikes, don't see many around anymore. They paved the way for the new bikes👌💯 Old is GOLD. 😎😀
My older brother was searching for one of these in the late 80s for my first bike. If he’d found one before a 1981 Kawasaki GPz550 popped up I’d probably be a Honda guy to this day like he is. Instead a Honda vs. Kawasaki rivalry was born.
Bloody brilliant bike I owned F2 in 1982 the only bike I ever made a profit on when I sold it
My riding tip for beginning riders is to ride like you're invisible. In other words, don't expect any motorists to see you, even if they look directly at you, expect them to pull out in front of you or change lanes on you.
What a beautiful restoration. I'm curious if the chrome was that good and just needed cleaning up or if everything was rechromed? The 400-4 super sport, it's been a few years since I rode my friend's across town and back. I remember it had great smooth power and the engine felt perfectly balanced. I don't remember any vibration buzz in the handle bars or pegs. I remember a lot of people would remove the baffle from the muffler or put a megaphone/header system on them. Those sounded so good. Single disc front brake and drum rear were okay for as light as those old bikes were. Those were one of the best street bikes I can remember along with the 700-4 Nighthawk, kind of a big brother to the 400 with better brakes. If I were in the UK I would come buy that bike from you. I'd even consider shipping it to the US but I don't want a right hand drive bike...🤣just joking, I know bikes are the same. I see another comment about a VFR750 you must have done a video for, I'm going to have to subscribe now. I have an 87 VFR 700f2.
Love this bike Russ!!!! I often pretend my CB650R is one
Finishing touches being done to mine right now,, parakeet yellow, the best colour 😊
Loved these when I was young. Great to see, thanks
My memory of riding the CB400F in the 70s was its absolutely steady handling. The engine was smooth but not as insane as an RD350, but then it didn't flap about like a barn door in bends neither.
My brother's was dark blue. Magnificent in every way. I'd love to have one today.
I had a 250n. And I would dream of the 400/4 when I pass my test. Memories👍
Was in Barry Sheen's top ten. The engine sound on these bikes was brilliant, my brother had a yellow one with 'Avon Road Runners!'
Wish my Honda CB300R had a dashboard like this. It's a lovely bike no doubt about that.
Had one of these from new, which I bought in 1977 registration number UGP 628R. Really great bike and I was gutted when I sold it to get some money towards the deposit for my first flat four years later.
My brother had a slightly shabby 400 four back in the mid 80's. It was a non runner when he got it, so it only cost him 50 quid. He replaced about another 50 quid's worth of parts to get it working and MOTed, then run it about for about 6 months. Then a work colleague offered him 300 quid and a taxed/MOTed 250 Superdream for it, so he took the money and was really pleased to have "Made a hell of a profit with it". Looking at how much they go for now, I bet he wishes he mothballed it in the back of his garage. :D
He's had a surprising amount of quite collectable bikes and cars over the years....... Unfortunately, only while they were in those pre collectable "banger years". One of my favourite ways to have a little dig at him is when I find a car the same as one that he used to have on eBay, I'll send him a link, and a message saying something like "You remember that MK2 Lotus Cortina you had? Look what they're going for now. [Link]", or "Remember that Mk1 Capri RS3000 you had....... How much DID you get for that in the end? [Link]" !....... Gotta taunt him occasionally..... 'Cos..... Well, you know..... He's my brother. :D
Bought a blue one in 1975 for £666, dream machine, motorcycling days sadly missed.
I'm still wanting a time machine. ☺
A friend of mine ( Harty) had a four hundred four back in the 70’s , I was riding a KH250, like me he was Nottingham born and bred, I recognised the ring road .
Utterly beautiful work on that bike, Russ. Paul did such a great job on it, looks like it could have just come off of the showroom floor. I wasn't really into bikes when this first came out, but it certainly would have been one I would have looked at back then, at least given my current day sensibilities. A 400cc four-cylinder, how interesting.
