Mcgoo
Been Around the Block
Hi,
I picked up a CM400c in pretty decent condition late last year I know these bikes are not big favorites, but I did get it cheap, which was key for me. It ran quite well before the winter - a bit "gutless" but not awful.
The actual direction I was looking to take with the bike was a bit undefined when I bought it. I liked the overall aesthetics of the bike well enough as stock, but wanted to change some things to improve them, not just for the sake of it. I love the looks of a well executed café or bobber build - but I wasn't sure this bike was the best candidate for either - and I didn't want to butcher a good sound bike through inexperience. I was also limited by my surroundings and physical location. I live in Boston... not near it, but in it... in a one-bed apartment... with no garage or workshop, and nowhere to pitch a car-port tent to work under... What I do have though, thanks to a good friendly parking garage operator, is the exclusive use of the corner of a public parking garage ... the dead corner where no car can park because of the column layout.. I have that for bike storage and "workshop". Not exactly ideal conditions for custom bike building - so I have kept the alterations to the bike to a minimum (no welding and frame cutting), but have still come up with a nice looking project bike. It's the first bike I've got stuck into and I've learned a lot along the way.
The intended use for the bike also changed midstream... Initially it was going to be a runaround bike for me, but 2 things changed that - 1) My girlfriend expressed an interest in actually riding bikes instead of being stuck on the back, and 2) I bought myself a Bonneville. So this bike, while it will still be a great runaround bike for me, will also need to double as a safe/solid first bike for my GF to learn on.
This is a couple of shots of the original condition of the bike...
I picked up a CM400c in pretty decent condition late last year I know these bikes are not big favorites, but I did get it cheap, which was key for me. It ran quite well before the winter - a bit "gutless" but not awful.
The actual direction I was looking to take with the bike was a bit undefined when I bought it. I liked the overall aesthetics of the bike well enough as stock, but wanted to change some things to improve them, not just for the sake of it. I love the looks of a well executed café or bobber build - but I wasn't sure this bike was the best candidate for either - and I didn't want to butcher a good sound bike through inexperience. I was also limited by my surroundings and physical location. I live in Boston... not near it, but in it... in a one-bed apartment... with no garage or workshop, and nowhere to pitch a car-port tent to work under... What I do have though, thanks to a good friendly parking garage operator, is the exclusive use of the corner of a public parking garage ... the dead corner where no car can park because of the column layout.. I have that for bike storage and "workshop". Not exactly ideal conditions for custom bike building - so I have kept the alterations to the bike to a minimum (no welding and frame cutting), but have still come up with a nice looking project bike. It's the first bike I've got stuck into and I've learned a lot along the way.
The intended use for the bike also changed midstream... Initially it was going to be a runaround bike for me, but 2 things changed that - 1) My girlfriend expressed an interest in actually riding bikes instead of being stuck on the back, and 2) I bought myself a Bonneville. So this bike, while it will still be a great runaround bike for me, will also need to double as a safe/solid first bike for my GF to learn on.
This is a couple of shots of the original condition of the bike...