New East Coast member

[Maritime]

Hello, New to the site, I have been lurking for a few days. This site is great. I have just grabbed an 81 CM400T and I am going to "cafe" it over the winter. I have started with a set of bars, ordered them today. Can't wait to start stripping down the bike. I have been driving it like crazy though too becaue it is my first bike. I have put 1400 km on it since I got it 3 weeks ago. My Wife and I rode it 700 KM round trip from Moncton to Halifax and back. It was great. I will be keeping it a 2 up and want to put a removable cowl on the seat. Has anybody done this? I checked the seats and tanks forum but didn't see anything.

Great site.

Here is a pic of the bike.

 

[Mortikan]

welcome. good to have you here. if you are looking to do two up with a cowl. look into mustang seats or corbin. they both build a foldable aparatus that makes the seat go from 1 to 2 up. basically a back rest that when it's down makes it look like a one up seat.

you should be able to buy just the backrest section and customize it to your own seat.
MBS has a cm400t he rides as his daily commuter.

good luck and ask questions

mortikan

 

[Ease]

Welcome, from a little farther east.

Too bad you didn't sign up earlier in the summer, I was in charlottetown for a month with the cafe.

 

[Maritime]

Thanks for the welcome. Mortikan and Ease, I didn't know anything about Cafe's until 3 weeks ago when I got my bike and thought about changing it. I always liked the look of the cafe but didn't know the history, the "Ton" or anything. Found this site and some good reference stuff on the web and now I am hooked. I commute everyday on my bike so I have done very little to it yet. But as soon as the snow flies, I am tearing it down and getting to work. Thanks for the info on Corbin. I have seen there product on other bikes and it looks like quality stuff. Ease, I saw your post on the Island trip, I haven't made it there on the bike yet but now that my Wife loves riding it with me, we will make a run over before the season ends I am sure. It is a beautiful place to ride from what I have read. Nice bike too by.

 

[Mortikan]

as to the history there is a lot to it just look around to see what you can read.
I will give you a bit of info that is an uncomfortable lesson. If you are still planning on using this thing as a daily rider really think about where your seat position and handlebars are going to be. Unless your gumby the clubman bars and rear sets get a little tiring after the first 100 miles on a long trip. I have gone through two separate sets of bars and finally settled on a set of drag bars. make sure you use good quality foam when redoing your seat.
as someone once told me you only have 1 ass so use it wisely.

keep posting pics with progress we all love pics

 

[Ease]

...Ease, I saw your post on the Island trip, I haven't made it there on the bike yet but now that my Wife loves riding it with me, we will make a run over before the season ends I am sure. It is a beautiful place to ride from what I have read. Nice bike too by.

It is a beautiful place, but I honestly wasn't mad over the riding there.
I got sick of it pretty quick just because of the size of the island, and i saw a guy go down on a V-Rod because of a cow crossing the road. :

 

[Maritime]

I have tried a cpouple times to post up a photo of what I want the bike to look like, Try it one more time. Thanks for the info on seat and bars. I already ordered a set of drag bars, lower than stock but not so low to be uncomfortable. This is my only ride currently so I need to comprimise a bit. Like keeping the grab bar for my wife to use when we ride. She likes to lean back to stretch out her back. I am also going to get a used seat pan to make the Cafe seat, that way I still have the stock, brand new one for 2 up and longer trips. Can't get the Pic to load? Oh well, try again later.

 

[Ease]

If you're having trouble loading pics you should look into using Photobucket.
Or you can e-mail it to one of us and we can post it for you.

If you want me to host it on my photobucket for you then PM me and I'll give you my e-mail.

 

[Maritime]

Thanks Ease, I just got the new drag bars in and installed. I might have to teak them a bit, but what a difference control wise. Like a totally different bike. hardly have to slow down for turns at all now. I am going to take the long way home from work and see if I get sore/tired with the new riding position. I have done a 5 hour ride with the old bars and my arms never got tired, we'll see how the new ones feel. I also fixed the leaky exhaust, pulled the side covers off the engine and polished them, replaced the leaky clutch cover gasket. Can't wait to take the tank off and paint it. I noticed some rust on the frame so I may end up stripping the whole thing down and moving it to the basement for a winter project. I wish I had a garage. My little baby barn doesn't cut it. I will post a pic of the new bars tonight if I get the chance.

This is what I hope to be riding by spring. My wife like the red, I wanted yellow, but I can live with the red because this will be her bike someday and I will get another, larger.