Thanks for taking us for a ride, I enjoyed that.
You're welcome Gary. It is a beautiful bike. ☺
this is the best bike I ever owned. I semi-chopped it and made it into a cruiser. I traveled from Terre Haute, Ind to Orlando, Fl several times on it. sorry I ever sold it. now looking back I should have sold the wife and kept the bike.
Lovely bike and sounds fabulous! One of my earliest motorbike memories was riding pillion on my mates 400 Four to a MAG protest back in the very early 80s... 😁👍
A great little bike i own one a 76 plate always get remarks at shows & on the road unmolested original with full history & mots even the original decal sticker on the rear mud guard majic all the best.
I have a 1976 400 F1 (Canadian version, red tank like this one) which I completely restored in the past couple of years. It's actually my first motorbike. As soon as I passed the basic riding course (like MSF), I learned to really ride properly in the streets on this bike. Properly restored and tuned they are an absolute joy to ride, great sound, lots of power, they are a keeper. I am so glad I got started on learned on one of these, and not a new bike.
I brought one over from Canada and sold it in Edinburgh, any chance it came with red and black side covers? Hope you're having fun with it either way! :)
@@matthewrileymacpherson @Matthew Riley MacPherson Yes, the Canadian 400 Fours in 1976 were available with a red or yellow tank and black side covers. Mine is red with black side covers :)
a lovely bike ,i remember them well, never got to ride one. had a 1975 750 honda fi. also a honda 550 4. of that era. i had a mk1 goldwing 1976. and a 1990 pan european like you were on in when to change gears.mine was silver.
Sounds very sweet.
Thanks for showing us :)
remember them well they always made a lovely sound the 550 is a nice one to have
This was the first bike I bought when I got back to New England from Wales and my pottery aprenticships .. LOved the bike ..I remember a lot of shifting .... . Bought it in the summer of 1975 but traded it for the first 1976 Yamaha XS 750 triple in November that year The blue and grey one /Had the Yamaha bike 24K miles .. and then 32K on a 1979 R80 .. They were all great ... I think I had the Honda a month or 6 weeks two months at the most and only 4 K miles logged .. A short time for a lot of miles !!! :)
Great memories, thanks for sharing
Brings back youthful memories. Started my engineering apprenticeship in 1973 and one of the college lecturers eventually had one (same colour). Best my (then) finances could do (with help from my Dad and HP of course), was a new Suzuki TS100 Trail Bike (on L Plates). Moved on to cars, so never took my test, but ever since, I always thought ‘one day I’ll have CB400’. I’m now 63 and I’d still have one!
Go get one, early Xmas pressie. ☺
I love this bike so much!!!
Wow 🤩 that is absolutely gorgeous 🤩🤩✌️
I had two of these. Sold them just before the prices went bananas. They are awesomely smooth, work better at higher revs and they are so light and flickable... even compared to modern standards. They rarely need more than half a kick to get them started.
Very nice did fancy on one back in the day Squareish tank shape and red great looking bike
I have one of these, a ‘75, in desperate need to restoration. My UK friend here in the states has been after me to get after it. He doesn’t ride anymore because of a horrid injury many many years ago. But he’s been brave enough to get on the pillion with me on my C10 Kawasaki. Man I need to do it.
Great videos buddy I’m looking at getting a 125cc to start with and ur videos are a lot of help
Thanks. Stay tuned. ☺
I always loved these bikes but never got to ride one which is probably just as well as I'm 6'4" tall!! Beautiful bikes and that one looks stunning.
That's a shame. We've offered to buy this one but don't think he wants to sell it.
Fabulous little bike. I have one and ride it almost daily. It will probably surprise you with its performance if you do a WOT run through the gears and do a power shift at 10k. I do that multiple times every ride! Re the brakes, they are capable of being very good if properly set up with quality new pads and proper bed-in. I now ignore my other much bigger/modern/more powerful bikes in favor of the little Honda; it's way more FUN!
