Steve, nice project mate!
if the battery has been sitting long then it may be goosed. Can you run a bump of another?

The battery did sit idle out of the bike for a year I've been told (was hopeful that I could at least get away with it to see if the bike started but alas!). I'll have to get a new one. Also upon inspecting the rect/reg I found one of the terminals on the harness to have been burnt so I'm guessing that's blown (there's a spare one in the box of parts I got so will see how that goes).

Another issue I've noticed is that the starter relay will only fire when the clocks aren't plugged in so there's a short there somewhere. Going to need new clocks anyway as the mounting brackets have all been snapped off. Thinking of buying a set of new plugs as well.

Purchased a new battery yesterday, loaded it up and placed it on the charger for the night. This morning I plugged it in and instant difference. Bike kicks over no trouble at all, however it's still not starting. Am going to change plugs and try some Start Ya B*stard first, then give the carbies a good clean.

SteveNC35 wrote:Bike kicks over no trouble at all, however it's still not starting.

Is it getting spark?

Make sure that you're using full choke when you try to start it, and don't be tempted to use any throttle as the plugs can foul easily.

Take a plug out and see if it's wet, you can sometimes bring them back to life by removing all 4 and drying them over a gas flame. Leave them out of the bike overnight to dry the cylinders. These bikes flood very easily and can then be impossible to start, I'd stay away from the start ya bastard!

Where in Vic are you? If you get really stuck I could come have a gander for a few beer tokens.

I'm located in Dingley Village and there's always plenty of beer over here

Will definitely try that. Out of curiosity, what causes them to flood easily and is there a fix or just have to put up with it?

EDIT: Will check for spark as well.

Got some work done tonight. Rads are off! The top rad is pretty much screwed, can probably salvage the bottom one.



The downer of the night was pulling the plugs out:



Both left front and rear plugs were disgusting. All plugs were coated in oil. Going to order new plugs. In the meantime, what's the best way to clean out the heads without getting crap in the cylinders?

SteveNC35 wrote:Out of curiosity, what causes them to flood easily and is there a fix or just have to put up with it?

Not sure, probably the small size of the plug is the biggest factor. No fix, but once you become more familiar with the bike and how it likes to be started (full choke when cold, no throttle) there's very little chance of flooding it. The plugs are expensive (about $25 each) so it's a lesson learned quickly for most people that flood them!

SteveNC35 wrote:In the meantime, what's the best way to clean out the heads without getting crap in the cylinders?

I guess it's just cosmetic, but if you want to clean it up nicely then removing the rocker cover and using a wire brush then metal polish would be effective, or for a good-as-new finish you could get it soda blasted. (The rocker cover gaskets are rubber and can be reused by the way).

Some good pics of engine cleaning and polishing results in Gimly's CBR400 rebulid thread: viewtopic.php?f=69&t=38123&p=285220&hil ... ed#p285220

A good comparo of soda blasting results in this thread: viewtopic.php?f=10&t=39817&p=291979&hil ... ng#p291979

Could just be the pics but your radiators actually look pretty decent to me, I've seen some in far worse condition but they still held a decent temp.

I agree with Cammo about your radiators. They don't look too bad mate? Give them a clean up and flush them properly and see how you go. As long as they're not leaking they will be fine unless you want them to be aesthetically pleasing of course!

Were the badly corroded plugs on the left hand side of the bike? I'm assuming the RVF400 has a left hand side stand as well...in which case that would make sense as any water and muck would run into the left hand side of the head...just a guess. My plugs were worse then that by the way and my bike started after a little TLC, so don't worry too much. These Hondas are unbelievably resilient.

I googled 'Soda Blasting' and it's very easy to do. All you really need is a compressor and some baking soda. The Baking Soda is totally water soluble and so it doesn't matter if it gets into any unwanted orifices. Of course the best way to clean up the heads would be by removing them and cleaning them properly.....it's your project though mate, so every step you take is up to you! That's the best part!!!!

Gimly56 wrote: Were the badly corroded plugs on the left hand side of the bike? I'm assuming the RVF400 has a left hand side stand as well...in which case that would make sense as any water and muck would run into the left hand side of the head...just a guess.

Yeah good point. It would also be worth checking that the spark plug drain holes are free to drain with all that corrosion around.

Yeah, all the corrosion was indeed on the left-hand side. The actual plug covers didn't seal properly either. And the top rad needs replacing as one of the brackets has been sheered off in the photo.