New CBR400 NC23 owner - Advice please :)

[angry_rob]

Hello 400GB members, I recently bought a CBR400 tri-arm, for the relatively low price of £800 (with tax and MOT in July), it's downpipes were completely rusted and very near the end of their life, so I have bought a new stainless steel replacement. This is one of a few things on my to do list. I was just wondering if I could have some help with my list below.

To do list:

A good ol' scrub
New oil (10W40 semi-synthetic right, any particular brand you would suggest, or does it not really matter?)
New oil filter (what filters do you suggest, any point in getting hi-flow filters?)
New air filter (again what filters do you suggest)
New brake fluid (dot 4 stuff correct?)
New brake pads (what pads would you suggest)
Spark plugs (would you recommend CR8EH-9 or CR9EH-9)
Carb clean, balancing & valve clearances

And some time in the future:

New tyres (What would you recommend, I'm thinking BT090 or BT016)
Full tyga performance kit (T9)

And is there anything else you guys would suggest doing. Now I'm a bit of a noob when it comes to all this stuff (and I haven't even got my full motorcycle license yet ) so help is greatly appreciated. Can't wait to get my full license and get this (old and tatty) beauty on the road.

Thanks,

Rob

[cbr400rrn]

First of all welcome and you made a good choice of bike to buy
A good ol' scrub
New oil (10W40 semi-synthetic right, any particular brand you would suggest, or does it not really matter?) any as long as it is semi synthetic bike oil
New oil filter (what filters do you suggest, any point in getting hi-flow filters?)
oe oil filters are what i have always used
New air filter (again what filters do you suggest)
again Honda oe filters
New brake fluid (dot 4 stuff correct?)
yep
New brake pads (what pads would you suggest)
now then this is personal choice. you can go for Hondas own pads or EBC etc
Spark plugs (would you recommend CR8EH-9 or CR9EH-9)
Carb clean, balancing & valve clearances

And some time in the future:

New tyres (What would you recommend, I'm thinking BT090 or BT016)
090 are excellent tyres for the 400cc
Full tyga performance kit (T9)

[stimpy]

great bike...
is it the J or K model?(88 or 89)
when it comes to tyre choice...there is something you need to do first.
ditch the 18inch rear wheel and replace it with either the nc29's or nsr250mc21's 17inch rear.
you will have a better selection of rears whether it be road or track
the other must do is the suspension...
600rear shock conversion
fork respring and freshen up
its not as expensive as you may think and the differance in handling is amazing
look up GF racing on here for prices
get some pics up
stimpy

[angry_rob]

Hi again and thanks for info. The bike is a J model, and has done roughly 57000km.

I don't mind so much about tyre choice and I quite like the look of the larger rear tyre if I'm honest.

Suspension is a thing I will look into cheers. Pics will come shortly, once I have fitted the new downpipes.

[markscbr400]

hi good choice of bike i have had 2 nc23's 12 years apart there great here's a list of what i've found to work well
dp pads 117 they do 3 sorts i use rdp [tran am ]
hell briaded hose [ebay]
m max derestricter [seastar superbike]
bt090 tires [as good as it gets but not tryed dunlop alpha 10's ]
end can 380mm round [ebay £116 including p&p new they dont tell you but is a beuwulf]but try gf
blue speedo converter second hand of ebay
gf rear shock convesion with ohlin spring
stock oil filter but k&n do 1
stock air filter [the only hi flow filter i've heard of is from gf ]
also had the engine cases resprayed and the fork legs to match [a mate did thease for me top sprayer ]
if i was you i would have a chat with gf he is on this forum.

