I did it again... Bought a baby blade to rebuild...

Transmission breaker
Don
Joined
20 Oct 2002
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In a house
So, looking for something else to tinker with, as I have enjoyed working on other bikes, and the Hornet is not really needing a full strip down. I decided to go looking for something similar to the CBR125r I very much enjoyed riding, and just a bit more pokey.

Unimaginatively, I found a CBR400rr from 1988 listed for sale at a local breakers for £325. I contacted the guy, got some basic info about the bike, and offered him £250 cash on collection. We agreed, as he is closing down the business, and needed the space asap.

Organised to borrow my Dad's small trailer, and went up to go grab it.
CBR400rr001.jpg


Got it in the garage to take a look!
CBR400rr002.jpg


CBR400rr004.jpg


I started the strip down, and found some very interesting things :D No time today to go through it, but it should be a fun rebuild :D Planning to go totally stock looking if I can!
 
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Transmission breaker
Don
OP
Joined
20 Oct 2002
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16,793
Location
In a house
Initial impressions after a bit of tinkering last night are as follows:

Motor is supposedly free and turning, got to check this.
A lot of the wiring loom and components seem to be missing or snipped.
The fairings/light panels and plastics are mostly all scrap, so it will need a full fairing kit.
The tank key has been screwdrivered, and wont open
The tank itself has been filled and painted badly
Coolant system has fluid and seems intact
Brakes seem to be ok condition (upgraded hoses on front)
No Handlebars (I added some mtb ones to make moving it a bit easier)
Rear frame is crusty and needs stripping and painting.
Rear lights looks in good nick
Front lights are some sort of naked bike addition, will be removed and replaced with stock
Main frame and swingarm look ok from what I can see.

Managed to find the ECU hiding under the rear seat

CBR400rr006.jpg


CBR400rr007.jpg


Result, let's hope it works :D Interesting design on the tank too?!

Ordered a wiring loom for £10 from Ebay :)
 
Soldato
Joined
18 Oct 2002
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16,660
Location
Devon
The reg/rect is a minor concern, there is a huge amount of work and £££ to get this back to it's former glory. The NC23 is a really lovely looking machine though, almost (but not quite) as nice as the NC21 VFR400RR.
 
Transmission breaker
Don
OP
Joined
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In a house
The fuel tank cap had been attacked at some point, and was essentially useless:

CBR400rr008.jpg


So i attacked the already screwdrivered key with a drill to let me open and remove it:

CBR400rr009.jpg


CBR400rr010.jpg


Got it! The inside is in pretty bad nick, and the outside it not much better. Got to figure out what to do with this. Refurbish, or replace...

Now that was out of the way.. The first mystery of the bike appears...

CBR400rr011.jpg


What does that sticker say??

CBR400rr012.jpg


What in the?? A 2 stroke mix sticker? Did they ever make a 2 stroke CBR400rr?? Judging by the angle of the sticker, this must have been a random addition by someone?

Turned my attention to the fairings (whats left of them anyway) secured in with random screws!!

CBR400rr013.jpg


As you can see, they are pretty bent and worse for wear:

CBR400rr014.jpg


Now you can see why...

CBR400rr022.jpg


Starting to see whats what. The rear subframe seems to have been painted black (badly) over a silver (original?) colour:

CBR400rr023.jpg


The other side, I think it's safe to say it's had a hard life...:

CBR400rr024.jpg


Rear light panels - basically toast :(:

CBR400rr026.jpg


Rear subframe off!!

CBR400rr027.jpg


Bits mounting up - The rear light unit looks almost mint:

CBR400rr028.jpg



I also managed to pull some more off tonight, will get some pics and update later.... HOWEVER I did manage to quickly whack 12v through the starter, and it did turn, and sounded ok. Well, nothing went WHACK at least. Just got to work out how to get enough room to check the compression to make sure the thing might actually run when the loom turns up.
 
Man of Honour
Joined
17 Oct 2002
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29,074
Location
Ottakring, Vienna.
Haha, yeah... not a 2 stroke :p

See if you can get it running - and don't underestimate how hard/expensive it can be to collect all the little bits it needs to get it back to standard.

Looking forward to updates, I will update my FZR thread soon.
 
Transmission breaker
Don
OP
Joined
20 Oct 2002
Posts
16,793
Location
In a house
Haha, yeah... not a 2 stroke :p

See if you can get it running - and don't underestimate how hard/expensive it can be to collect all the little bits it needs to get it back to standard.

Looking forward to updates, I will update my FZR thread soon.

Good stuff, I like build threads as much as anyone :D That 2 stroke sticker really threw me for a moment, i was checking the frame number again to make sure i didn't get something very wrong! I wonder if the part is interchangeable with an earlier 2 stroke bike perhaps?

I am currently taking stock of what I have that I can re-use/repair and what will need to be sourced as cheaply as possible :)

Its not looking too bad for parts needed so far, lets hope it stays that way, I have a budget in mind, so trying to stick to it.

Parts piles are growing
CBR400rr030.jpg


Starting to look a little exposed now, whats that on the speedo cable???
CBR400rr031.jpg


Is that a speedo healer? (kmh to mph perhaps?):
CBR400rr032.jpg


I want to try and re-use these snipped wires from the original controls, so have do do a bit of working out what is what with the multimeter..
CBR400rr033.jpg


Exhaust and manifold off:
CBR400rr034.jpg


Only managed to break 2 of the very weak alloy hex bolts. one bore has been enlarged and tapped before, and only two original studs were left in place. I think I will try to go back to standard studs where possible when I extract the 2 dead ones, and perhaps helicoil the enlarged one to allow it to be the same?

Bit of work needed to bring this thing back to acceptable!
CBR400rr035.jpg


Wiring loom is due today I think. Should be able to start it if I can get it connected up enough to get the CDI running. Not got much time over the coming days, and starting it up without an exhaust in the garage late at night might not be terribly popular!!
 
Soldato
Joined
11 May 2007
Posts
8,906
Location
Surrey
So much work to do... Haha! Are you trying to get it back to mint?

I'm not actually far from you, Guildford way, and fancy getting a project bike to rebuild. Where do you find stuff?
 
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