Vintage_Mania
1979 Honda CB400T
I found this little 98cc motorcycle very interesting and thought I'll share some of the points and facts around it.
- It was the brainchild of Norbert Riedel, who designed 2-stroke starter motors for the Luftwaffe Messerschmitt ME262 jet fighters during WW2.
- Because of the shortage of sheet and tube metal after WW2, Riedel designed the bike using the same diameter for the frame, swing-arm and forks.
- For the same reason the motorcycle had a single sided front fork as well as a single sided rear swing-arm.
- There are dials on the left side to change damping on both the front and back suspension by way of friction.
- It uses a bicycle style cable to thumb mechanism to change between it's 3 gears. The engine moves with the swing-arm so a static foot mounted gear lever could not be used.
- It does not have a neutral gear setting but the clutch-lever can be locked in place to act as a neutral.
- The engine is mounted on the front pivot part of the swing-arm and also uses the hollow swing-arm as the exhaust.
- The carb is hidden behind the chrome dome on the right side of the engine, but it is not a rotary valve engine, it is a piston port.
- The cylinder and head are a single cast piece.
- The chassis was a simple bridge between the steering head and swing-arm pivot.
- The front and back wheels where interchangeable.
- There where 12000 of these produced between 1948 - 1952!
