LOT 9

The Chris Skellern Collection 1977 Honda CB400 F2 Registration no. OBA 279P Frame no. CB400F-2100991 Engine no. CB400FE-2100999

Sold for £4,370 inc. premium

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Lot 9

The Chris Skellern Collection, 1977 Honda CB400 F2

Motorcycles Online - The Summer Sale|16 June 2025, 12:08 BST|Online, Milton Keynes

The Chris Skellern Collection
1977 Honda CB400 F2
Registration no. OBA 279P
Frame no. CB400F-2100991
Engine no. CB400FE-2100999

Now regarded as one of the classics of the 1970s, the Honda 400 Four first appeared in 1974. Described as 'the poor boy's muscle bike', its combination of a four-cylinder, overhead-camshaft engine in a 250-sized package endowed it a performance better than many 500s. With a stylish 4-into-1 exhaust, six gears and rear-set footrests, it was every boy-racer's dream and a huge commercial success. Comparing it to the opposition, Bike magazine reckoned the CB400 "represents a brilliantly engineered concept. It retains its appeal on several fronts: it's a four-stroke, and an awful lot of people are biased towards four-strokes; it's as quick as the two-strokes, yet on average road use will give considerably better fuel consumption; its handling is noticeably better than the two-strokes; and who can dispute that it's easily the best sounding 400?"

The CB400F was made in three versions: F, F1 and F2, the specification of each varying depending on the intended market. Offered here is a very nice example of the US-market F2 variant, introduced for 1977, the final year the CB400F was offered in North America. The accompanying State of Colorado Certificate of Title gives the year of manufacture as 1977, while the VIN plate states manufactured '5/76' and '1977 model' (the V5C incorrectly records the date of manufacture as '1st January 1976'). The Honda was first registered in the UK on 1st May 2014.

This machine has been fitted with UK-specification handlebars, switches and headlight using new-old-stock and David Silver reproduction parts (note the original exhaust headers). The vendor advises us that a top end refresh has been completed on the engine together with the carburettors being ultrasonically cleaned and rebuilt whilst the machine has been ridden only some 1,000 miles since the rebuild. Additional documentation consists of DVLA correspondence; four old MoTs (most recent expired November 2018); and a quantity of invoices for parts and services.
Offered with key

Footnotes

All lots are sold 'as is/where is' and Bidders must satisfy themselves as to the provenance, condition, age, completeness and originality prior to bidding.

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BUYER'S PREMIUM
The Buyer's Premium for this Lot is 15%+VAT on the first £500,000 of the Hammer Price, and 12%+VAT on the balance thereafter.

Additional information

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