Gorgeous bike!
Love these, It's great that so many classics have been restored over the Covid furlough season :)
I'm like the cat lady of classic bikes 😂 I was SOOO close to buying a mint Suzuki RV125 yesterday but I've no room left. ☺
@@RoadcraftNottingham I have the same problem, in my mind I have bought several ol' classics this last few months. It's so frustrating watching the final seconds of a great project selling on eBay, you have the money but you don't got the space :D
Used to be the other way around. 😂
@@RoadcraftNottingham Indeed and they were cheap to buy then too and mum never used to care if you had several parts bikes scattered around the garden lol
That is a simply gorgeous machine
Ooooh yes!
Simply a beautiful machine
Amen. ☺
Thank you for sharing that video it brought back some really nice memories... I remember as a teenager looking at those picture cards possibly cigarette cards or something of superbikes of the 70s and then I did get one in the early 80s and dispatched it for about four months it had a 4 into 1 piper pipe on it so I got a lot of attention from the boys in blue on RT80s so I got rid of it. I do remember it being very tight and extremely small and yes you did need an anchor even back in the 80s in London traffic 😂
My first "real" bike was a '76 CB550F back in the day. It wasn't new but we had many great adventures together. A couple years ago I picked one up in running condition but needing attention. Bit by bit I've been bringing it back. Lovely bikes with imitation brakes.
Imitation brakes... I'm nicking that! 😂
Lovely bikes, way back as an 8 year old in 1983 my mates older brother had a 250n super dream, the 1st bike I fell in love with in silver and blue. Love the 70's and 80's Hondas
I had a super dream 250 and got blown away by a Yamaha rd125lc 😂
@@RoadcraftNottingham they weren't the fastest. I think the 250n was the 1st bike I ever saw with electric start.
Had one back in 1974, the OEM bridgestone tyres were deadly in the wet.Stuck a set of TT 100's on which transformed the handling to such an extent that peg scraping was almost a daily occurrance.
I remember the 400-4 as very well behaved and very smooth. One of my all-time favourite bikes.
If I had the room I'd have one in my collection.
Lovely looking machine.
I think so too. ☺
I had a blue one from new in Coventry 1976 & I was fortunate to be drafted to HMS Rooke in Gibraltar whilst serving in the navy. Some wangling & I managed to get in sent over. Seven months of riding in sun, loved it & then sold it to a Spaniard who wouldn't let me sell it to anybody else. Got what I paid for it, but I wish I had it now!
Love the colour!
Had an S reg one for about 3/4 years and PX it for a Honda CX 500 in 1980. Great little bike but the cam chain tensioner was a pain! Nice looking bike. I loved the noise it made on the overran, especially in a narrow street where you got the the echo lol The one I had was burgundy red with some gold detailing on the tank and side panels.
i've been watching this channel for a while ever since i got my motorcycle. I had an accident a year ago and i really don't like riding anymore. The accident wasn't my fault even the police said that but still it was an accident and i cant find the same confidence ever since. Even when i do commute with the motorbike i am always paranoid that anyone can cut in from nowhere and i could crash again as people tend to forget the laws to save a couple of minutes. It's sad .i remember being so confident as even my back tyres skidding from braking in the rain didn't really cause any panic as i could easily hold it together. And now a few days ago i got spooked by a fast car stopped and failed to hold my balance and toppled on the side like an idiot. :(
Had one back in 1980 and did a 2000 mile tour of the UK with tent on back. Happy days!
Just wish I had the room for one.
great video 🤘
That was a blast from the pasted. My first bike was the Elvis bike 175cc Honda. Pasted my test on that, next up the Honda 400 4 in Black. A bit of fettling with the carbs, could improve the performance slightly, it wasn't a slow bike by any means. Thanks for the memory Russ.
You're welcome buddy.
