Super Sport: Honda CB400F – The Original Poor Man’s Superbike

Testing the Honda CB400F: A Ride Through Time

It was a thoughtful gesture that on another day might well have saved me a big fine, or even my licence. The motorcyclist riding in the opposite direction on the motorway flashed his headlight repeatedly, then waved frantically at me in an obvious warning of trouble up ahead.

He need not have bothered. Sure enough, a couple of kilometres down the road was a policeman taking aim with a radar gun. But I didn’t need to move a muscle (let alone miss a heartbeat) as I went past him, crouched down as far as possible behind the Honda’s clocks, throttle on the stop in top gear – and with the little CB400F indicating barely more than 110km/h.

Once that danger was passed, dropping down a gear got the Honda’s motor spinning harder and released a little extra power, edging my cruising speed up towards 130km/h. And although by today’s standards even that performance is feeble, the 400-four impressed me nevertheless. Great looks, agile handling and a smooth motor made it easy to see why this bike is still talked of fondly, years after most of its bigger and faster contemporaries have been forgotten.

The History of the Honda CB400F

The Honda certainly made an impact when it was launched in 1975, and one of the main reasons for that was its aggressive ‘European’ personality – at a time when many Japanese bikes were designed primarily for the dominant American market, and showed it. The 400F’s size, styling and sporting intent provided a welcome antidote to bigger, softer, more garish models epitomised by Honda’s GL1000 Gold Wing, which was introduced in the same year.

Soichiro Honda had described his company’s earlier, four-cylinder CB350 four as the “finest, smoothest Honda ever built”, and the CB400F’s engine was heavily based on the 350’s aircooled, eight-valve unit. Bore was increased by 4mm to give a capacity of 408cc, and in familiar Honda fashion the motor used a central chain to a single overhead camshaft. Peak output was a claimed 37hp at 8500rpm, identical to that of Suzuki’s rival GT380 two-stroke triple, and 2hp down on Yamaha’s RD350 twin.

The chassis consisted of a steel frame, whose single front downtube split to two tubes under the engine, plus conventional forks, twin rear shocks, 18-inch wire wheels and a brake combination of single disc front and drum rear. But if that format was unremarkable, the Honda’s distinctive appearance turned plenty of heads.

Flat handlebars, a slim seat and footrests positioned rearwards by 1970s standards combined to give a decidedly sporty riding position. Paint finish was striking, too: either plain scarlet or navy blue for the original model (yellow and this bike’s darker red were later colour options), with the words ‘Super Sport’ picked out beneath the Honda logo on the stylishly shaped petrol tank.

And the classiest touch of all was a four-into-one exhaust system unlike anything seen before on a production bike. Its downpipes swept diagonally across the front of the engine, leading to a collector box from which ran a single silencer on the right of the bike.

How Did It Feel? First Impressions on the Road

Simply checking the position of the slightly raised bars and moderately positioned footrests was enough to emphasise the huge difference between the layout of this bike – a clean and original 1979-model machine with 70,000km on the clock – and the low clip-ons and high rearsets of a typical modern sportster. The old model felt relaxed and roomy by comparison, giving only a slight lean forward to the bars.

A kickstart was provided just in case, but the 400F started on the button and ran with a mix of top-end mechanical rattle and a deep, deceptively powerful-sounding rasp from the silencer.

This bike’s clutch was heavy, but apart from that the little Honda was great for riding around town: manoeuvrable, quick and comfortable, with enough acceleration to get through most traffic gaps. For 20 minutes I was impressed – but 20 minutes after that, heading up the motorway, I wasn’t so sure.

Hanging onto the handlebars into a strong headwind, with the bike indicating 115km/h and no more speed to come unless I changed down, was not much fun at all.

On the Open Road: Where the CB400F Comes Alive

Once on the open road it was immediately obvious that the 400-four had to be revved hard to give of its best. At low speeds it pulled obediently enough through the midrange, staying super-smooth apart from a slight high-pitched tingle at about 5000rpm. But there was a distinct power step at 6000rpm, and in the higher gears the Honda took an age to accelerate unless the motor was spinning at between 8000rpm and the 10,000rpm redline.