[veefer400]

Hiya

New oil (10W40 semi-synthetic right, any particular brand you would suggest, or does it not really matter?)
Rock Oil Semi-synthetic in mine, all good!
New oil filter (what filters do you suggest, any point in getting hi-flow filters?)
Genuine Honda, the ones from David Silver come with a remover as well!
New air filter (again what filters do you suggest)
OE Honda, havnt found any K&N-stylee ones?
New brake fluid (dot 4 stuff correct?)
Yarp
New brake pads (what pads would you suggest)
Using Goldfren on mine, excellent pads! Take a while to bed in but are v.good! I would also suggest new braided brake lines, yours will be over 20 years old...
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Honda-CBR400-RR-N ... 3786wt_911
Spark plugs (would you recommend CR8EH-9 or CR9EH-9)
Iriduim plugs last soooooooo much longer (30,000 miles?) NGK CR8EHIX-9

BT-016's are a multi-compound version of the 090's (the 090's will square off quickly under road use) , the rear's are avalaible in 18" in a 160/60 18

[Wozza]

After doing the necessary service jobs, definitely do the suspension next, before anything else. There are a few different options but the easiest would be to send your forks to GF to be upgraded, and also buy a CBR600 shock and linkage kit from him. It will cost you around £450 in total but is worth it for the handling improvements. Then I'd think about tyres - everyone loves 090s including me. A few of us have ventured on BT016s as I have on the rear and I like it so far, have done a couple of track sessions on it too and it performed well (I did crash but that was my fault, lol). I changed my rear wheel for an NC29 one so I could fit a 150, but to be honest I wouldn't bother - the 160 should go on ok.

That's what I would recommend, as I put performance first and looks second. It depends if you're the same, or if you're priority is looking good!

[angry_rob]

Thanks again for more advice . Unfortunately I'm still waiting for my test on the 9th of September, I'm looking for cancellations about 20 times every day and still none have come up . Until then I don't really want to start work on the bike so as not to temp fate.

I think my student finance will come in handy for some of this stuff .

Cheers, I will be back .

[Trinirides]

Before I even begin make sure you have a half decent set of tools as trying to do any real maintenance is a PITA without good tools.. Look at the 150 piece Halfrauds Professional sets they are selling cheap this will give you almost everything you will need to start becoming a spanner monkey.. If you have good tools please move on

Oil I have always used Motul or get Hein Gericke 10w40 Semi as its made by Motul and rebranded and costs about 1/2 the price ..
All OEM Honda filters please.
Pads cant go wrong with EBC HH great on road and track..
Get some HEL or Goodridge braided lines front only and get 2 lines only direct from master cylinder to caliper..
Tyres I would always say 090 but have used a set of Dunlop Alpha 10s on a spanish trackday and they where bloody great now my new favorite ..

Main thing before splashing cash on making it look sexy is make sure its runs and rides ok. Start with suspension you can do a fork rebuild in a few hours with a CD manuel again use OEM Honda seals and get some new springs Hagon Etc this will set you back about 90 quid, next would be the shock take advice from the other replys.. Also depending on the starting condition of the bike before spending any real doller remember any older bike can end up a wallet killer very quickly just be smart where you spend the money....

I would also say keep the 18" rear as if you change over to a 17 you will have to fart around with rear shock heights etc all the top 400 tyres come in a 18" even Bridgestone do a racing wet in a 18 so stick with it.. You do not need a "z rated" tyre on a small 400 anyway stick with the O9O or Alpha 10s!!!

[HondaCrank]

great bike...
is it the J or K model?(88 or 89)
when it comes to tyre choice...there is something you need to do first.
ditch the 18inch rear wheel and replace it with either the nc29's or nsr250mc21's 17inch rear.
you will have a better selection of rears whether it be road or track
the other must do is the suspension...
600rear shock conversion
fork respring and freshen up
its not as expensive as you may think and the differance in handling is amazing
look up GF racing on here for prices
get some pics up
stimpy

With changing the rear tyre to a nc29 rear. What sort of affect does it have on the handling ? I know you said that it is amazing, but what sort of affect does it have (does it turn quicker etc). This is my second cbr400, first one was the nc29 and i put on metzeler tyres. Fantastic set of boots for the bike, great grip from cold and in all conditions. My current bike is the nc23 and the tyre choice is limited, would love to be able to go back to metzelers again. What would you guys reccommend if dont change the rear to the nc29 ?