That is one quality resto! I've got a general export version over here in NZ. She's in pretty good original shape (no road salt over here). Was going to do unrestored condition but with OEM/NOS worn parts replacement. I decided it deserves better than original. Polished alloy rather than painted (which is just a moisture trap when chipped. Electronic timing. Tank and panel respray because Previous owner bodged it. Couldn't get the original Ruby Red formula so my sprayers gave it a slightly trick Jaguar red. It's got 19 year old original pattern Pirelli phantom + Shinco rear. I gotta change these for safety's sake.
What are those tyres you've put on your customers?
Thing about it is, I love mine because I know it so well.
Credit to Honda back then for acknowledging that we own every part and for giving us details of how it works and how to maintain it.
The soundtrack of my youth 😎
My mate had a 1975ish 550/4 about 12+ years ago (Crikey!) when we were all getting on to big bikes.
Everybody else had sportier more modern stuff (Cbr600F's etc), we all took the mick out of the old bike a bit.
Now we all agree, that the old honda was the nicest and the one we all want today! Is it just us getting older?!
Rose coloured glasses are sometimes a great thing but the character just gets better. ☺
thanks for this nice video,i just bought a barn find 1976 honda cb400f with a lost key..i was wondering if it takes only one key for ignition gas cap and seat?thank you so much....
Oh I miss my 400/4 F2, I reckon I could still take one apart and put it back together from memory. Sold it and got a 550/4 K in 1982 , bad mistake
Thats a nice clean looking bike, someones spent a lot of time polishing it , I always liked the look of those in my younger days. No warping on those disks like on modern bikes though you could enter the olympics with em :D
😂
I had a 1976 red tank 400 four back in the early eighties when I used to commute as a test examiner in London. It was a fun bike but eventually got nicked! Now in my seventies, I ride a V Strom 1000 (I also had an ST1100 a few years back). I sat on a 400F recently - I couldn't believe how small it was! At 6'3" my ageing knees couldn't manage to ride it now.
I've just turned 55 so I'm on the way there and the pan is starting to feel heavier.. Never ridden the V strom. They look comfy.
@@RoadcraftNottingham Actually mine is a Kawasaki KLV1000 - but they're identical to V Strom 1000. Extremely comfortable, but fuelling problems on early models. Had mine remapped and it's good now. The 650 version is better in that respect.
Top of my list 🤤
that really is a good looking bike although I always preferred the blue one and that four into one looks superb even if it is a bugger to keep clean
Had one in blur when they first came out.
Should have taken on a dual carriageway or twisty back road and opened it up.
Then you would have had a wonderful experience!
That's so well restored, what price did it go for?
They were a great bike in their time. Rumour was they cost as much to make as a 750 four.
Just fractionally before my time but remember a whole raft of them round these parts. Red, blue and the occasional yellow one.
So shiny!
Nice bike, it’s one of the earliest variants with the passenger footrests mounted on the swinging arm. The later bikes had the footrests relocated onto brackets welded to the frame. If you are interested I have a low mileage (4,000) 1983 Honda GL1100 in unrestored condition which you are welcome to test ride and review. I am based near Eastwood so not too far from you. I am currently recommissioning a 1977 Kawasaki Z1000 a1 model with only 3,000 miles on the clock. This should be ready to ride in spring of next year. Quite happy for you to test ride both bikes.
Thanks. I love the gl. Would love a go. ☺
P reg. 1975?
I thought these were the ultimate bike when I had my Suzuki GT 185 in 1978, bought from Vin Ducketts in Thornton Cleveleys. 4 cyclinders! Amazing now we take 1200cc for granted.
