I've always thought this was an attractive motorcycle, along the lines of a Ducati Monster... oh wait, this preceded the Monster by a few years, but the 400 cc size just wasn't enough for those of us who were used to 1100cc engines. When we saw the 600 and 1200 bandit arrive in showrooms a few years later we were disappointed to see a whole different frame and look to the bikes. Why didn't they just continue the 400 style frame?
And... could someone put a large size motor in the 400? Many years passed and recently when a Bandit 400 parts bike appeared I took it upon myself acquire the frame for a look see. I set a 600 katana engine up on the bench and this is what I found. The back two mounts were quite close to lining up. chain alignment is OK. The bottom end isn't the issue. Unfortunately the width of that air/oil head is the problem. Not even close. The 400 engine hangs from mounts on the head, only 14 inches apart. Sadly the 600/1100 head is a bit more than 16 inches wide. And of course the 600/1100 engine has front mounts on the cases. So the answer is: Not easily.
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3 comments:
I think it would be a good winter project just to return it to 400cc. I think as we get older a nice 400cc inline would be very capable.
The Honda CB-1 400 is a terrific streetbike.
That was another sweet little bike, a worthy successor to the CB400F. My big beef is the 14000 rpm redline, I'd be looking for something a little less frantic. I'd trade a few hp for some torque:-)
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