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Brand new CDI for Hondamatic CB400A/CM400A/CM450A

Down to my last case for this run. Next order will be 10 as I anticipate I'll be hearing from more people once spring time is in full force.
 
Maraakate said:
Down to my last case for this run. Next order will be 10 as I anticipate I'll be hearing from more people once spring time is in full force.
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Glad you're still doing this, there will be pretty much regular need until you've gotten replacements to most of our SOHC 400/450 members for their failed factory units. And hopefully your online requests will pick up too.
 
Yeah, plus I'm assuming as spring comes near and people start firing them up and taking them out for rides the problems might crop up (the capacitors are almost 50 years old now!). I'm planning on doing a small run for someone to take to a swap meet as well.
 
Over the weekend, several many used ones for the manually-shifted SOHC 400/450 bikes were sold and bought on eBay like I've never seen before. When they get listed, I'll "watch" them and for the past few years, hardly any were being bought which, to me, makes sense - ebay sellers of these used "CDI" cubes just list them with prices all over the place and none are listed with a description I'd require, as in they just describe them as "used" and if they even state "good" they don't state that they've proven them to be good by having been fully tested with an ohm meter for resistances between the terminals or wire ends, etc.. like the FSM instructs on how to check these units for "usability"

BONKERS BUYERS and SELLERS of these on eBay !
And I also assume the buyers of all of these pitifully described "used" units on eBay with mostly significantly-high asking/selling prices do not know about this forum because if they did they'd be buying from you...
 
Boosted said:
Over the weekend, several many used ones for the manually-shifted SOHC 400/450 bikes were sold and bought on eBay like I've never seen before. When they get listed, I'll "watch" them and for the past few years, hardly any were being bought which, to me, makes sense - ebay sellers of these used "CDI" cubes just list them with prices all over the place and none are listed with a description I'd require, as in they just describe them as "used" and if they even state "good" they don't state that they've proven them to be good by having been fully tested with an ohm meter for resistances between the terminals or wire ends, etc.. like the FSM instructs on how to check these units for "usability"

BONKERS BUYERS and SELLERS of these on eBay !
And I also assume the buyers of all of these pitifully described "used" units on eBay with mostly significantly-high asking/selling prices do not know about this forum because if they did they'd be buying from you...
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Yeah, unfortunately it's just how it is. I've since given up trying to explain it to people on the facebook groups. Most would rather throw random parts and turn it into a "brat/cafe" that looks cool but doesn't really ride well.

In my defense, on my ebay listings it has a link to the VHT forum post about checking your stator which includes some analog meter tests you can do to see output from the stator under load (i.e. while cranking). Resistance measurements are helpful, but only tell part of the story. They will tell you if a winding or coil is totally open, but they can fail when real voltage is built up but look good with the low voltage a multimeter applies to it.

Buying a used CDI at any price more than $50 is foolish imo. The capacitors are almost literally 50 years old. Manufacturers guarantee 10 years, realistically you can get 20 or 30 out of them depending on how it's stored and how frequently it is used. A NOS CDI may even be worse because capacitors are "use it or lose it" just like a battery. The dielectric will dry out and can short out, especially if they haven't been "exercised".

So far, when I've had people come to me about it via email I try to make certain that they eliminate that it's not the stator or coil or wiring. The CDI is the likely culprit due to age, but sometimes stators fail too. And I don't want people spending good money on parts they don't need and being mad at me that it didn't fix their problem.
 
Updated the first post, but just a bump to this thread. Shipped the last case in stock 03-16-2023. Already called the metal manufacturer 2 weeks ago to do a run of 10 in anticipation of people trying to start their bikes up in the spring. There are two back orders already that will be fulfilled as soon as the cases come in. Metal manufac. says 04-13-2023 so orders will start shipping last week of April. If you have been putting off buying one, I highly recommend to pre order it now as I'm planning on having someone take a few out to some cycle shows in July.

Beyond that, I sincerely hope those of you starting to ride winterized your bikes as best you could and that things are going well for you. Hope all you had to do was top the tank off, drain the carbs and change the oil.
 
Metal cases done from manufacturer, full-filled two back orders and now 8 cases are available as of 04-21-23.

I'm also working on an adapter plate for the Dynatek Mini 0.5ohm coil. It can mount as-is. If anyone out there is interested in having me make an adapter for the coil harness and proper coil wires cut to length and soldered then contact me. I haven't come up with a price for that, but I'd imagine about somewhere between $20 to $30 depending on cost of materials.
 