My mate bought a brand new gt185 ram air in 78. Cherish those memories. ☺
I have one. Café racer style. On a cold day with no wind it will do120 mph. Honestly... Ya i know the clock only goes to a 110 mph but when it happens its a different beast of a bike. And it loves it. It wont be you driven the bike it'll be the bike that's driven you, so hold on.
yeah! 👌
I had a 4/4 in the late seventies , and went on to own 2 more, it was a good handling bike for its time , except for the exhaust would scrape when you got it down to low, i have had a more modern 400/4 and think the 4/4 was better in the torque department , as you did not have to use the gear box as much . and amazing fuel consumption, oh it did have its faults the brake were crap the cam chain tensioner was crap but you worked around them , but if you kept on top of it , it was amazing .
KRC 51P was my first bike, a CB200 in pea green (brilliant first bike BTW). Must have been supplied buy the same dealer as that superb 400/4.
Out of interest do you happen to know who the original supplying dealer was Russ?
I'm not sure. I'll take a look at the reg number if it's still there Tuesday
i had red 400 4, one quirk it had was the coils being below the petrol tank, which tended to direct the rain straight onto them, it would loose one cylinder firing, then another would fail until it was really a 100 4... tried denso tape to cure it.... wd40 and removing the coils and drying them out was the only solution... i guess getting two new coils would have solved it... but i found it entertaining lol . at 6000 revs is was magic.... happy days
What is the name of the garage that restored the bike?
You mentioned super unleaded, is that any good for older Honda's?
@NB Media UK How old is your Honda? He is only recommending it here as he feels the fuel in the bike may have deteriorated with age. Honda UK told me any bike manufactured after 1982 will run on 92 Octane fuel.
@@paullee6663 mine is a 1983 GL650 Silverwing
@@NBMedia8928 I have a 1985 XBR500 that my 5* Honda dealer recommended I run on 3* petrol if you were around back then. Not long after they stopped manufacturing 3* hence why I contacted them, asking whether I should use 2* or 4*. I doubt you would gain any benefit by using Super Unleaded in your bike, but feel free to seek further advice. Incidentally, fuel takes a long time these days to 'go off' in my experience. (Sam Lovegrove of Shed & Buried fame said it was years on one programme) I never ride after October or before April / May and have never encountered any problems. From what I've read it's best if you store the bike with a full tank, but, if I 'forget' on my first time out, I head to the petrol station and brim the tank with fresh fuel. Good choice with the Siverwing by the way!
I just found the extra octane was like a bit of a wake up caffeine. I use it in all my bikes but I'll be honest, never fully researched it in 70s bikes. Let me know if you find any official stats that aren't just opinion. ☺
I think on older bikes you just have to watch you don't use that ethanol in them as I believe it attacks the seals and such. The super unleaded with give the old girl a bit of a perk and may get you another 5mph at the top end.
The Honda 400/K is a lovely bike. I ran a bit like a sewing machine. And go on, tell us that you actually checked the fuel, tyres, mirrors, brakes, lights before you left the garage.
My dad worked with a guy called Alan Shepherd, former TT supremo, and he raved about these bikes. I gave one away in 1993 because I needed room in my terrace house backyard for the newly delivered wheelie bin. Nobody wanted to buy it because, and I quote, 'it was a bit of old crap'. AAHHHGGG!!!
Noooooo. 😔
Nice
That's a Mk1 isn't it?
loverley resto any one wishing restore one. the tank sticker on this bike are to high and two near the front. the side panel sticker to low from factory spec ive seen lot of 400f restorations a lot seem to get this wrong witch spoils a great resto slightley stiil nice job
Loved mine so much I got me another three years ago. The most fun bike I ever owned. BTW the disc is stainless steel. You didn't even rev it. :D
At 8.5K the power kicks in like a 2-stroke, shift up at 9.5K and down at 8.5K and the gearing's perfect. This bike is designed to be thrashed :)
I know, these bikes need to be revved but it's not my bike and I didn't want to disrespect the owner. ☺
I wouldn't call it a slow bike. I was doing 100 mph on a 400/4 on the dual carriageway between Ruiru and Nairobi when I was overtaken by an Audi Quattro practising for the Safari Rally.