1979 Honda CM400T

A

Achilless

New Member
Hello everyone, I have always loved the cafe racer look, simplicity, and idea.
I picked up this '79 honda cm400t couple months ago because, well i think a good find. I grabbed it for $800.00
After some research the best/easiest builds for cafe is the cb's, kawasaki kz, SUZUKI T500/GT500, triumph, norton..

My question to you guys, what makes these bikes better than lets say my cm400T?

If i understand correctly you want a level, horizontal to the ground frame, and the tank makes up a big portion... does my cm400t not fall into this?
Should i ditch the idea of making this into a cafe racer and wait and buy a different bike that i can make into one?
[font=arial, helvetica, sans-serif]I am willing to change the tank and or make other modifications[/font]
What is your thoughts?
Thanks-
 

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With a little elbow grease, you can do anything you want. It may be a little more of a challenge to get that bike to fit the look that you have in your head, but it's been done before. Give her hell!

Oh, and welcome aboard!
 
hey man, i'm working on one right now and many others are too. pop your seat off and have a look at that brokeback frame, then you'll see why. they are a challenge, meaning off-the-shelf parts mostly don't work, but with some creativity you can have a great final product. checkout swapmeet louies cb400t. good luck and welcome
 
Ok so from some threads i found, along with baconpockets thread build, it has been done before...
Baconpocket, did you end up rigging a seat to fit on there?

Any other suggestions anyone has would be great
 
Hello Achilles, With decent CBs becomimg harder to find and compared to the cost you can pick up a CM for, there are more of us taking on the challenge of building a cafe out of a CM400. (I too am building a 1980 CM400T) http://www.dotheton.com/forum/index.php?topic=20018.20 I paid $200 for mine (with Title) that ran after cleaning carbs and $150 for a 98% complete parts bike a couple weeks later.

Since the CM400T and CB400t of the late 70's and early 80's were designed more as a cruisers they had low seat heights and as many call them "Broke Back" or "Loopy" frames, Additionally the CMs ran 16" rears. all of this made a more raked profile. IMO the Comstar "Mags" do not really lend themselves to a Cafe look either. All said though, I think it can be done. You may also look into how others have handled the CX500 as well since they had similar frames.

Since they do present challenges, It just makes each one unique because we all approach the necessary fabrication of parts a little different, vs the usually very similar "off the shelf" approach that early CB owners take.

I will be following your thread with interest, so get going I want to see how you approach it.
 
welcome, I got the same bike and if you look up bikes like "Halfsack" you can see these bikes can be make to look good as a cafe. they are way easier to work on engine wise, no points, no timing issues. valve clearances are a joke to set. Just watch lean burn with the carbs, 2-3 of us have lost a piston, usually the right side to lean running. I now have a 450 swap in my bike because of it. I got mine for $650 and put $150 into a new motor after putting 5000 km's on the 400, and put some tires on for another $150, Avons, excellent tires for these and they come in the right sizes for the bike. Just do the inch to metric conversion. My avatar has my cafe inspired version. It is a daily rider so no clip ons or rear sets and I can swap my cafe seat for the factory 2-up for commuting with my son. Some day I will fully cafe it out.

Welcome and do up your bike, it can and should be done!
 
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