It really is butter smooth, after riding 100 miles and things starting to wear in, I can say that the build quality of the bike is top notch. It is a little heavy and Im sure that takes a hit on performance but it sure helps to give a more stable ride on the back roads that I ride on. It has good low end torque, real forgiving if pulling out of a tight corner may have needed a downshift, it just pulls steady through.
I am curiuos too about the CM400A. I like the style, exceot for the stepped seat. I had a CB400 as my sole bike for 8 years, it was awesome.