Honda CB400SF Hyper VTEC (2008-present) Maintenance Schedule
This is the maintenance schedule for the Honda CB400SF, Honda’s compact 4-cylinder naked sportike, made from 2008-today in its present mechanical configuration.
The Honda CB400SF is also known as the Honda CB400 Super Four.
Before 2008, the Honda CB400SF was carburettor fed. There were two previous distinct generations — first the four-cylinder roadster (a.k.a. the CB-1) made between 1992 and 1997, then the VTEC-actuated carburettor fed version from 1999-2007, during which period the VTEC system was iterated on and refined.
The CB400SF, whose full name is the CB400SF Hyper VTEC Revo, so named because by the time you finished saying it you’ll have reached 60 mph/100 km/h, is a compact 4-cylinder naked sport bike built to a high build quality standard. It’s one of two Honda bikes with variable valve timing, the other being the VFR800 and VFR800X.
Maintenance for the CB400SF is much the same as for any other four-cylinder naked bike — it’s chain-driven with a six-speed gearbox. The 2008+ models came with optional ABS but that doesn’t affect the maintenance schedule.
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Service Intervals for the Honda CB400SF (Hyper VTEC Revo)
Service intervals for the Honda CB400SF are every 12000 km/8000 miles, although the manual recommends checking the a few things in between (e.g. crank case breather, clutch, and brake systems).
Major service intervals in which you have to change spark plugs and adjust the valves are every 24000 km or 16000 miles.
Make sure you regularly replace the brake fluid and engine coolant, too.
Maintenance schedule for the Honda CB400SF
Below is the maintenance schedule of the Honda CB400SF “Super Four” from the manual.
| x 1000 km | 6 | 12 | 18 | 24 | 30 | 36 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| x 1000 mi | 4 | 8 | 12 | 16 | 20 | 24 | |
| Months | 6 | 12 | 18 | 24 | 30 | 36 | Every |
| Engine oil (Pro Honda GN4) | R | R | R | ||||
| Engine oil filter | R | R | R | ||||
| Spark plug (NGK CR8EH-9) | I | R | I | ||||
| Valve clearances | I | ||||||
| Fuel line | I | I | I | ||||
| Throttle operation | I | I | I | ||||
| Air cleaner | R | R | More often if riding in rain / dust | ||||
| Crankcase breather hose | C | C | C | C | C | C | More often if riding in rain or at high RPMs |
| Radiator coolant | I | I | R | ||||
| Cooling system | I | I | I | ||||
| Secondary air supply system | I | I | I | ||||
| Drive chain slider | I | I | I | ||||
| Brake fluid (Honda DOT 4) | I | I | R | I | I | R | 2 years: R |
| Brake pads wear | I | I | I | I | I | I | |
| Brake system | I | I | I | ||||
| Brake light switch | I | I | I | ||||
| Headlight aim | I | I | I | ||||
| Clutch system (Protect all cable life) | I | I | I | I | I | I | |
| Side stand | I | I | I | ||||
| Suspension | I | I | I | ||||
| Nuts, bolts, fasteners | I | I | I | ||||
| Wheels/tyres | I | I | I | ||||
| Steering head bearings (Lithium soap-based grease) | I | I | I |
Maintaining Your Chain on the Honda CB400SF
It’s important to maintain your chain on the CB400SF, as on any chain-driven motorcycle, but particularly one you might be tempted to ride hard (because you can).
For the CB400SF’s chain, a good-quality chain lubricant like Motul chain paste, or a Motul chain care kit which comes with a couple of handy tools to maintain the chain.
Honda recommends you follow the following chain maintenance schedule:
| Chain maintenance item | Every |
|---|---|
| Check drive chain lubrication condition, lubricating if necessary | 600 mi / 1000 km |
| Check drive chain slack, adjusting if necessary | 600 mi / 1000 km |
Notes:
- Do these items (checking/adjusting slack, and checking/applying lubrication) more often if you ride your CB400SF in dusty or rainy conditions.
- Always lubricate the chain after washing the motorcycle.
About the 2008+ Honda CB400SF “Hyper VTEC Revo”
OK, so you’ve gotten past the long name of the Honda CB400SF Hyper VTEC Revo and you want to know what the bike is about.
In a nutshell, the CB400SF is a compact 4-cylinder rocketship. It’s a high quality naked standard with a small engine and built to a premium. This isn’t your average learner bike where it’s obvious a manufacturer intentionally kept things simple; this is a classic and Honda knew it even as they were making it.
An evolution from the earlier generations’ carburettor-fed models, the modern 2008+ Honda CB400SF is built around a 399cc liquid-cooled DOHC 4-valve-per-cylinder fuel-injected engine. In stock trim it makes 40 kW (53 hp) @ 10,500 rpm, with a slight bump in power after 2017 to 41 kW (55hp) @ 11,000 rpm.
Unfortunately, the 2017+ models are Japan-only, unless you get a custom import.
The Honda CB400SF isn’t light in weight, even though it’s a compact bike. For larger individuals it can feel a little small (not like a compact bike, but just not like. large on), particularly if they wind on the accelerator and find the little machine taking them north of 140 km/h (90 mph), which it will do with relative ease.
The CB400SF weighs nearly 200 kg, especially with ABS (a commonly chosen option) and doubly especially if you get a Bol D’or package from Japan.
Common mods to the CB400 motorcycles are new exhausts to open up the VTEC sound and suspension mods to make them sportier.
But they’re already becoming rare and somewhat collector’s items since they were no longer exported from Japan.
Manual for the Honda CB400SF
The above maintenance schedule came straight from the manual with minimal modification.
The manual for the Honda CB400SF is available from Honda websites in countries in which it was released, like Japan. You can download it from Honda’s website here.