It was only a matter of time but Rex's Speed Shop stole my design and is now selling them in the same **** plastic cases as the CM400Ts. https://www.rexs-speedshop.com/product/cm400a-cm450a-hondamatic-070000-0550/

To anyone who orders one keep in mind that's completely chinese made, won't clear things properly, shoddy workmanship. If you want the real deal, I'll always make these available.
 
Well, I'm not surprised either but I just lost a lot of respect for Rex's. They would say business is business, but the reason the whole world is quite like it is today is in large part because of sheer greed and this is yet another example.

Meanwhile, nice guys continue to finish last and VHT is based on providing honest, free help while places like HT and CMC are reaping the profits while providing a poor imitation of what we do here.
 
At some point, I think I should send you a completed unit with a case to borrow to get pics of the difference and use that as a selling point.

I plan to have some ready for swap meets in July. I forgot to update this thread but I now have 6 cases available. Had 4 orders over the past month as people get ready to take them out.
 
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Maraakate said:
(and yes, she's left handed)
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That makes two of us.

As a side note, did you know that left-handed people have a better ear for music than right-handed? And ambidextrous people have a better ear for music than either singular-handed people. I'm ambidextrous. :)
 
ancientdad said:
That makes two of us.

As a side note, did you know that left-handed people have a better ear for music than right-handed? And ambidextrous people have a better ear for music than either singular-handed people. I'm ambidextrous. :)
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I'm ambidextrous myself, though my right hand dominates. I'm also "goofy" footed with skateboarding which means my right leg is the dominant one. Tends to be opposite for most people.
 
Status Update 06-08-2023:

Officially reached 20 sold so far. Pretty exciting, and all have been success stories. This past month has been my busiest so far with the CDIs for both models. I'm down to 3 cases already. I contacted the metal manufacturer early this time around as I would like to get some at the trade shows my buddy is going to next month. Used a lot of money the for these sales on reinvesting to expand the stock. Especially in regards to components. I've been trying to stay on top of that as much as possible due to the component shortage that has been on-going since COVID.
 
Maraakate said:
Status Update 06-08-2023:

Officially reached 20 sold so far. Pretty exciting, and all have been success stories. This past month has been my busiest so far with the CDIs for both models. I'm down to 3 cases already. I contacted the metal manufacturer early this time around as I would like to get some at the trade shows my buddy is going to next month. Used a lot of money the for these sales on reinvesting to expand the stock. Especially in regards to components. I've been trying to stay on top of that as much as possible due to the component shortage that has been on-going since COVID.
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With all the effort you've put into these, I'm glad things are picking up for you. Whenever I mention VHT to anyone on Reddit with a SOHC 400/450, I always tell them you are here with your new CDI units for sale at a reasonable price.
 
ancientdad said:
With all the effort you've put into these, I'm glad things are picking up for you. Whenever I mention VHT to anyone on Reddit with a SOHC 400/450, I always tell them you are here with your new CDI units for sale at a reasonable price.
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Thanks, I appreciate it. Been helping with getting things taken care of around the house. And I'm helping everyone get these things running again. When I get some payments cleared for the last two units that went through I'll donate some bucks your way to help with server costs. I'm really thankful and appreciative of spreading the word to keep these going.
 
Maraakate said:
Thanks, I appreciate it. Been helping with getting things taken care of around the house. And I'm helping everyone get these things running again. When I get some payments cleared for the last two units that went through I'll donate some bucks your way to help with server costs. I'm really thankful and appreciative of spreading the word to keep these going.
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With all the help you give SOHC 400/450 owners around here along with the test kit you've put together to help members diagnose their bikes, you deserve to keep all the profits you make. We're financially set for the immediate future and beyond, sticker and t-shirt sales have helped us a lot and for the next couple years our server costs are paid for. We'll solicit donations in the future if necessary, but for now we're good so enjoy any spoils you get - IMO you're more than deserving. And I'm happy to spread the word when someone does something the right way.
 
I agree wholeheartedly with Tom, you deserve to keep the profits to make your business grow and keep up with demand. We're set financially so no worries there.
 
