1977 Honda CB400F Super Sport

Description

• Full restoration
• Warranted 40k mileage
• Absolutely stunning
• Realistic reserve

The Honda CB400F Super Sport aka the Honda CB400/4 enjoyed a three-year run from 1975-1977 and is probably one of the most under-appreciated motorcycles from Japan.

Powered by a spunky inline 408cc four-cylinder engine, the CB400F was actually a replacement for the CB350 Four, a bike that Soichiro Honda himself declared at the time to be “the finest, smoothest Honda ever built.”

The pristine example we have here has enjoyed a year-long restoration since it emerged from a twenty-year storage period.  Our vendor found the CB400F during a chance meeting with a fellow biker at a wedding. Yep that age old conversation about motorbikes came up, which led to a visit to see a smorgasbord of bikes and parts across a shed and garden. Without being distracted too much, our vendor was led to a half-stripped bike and a stack of boxes that, twenty years ago, used to be one of the first Japanese Café Racers.

Usually, a bike stored for twenty years, especially partially stripped, will have lost many parts and almost definitely the paperwork.  Well not this beauty, all the parts were present, in fact there were plenty of duplicate parts where the previous owner had started collecting CB400F bits with a view to rebuilding it himself.  There is also a three-inch stack of documents relating to the bike and warrantying the 40k mileage.  The pack no longer just has all the MOTs from April 2002, when it went into storage, all the way back to 1978.  It also now includes invoices, mostly from David Silver Honda, from the year-long restoration that add up to over £2,000 in parts alone.  There is also the obligatory Haynes manual, a genuine Honda parts list and an original Honda Shop manual.

Our vendor, being an avid restorer, brings this to market as he now needs to make way for his next project. Our advice would be to build more space and keep it, but each to their own, plus one of you lucky bidders now has the opportunity to own this special bike.

The Detail

Starting from the ground up, the original factory option Akront alloy rims have been fully refurbed with stainless steel spokes and modern rubber fitted front and rear with new bearings allowing them to run true and smooth.

The frame and swingarm were stripped completely prior to being bead blasted, inspected and then hot zinc treated, the galvanised parts were then painted black ready for the rebuild.

Our vendor had one eye on originality so scoured through the boxes and pulled all the best bits out of the boxes before cleaning, polishing and building the engine which now runs just as smoothly Soichiro Honda originally insisted.  Part of that smoothness would have to be assigned to the four carburettors which have been professionally dismantled, cleaned and inspected prior to any worn parts being replaced, as expected they were then balanced.

The brakes have all been renewed so there will be no worries pulling that buttery smooth engine to a stop, the rear coil over shock absorbers were replaced and look fantastic in situ.  A new headlamp has been fitted and the indicators were all fitted with satin black carriers, predominantly to reduce the amount of chrome, a cosmetic preference of our vendor and with the yellow front mudguard the only straying from its originality.  In our opinion it works very well adding to the wonderful aesthetics of this stunning CB400F .

Sticking with the bodywork for a moment you will see that the petrol tank, side panels, rear mudguard and headlamp casing have all been painted Honda Parakeet Yellow and are literally immaculate.  The correct decals are in place giving this wonderful bike an air of perfection from any distance.

To complete the restoration, a new battery was installed and the electrics were then given the once over professionally by an auto electrician.  Our vendor even went to the trouble of fitting a trickle charge connection under the newly covered original seat.

When discussing the bike with our vendor it was really exciting to find out that the exhaust, which is in wonderful condition, is actually an original Honda CB400/4 four into one Honda item. Try finding one of those rarest of rare things if you can.  None of the cheap aftermarket rubbish will do here my friend.  I know, we are a little sad getting so excited about an exhaust but it’s original and that’s just unheard of on a forty-five-year-old bike……  OK we will shut up about it now.

Now fully road tested and checked over by an approved aircraft engineer inspector no less, we are advised the bike is running perfectly with that extremely smooth engine and new running gear, add to that those resplendent looks and you will be bidding on what we think is probably the best example of these iconic inline fours.

Our View

How often will a warranted 40k mileage, fully restored example, that only had a three year production run, come to market?  And with a very realistic reserve and such a great deal of love, energy and investment lavished on it – this is arguably one of the best presented Honda CB400Fs we have seen in some time,.

The winning bidder is going to be one happy bunny as they swing their leg over it for the first time.  We believe it would be a shame not to enjoy the bike as it should be but even if you do plan to just stand and stare at it you won’t be disappointed.

Happy Bidding! Please remember, our site uses anti-sniping software which ensures fairness to all bidders. So, if a bid for a lot is received in the last minute, the auction will go into a 2-minute overtime period for each subsequent bid.

Vehicle Location: East Sussex TN6 – it’s the responsibility of the winning bidder to make collection / transportation arrangements directly with the vendor

Have a question about this Honda CB400F? Please contact the Evoke team at auction@evoke-classics.com and we will speak to the vendor on your behalf.

Guide Prices?

We’re different. But you know that. And we’re always honest. In a sector where no two classics are same, how does anyone put a ‘guide’.

Well, everyone knows the broad value of classic, let’s all be honest. So we don’t need to tell you what you already know, do we.

The ‘market’ decides and the old cliché that ‘it’s worth what someone wants to pay’ is no less true. So why kid everyone!

But, because we are different, if it really does matter to you, that’s fine, we want you to be happy. Just drop us a line at auction@evoke-classics.com and one of us will be delighted to ring you back and discuss, it’s what we do.

Tedious but it’s vital you read this, please.

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