Flashback: 1975 Honda CB400F Cafe Racer!

Well here's a blast from the past: my old 1975 Honda CB400F cafe racer. I was recently reminded of this machine by my buddy Rick, the local CB400F guru. More on that later.

I don't remember where I got the bike but I'm pretty sure it was cheap. It certainly had a few cosmetic challenges too. I got it when we were at the old house, probably around 2003 or so...? The point of picking it up was to build a low-budget vintage cafe racer.

Anyway it did spend quite a bit of its early time with me in pieces in the enclosed front porch. I got a set of ace bars for it and some headlight ears to drop the headlight down lower. That's one of my pet peeves on vintage Hondas; the headlight sits too high up. I like the look to be long and low, and this is as low as the headlight would go without major mods.

I'm pretty sure I replaced the silencer and I did cut back the rear fender and re-cover the seat. Alloy mini turnsignals got added, as well as a set of "Superbike" grips (didn't everyone have a set of those? At least mine were back and not pink or something).

I didn't do much real mechanical work to the bike. Unfortunately though the "bulletproof" Honda engine packed up with a terminal problem. However the local shop I used (Motor Parts on Arlington Street, long since defunct) came to the rescue with a parts bike that donated its engine to this bike. The parts bike only cost a couple hundred bucks and I even got to keep the frame. The tank might have come from it too, I can't remember.

After getting its new engine the bike ran pretty well and I rode it around town and on short rides out to Headingley. I had fun pretending I was off to the Ace Cafe wearing my leather jacket, pudding basin helmet and goggles. Pam liked it too, especially the flat seat. She said it was her favourite of all my bikes.

My recollection is that I sold the bike around 2006 when I got my Ducati 900SS/SP. Three bikes were too many back then as I had the Hawk GT and no garage. And I was able to re-home the parts bike frame by giving it to Rick the 400F guru. Recently I had to give him a hand registering that frame as part of a very cool custom endurance racer he just finished, I had to swear an affidavit saying where I got it etc. Pretty easy but it was a bit of a pain for Rick to have to do that.

I listed the 400F on kijiji and a guy came from Toronto pretty promptly to see it, he was an airline pilot I think. Anyway I think I was asking $1,500 for the bike and got it - the machine went back East on a railway car. I hope it's still riding around somewhere. It was a good, and a good-looking, machine.