Update 06-23-2023:

Prices increased due to shipping and component cost. However, there is now a discount for VHT Forum members which will bring the total price down to about ~$245, Use code 'VHTMembers' at checkout. The more bulk orders I can do, the cheaper it gets. I've also done some research into simplifying the diodes. I was right that they 1N4002 and 1N4004's in different spots for cost reduction. It's safe to use overrated 1N4007s and simplify cost and me having to pay attention to which diode goes where. I'm researching the option to use a beefier SCR that is rated for 800V and 13A to replace all the SCRs. The specs are the same, just higher rated. I believe they used 5P4M and 2P4M as a cost cutting move. Using a higher rated SCR should also help with stators and coils that are getting closer to being out of spec. If they end up drawing more current because of the increased resistance, the higher rated components should be able to keep up with that. There is a Revision 6 board that is a little bit smaller footprint and allows the SCRs to have a bit more room to stand up easier. I'm working a Revision 7 board that arranges the PCB in a bus-like configuration like the 400T CDIs to simplify the lengths of wire. This one is a dual sided PCB so the design is a bit different, but the schematic is the same:

Preview of the Rev. 7 board (bottom layer hidden, silkscreen hidden, and partially cropped to protect my design since we now have another vendor stealing my design):

Capture.PNG

The larger through holes on the left are where all the wires will go, making the harness a lot easier to solder.
 
I think you shouldn't publish any more pictures of the board, it's helping the pirates steal from you.
Using the higher rated SCR's makes a lot of sense, people scoffed at me years ago when I said using a coil over 1 ohm would cause damage to the CDI. I'm not an EE but even I understand the results.
 
I have someone who bought a kit and apparently it failed after a couple of months of use. I suspect resistance increased, but have no idea. I did order the beefier diodes and SCRs and will test it out next week once they arrive. As long as the SCRs function the same it will be OK. You can go over on the diodes and shouldn't affect anything. They're so cheap these days that the price difference is practically non-existent (sometimes even the same price).

Also, I'm not quite sure if it's just the coil, but if the stator resistance is getting too high it may make the CDI work harder. Hopefully, it would be kind of obvious because I'd guess it would be harder to start because it has to spin more with the electric start to build up enough voltage to trigger the firing sequence. This is all theory though, I've never tested it.

You bring up a point in that I may have to discontinue the kits, except for VHT members or something. I wanted to make them available for people who can't afford to buy it assembled and aren't afraid of some soldering and coming up with a case. In this instance, I purposely obscured the board so there's no meaningful information but it's obvious where the layout of the harness wires go.

The 400T CDIs I don't care about someone taking the design since it's been reverse engineered by at least 3 other companies/individuals that I know of. However, I'm the only person who has made the information for those units public.
 
I would expect to see kit failures because it's all dependent on the buyers ability to assemble and solder correctly with the right type of solder and soldering iron.
 
Yes, I don't warranty the kits unless it's a component failure which hasn't happened. They apparently replaced the SCRs and large cap and it still does not work any more which makes me think there is something wrong with their coil or stator or bad soldering techniques.
 
CURRENT STATUS 06-30-2023:

SOLD OUT TEMPORARILY! Awaiting cases from metal manufacturer. Will be available 07-18-2023. You can still back order.

After next round of batches the metal manufacturer intends to always keep 10 in stock at any given time. Depending on how orders go, I may start keeping 20 in stock.
 
I currently have 7 pre-orders already. All for 400T's! Metal manufacturer is slightly behind, so cases will be available next week. This means as soon as I get them, there will only be 3 cases left for this round. One of them in the batch is for ballbearian.

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I'm discontinuing the kits except on a per-request basis. Causing too many problems with people assembling them improperly or outright asking extremely specific information out of them to fix their own unit. My intentions are not meant to be rude, but if you are asking these kinds of specific questions then you are likely not qualified to solder the kit yourself. If you think you can fix your own unit even though you're unsure of your stator or coil with proper techniques then you are not qualified to do it. If you think getting the component values out of my kit will fix your own unit that you've already disassembled then you are definitely not qualified as desoldering and testing the component should be easy for you.

If I am confident that you're competent to solder and isolate and debug properly then I will sell you one. Because of the above mentioned problems they no longer come with a guarantee or warranty.
 
Status Update 08-01-2023:

Cases back from Manufacturer and I must fulfill 7 back-orders(!) for those who are waiting I am soldering the harnesses today, running them on the test bench, then potting them tomorrow and should be shipped Friday.

This means there are only 3 cases left this run and the next availability will be at the end of September.

I have been keeping this a secret for a month or two, but David Silver Spares will be selling the CM400T CDIs. The price is the same as purchasing through me. They are doing an initial run of 5 to gauge interest. They were not interested in the Hondamatic CDIs because the bike was only available in 1978 in the UK. I'm not sure when they will be available on the site. I will be bringing the units to the Hanover, PA location to help save them on shipping. Just FYI to anyone who gets it through DSS: it will be the last superseded version number. This means it will have the 2-pin canon plug for blue and white. They were not interested in stocking up on adapters or having a separate run of 78 years.
 
