Posted by Skeeter on June 06, 2000 at 01:45:54:
In Reply to: two questions posted by Bob Alcorn on June 05, 2000 at 18:14:59:
I had a '77 CB400F for 10 years, and have kicked myself in the butt MANY times for selling it. It was one fine pocket rocket, and I really loved tangling with the larger bikes in the twisties. Very "tossable", qhuite the handler.
There were three distinct rev ranges on the 400: from idle (1200-1400 rpm) up to 3000 rpm, it was all you could do to keep it from stalling. Very different from a savage.
Fomr 3000 to 6000 rpm it made adequate power to keep up around town or cruising on the freeway.
But from 6000 to 10000 rpm, hang on! That little bike is deceptively fast! I had one surprise wheelie in the middle of a long sweeper that almost had me seeing God. But I got over it.
If it hasn't been running for 10 years, there's a very good chance that you're going to need a lot more than just cleaning out the carbs. Condensation water may well have pitted the bearings and cylinders of it wasn't put away properly. Frozen hydraulic calipers are common on machines that aren't driven enough to heat them up enough to drive the moisture out. Smae thing happened to me past year on my '87 Pontiac Fiero GT, which only has 17K miles on it.
Many of the rubber parts, including tires and tubes, may be dryrot.
Still, it would make a wonderful contrast to the Savage, and yes, they have developed something of a cult following. A couple of months ago, I saw a (supposedly) mint '77 advertised in Hemmings Motor News for $3500!
Good luck!
--Skeeter