That peakiness necessitated plenty of flicking up and down through the six- speed gearbox, which happily was far better than many later Honda boxes. On a twisty road the frequent changing was not a problem, merely adding to the fun of a bike that was obviously designed to be ridden quickly. With the ratios closely spaced it wasn’t too hard to keep the motor working hard, and the 400 rewarded you with reasonably brisk acceleration plus a muted yet still evocative wail from the pipe at high revs.

Only on more open roads or over longer distances did the little engine’s lack of power and torque become tiresome. On a flat road with a small rider tucked down on the tank, a new 400F was good for a top speed of about 165km/h.But on a blustery autumn day, with my large jacket catching every gust of wind, this bike had little speed left above 125km/h, and refused to hold even that figure in top gear.

Maintaining a respectable cruising pace therefore meant staying mostly in fifth, and my progress was not enhanced by rather vague handling. At speed the Honda’s suspension felt harsh, and the bike was easily diverted by bumps or seams in the road. The handlebars twitched slightly from time to time, particularly when the wind made me hang on tight and put extra force through the handlebars, although the bike never remotely threatened to get out of Control.

Precision in Motion: The CB400F’s Agile Handling

Stability at slower speeds was fine, and even all these years later it was not hard to see why the 400F gained such a good reputation for handling. At 178kg wet the Honda was respectably light (though it’s a sobering thought that Suzuki’s original GSX-R750, introduced ten years later, weighed an identical amount and was almost three times as powerful). Equally importantly the 400’s frame was rigid, and its suspension was fairly firm and well-damped.

This bike’s relatively modern tyres, a combination of Michelin M38 front and Avon Roadrunner rear, helped by providing plenty of cornering grip despite their relative lack of width. The Honda was easy to steer, too, although it had conservative geometry and an 18-inch front wheel. It soaked up small bumps efficiently and held its line well through corners, occasionally touching down a footrest (strangely non-sprung, and prone to staying up) in tighter bends.

Braking from the single front disc was reasonably powerful, given a firm squeeze of the lever. For hard stopping the Honda benefited from use of the rear drum – and that would doubtless have been even more true in the rain, as the disc had a reputation for wet-weather delay typical of the times. That was one of very few criticisms of the 400F in its day, though, and details such as switches, instruments and stands were to Honda’s normal high standard.
Press and public reaction was generally very positive.

Why It Was So Popular: The Appeal of the CB400F

And all these years later, as I accelerated out of a corner with the bike stable, the engine revving hard and the exhaust note singing, it was easy to see why the 400-four was so popular in its day. This bike has the knack of making you feel good, and never mind the fact that it wasn’t particularly fast even in 1975.

It was quick enough for many riders, added to which Honda’s competitive price (and also its economy and reliability) meant that you didn’t have to be rich to own one. Those attributes made the 400F successful in Europe and elsewhere (predictably it sold less well in the States), and the four’s design was so right the first time that the bike survived almost unchanged for several years. This later CB400F2 model differed from the original only in its colour, the location of the petrol tank cap, and in having its pillion footrests mounted on solid subframe loops, rather than on the swing-arm as before.

Final Production: Closing the Chapter in Style

Ironically it was competition from Honda itself that did most to put the 400F out of production. The twin-cylinder CB400T, launched in 1977, was slightly faster and more powerful than the four, handled just as well, was more comfortable and cost slightly less. It was also rather ugly and lacked the character and charm of the 400-four – but clearly the older model’s days as the ultimate four-stoke middleweight were over.

In later years Honda produced some worthy successors to the little four – notably the super-sports CBR400RR and, closer in looks and performance, the naked CB-1 that was produced for the US market. These models provided style and performance in a compact and relatively inexpensive package. They all owed much to the CB400F, the original poor boy’s superbike…

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