
Welcome to Four Bores
aka the boring b****rds!
There was a very special range of motorcycles arriving on our shores in the late 70's early 80's created to take on the Triumphs, BSA's and the like the new kids on the block worked hard to build something not only beautiful but practical as well as being packed with features we had not seen before. The bikes were aimed at a market who's USP was quality so the Italians, Germans and Japanese made their "disruptor" machines to very high engineering standards creating bikes that were built to last if sometimes forgetting about the little things like braking, suspension, handling etc special note to the Kawasaki H1 MACH 500's commonly known to have terrible suspension, next to no brakes, a frame that was anything but rigid but an engine that was the fastest 500cc engine ever put out. We specialize in the mid weight offering of the day building a mini time capsule that represents as many of this type of charismatic motorcycle from 'back in the day' as a dear old friend of mine used to say as possible. It is fairly well known that "old Honda four cylinder engines never die" and it is the same for a lot of these old machines, not all of course but they all have their own personality built in, something that is missing in the current crop of bikes, these were of the time when style mattered, chrome shone and people loved their bikes for me more than today!
Join us and remember these iconic machines, we specialize in the Honda 400/4 and 500/4 but today our collection ranges from wild 2 stoke banshees, upright and V twins ranging from 400cc to 750cc primarily, although the 750 is mostly a show bike as they were far to heavy to flick around, we try to keep in the 400cc - 500cc sweet spot though, we hope you will enjoy our site.
Joke of the day.
What do you call a fish wearing a bowtie?
Sofishticated.




About us
Who we are
Meet the "Four Bores" creators, Phil, Kev and Ian. Passionate about Hondas after having them in their late teens. Phil started to collect "do-er uppers" over the years. It was not until 2023 when these bikes were piling up he and Ian decided to start the first bike, a Honda 400/4 F1 which was all there but in parts and strewn across the house, as most of you will no doubt know what it's like!
So off we started, on a bucket load of confidence and little more knowledge than a Haynes Manual, the rest as they say is history
Motorcycles
HONDA 4 cylinder 1970' era
Models
Specialising in the CB400/4 and CB500/4 variants
The Honda Motorcycle
What exactly was it about these bikes that was different?
Four Bores
The idea of putting four cylinders in line was sheer genius, the old 500cc singles had charm but were like having milk in your Nescafe against coffee mate, gamechangers!
Silky Smooth
Four cylinders were complicated, balancing the four carburettors was never an easy task for a teenager but when they were set up correctly the way they revved was intoxicating, smooth, fast, powerful (for the day) these bikes changed the way motorcyclists thought!

Electric Start
Get over the bike in as cool a way as possible and discreetly move your thumb over the all new "button" and away you go, gone are the winding over the engine on the kick starter to the right point and jumping on the damn thing, no no, that was yesterday, we were in modern times and didn't we know it! Honda left the kick starter on of course as most of us really did not believe this electric start was reliable, how wrong we were!
Front Disc Brakes
Trust me in the 70's a disc brake was quite the thing! Today they are standard, back then we were all talking about these latest things that actually stopped you, reminds me of modern cycles, same thing except these worked better in the wet.
The Honda CB400/4 a quick overview of this beauty.
Key Features:
- Engine: Air-cooled, 408cc inline four-cylinder engine with two valves per cylinder.
- Carburetion: Four 20mm Keihin carburetors.
- Transmission: 6-speed wet clutch chain final drive.
- Frame: Steel cradle
- Suspension: 33mm telescopic forks and twin shock rear.
- Brakes: 267mm disc single piston floating caliper, 160mm single leading shoe drum.
- Design: Known for its subtle styling and lean, competition-bike look, with low-set handlebars and rearset footrests.
- History: The CB400F was a refinement of the CB350, with the aim of achieving better overall performance and a distinctive style for smaller fours.
- Production: The CB400F was launched at Cologne in 1974 and was in production between 1975 and 1978.
- Modern Relevance: The CB400F is now a sought-after classic, with enthusiasts appreciating its smooth engine and distinctive styling.

Let us know where you are showing your bike this year
Are you involved in show events throughout the UK?
We are really interested to hear from you so please let us know what your up to our there
Email us
Please note we cannot promise to answer all mail however we promise to try!
Feel free to get in touch
📌Newcastle upon Tyne
hello@fourbores.com

Please note all information is given as guidance only and is not suggested to be fact. Please do not try any of our suggestions without taking professional advise first. All rights reserved.