Maraakate said:
Status Update 08-01-2023:

Cases back from Manufacturer and I must fulfill 7 back-orders(!) for those who are waiting I am soldering the harnesses today, running them on the test bench, then potting them tomorrow and should be shipped Friday.

This means there are only 3 cases left this run and the next availability will be at the end of September.

I have been keeping this a secret for a month or two, but David Silver Spares will be selling the CM400T CDIs. The price is the same as purchasing through me. They are doing an initial run of 5 to gauge interest. They were not interested in the Hondamatic CDIs because the bike was only available in 1978 in the UK. I'm not sure when they will be available on the site. I will be bringing the units to the Hanover, PA location to help save them on shipping. Just FYI to anyone who gets it through DSS: it will be the last superseded version number. This means it will have the 2-pin canon plug for blue and white. They were not interested in stocking up on adapters or having a separate run of 78 years.
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Good for you making a deal with DSS. They're a respected supplier and I think it will work out well.
 
STATUS UPDATE 09-01-2023:

Looks like the metal manufacturer was trying to get things done before the holiday so all 20 cases were ready for pickup 2-3 weeks ahead of schedule! They also have an additional 10 on hold so I won't be caught with my pants down when I run out. I have one to ship out for @gearsoup which I will be doing after the holiday. I'm going to slowly start making 10 of the 400Ts and 10 of the 400As and just keep it in stock to try and make things easier for everybody.
 
Looks like word is getting around nicely. I just saw this on Reddit, where I have mentioned many times to 400/450A owners that VHT has the seller of these available.

User avatar
LibertyMachine
·14 hr. ago

As an owner of a '78 CB400T II, just be prepared for old electrical parts to just one day quit on you. Fortunately, VHT has a member who's made new CDI units and there's lots of info on all the diagnostics you'll need to do (of course, this assumes that the PO didn't already replace/upgrade)
 
The funny thing is I have been getting a huge rash of 1978 model year orders. The last 5 I sold have all requested the bullet connectors for a 78. There is a pending order working out a deal and he also requested them. I know Jim has mentioned he noticed things go in waves on these bikes, but I'm very surprised by the 78 specific request.

Honda has always been funny about exact sales figures, but I do wonder if the 78/first year was the most popular year. I don't think see as I've seen and worked on a fair share of 80-81s which are always obvious to spot because they have the fuel accelerator diaphragms on the carbs. The 450s seem to be more rare. I've never seen a 450 in person.
 
LongDistanceRider said:
I've noticed more '78s being sold or for sale in the last couple of months.
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It is riding season, guess it makes some sense. But, I'm still perplexed that it's been requests for 78 connectors almost exclusively in the past couple of months. It used to be I saw a lot of 80 and 81s. I don't think I have seen an 83 or later model in person.
 
Maraakate said:
It is riding season, guess it makes some sense. But, I'm still perplexed that it's been requests for 78 connectors almost exclusively in the past couple of months. It used to be I saw a lot of 80 and 81s. I don't think I have seen an 83 or later model in person.
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Maybe it's just a matter of more of the '78 version finally giving up with age now.
 
ancientdad said:
Maybe it's just a matter of more of the '78 version finally giving up with age now.
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I suppose. There is a small difference in the first year with the way the PCB is laid out but otherwise functionality is the same. Possible the components weren't as good.
 
Maraakate said:
I suppose. There is a small difference in the first year with the way the PCB is laid out but otherwise functionality is the same. Possible the components weren't as good.
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The '78 version is stamped with an A and the later versions all have C stamped on them so I think that denotes a design change.
 
Yes, I've reverse engineered both. The only main difference is the layout of the PCB. They slightly changed two values of components to make it up elsewhere. Probably in a cost cutting move.

Basically, you can use either/or. It won't make a difference. It was strictly internal changes to make it easier during assembly.
 
Added "product variations" when buying a CDI. It will now ask you if it's 1978 year to choose between the bullet connector or the 2-pin canon plug for the blue/white wires. Adapter is no longer necessary, but still available for those that need it in the future.
 
I love turkey and Thanksgiving. With it getting colder out and winter projects getting underway I have added a coupon good for $230 shipped to CONUS for the CDIs. Use 'gobblegobble' at checkout.
 
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