[spidr]

I had figured the next bike would be a fighter. Always wanted one. But damned if I didnt fall into another chop.

Found a CB400, guy didnt want much, lots of parts, already hardtailed, and had 10" over forks. My wife told me to buy it. God I love her. She called it a month early birthday present.

Spent the weekend tinkering, and hopefully by next weekend I'll be riding it.

Picked it up for $300 looking like the first pic. Came with almost a 2nd bike worth of parts, which I sold to my brother for $100, bought a few things including a new tank, and I'm currently $285 into it. And loving every minute.

Its a 1978 400, has 80s 650 wheels on it, tank is from a 72 qa50, 50* of rake, cheap style hardtail that was already done, headlight is a cop spotlight, quick and dirty.

 

[Fog]

That bike has some serious potential, good score dude.

subbed and rep'd.

 

[spidr]

Thanks dude. I'm pretty stoked about it.

 

[94yzf75fighter]

Looks like a winner.

 

[Fog]

you should maybe move the front sets forward more, i think it would be murder to ride as it is....cramp will set in quickly i think because your sitting so low, your legs will be really bent.

legs and arms stretched out, it's a sweet look and feels natural.

 

[spidr]

Gas tank isnt good for more than about 2 hours, its not actually that bad for position, but if it becomes a pain in the ass I'll build some forwards. For now I just want it out. Fancy parts later.

 

[spidr]

So We rolled the chop inside tonight out of the rain tonight so I can wire it. My wife says, dont forget the rules.
Yup. No marks on the floor.
Then she says yup. And treat her like a hoe.
Cut her up and throw her in the ocean?
No........Do my business and Get her out before she gets home.

So I laughed a little. My rides eventually end up with names. So the little CB400 is hereby name Geisha. Shes slim, japanese, and a slave purely here to fulfill my temporary needs.

 

[94yzf75fighter]

Yup she's a keeper

 

[spidr]

I had no interest in using the seat that came with the bike, so out came the leather. My skills are so-so, but its better than nothing. Tomorrow I'll add a thin layer of foam to the pan and get it secured. The hinge and the springs are waiting for me at the shop, one mmore thing off the list.

My Japanese Whore.

 

[planningoncrashing]

Cool build, and for dirt cheap, which is one thing I've never managed to do.

This reminds me of the sort of thing that got me into bikes in the first place.

Rock on, dude!

 

[spidr]

I think you summed it up perfectly. I build 4x4s for a living, and I love offroading, but I cant go out without it being work. These are more towards my roots, its what I did as a kid, but if I had opened a chopper shop it would have failed just like everyone elses. Theese are fun. And this one is quick and cheap, I'll do my best to finish it out nice, but its no show bike, and it never will be.

 

[spidr]

Mounted the seat and cut down some huge springs we found in the parts bin

Did a terrible job of masking everything and painted it anyways. Re-assembled it, mounted the headlight, and rolled it out for a couple pics. Super stoked now. Need to wire it, pour in some fuel, hook up the rear brake, and take it for a rip. Ordered a mini speedo to replace that huge factory one, but it can sit there for now.

 

[spidr]

Well, she runs. Kind of. One less thing to worry about, now I just need to fix the problem that when I twist the throttle the motor doesnt rev..........Dammit. Been ten years since I've torn apart a bike carb.

 

[spidr]

Anyone still paying attention?
I'm about $335 in now. But.........

It runs. Sort of. First time I could get it to kick over easy, and still rev. Needs a choke linkage, because this bitch likes to be choked when she gets going, and it needs some kind of restrictive filter. And some tuning. And baffles. But it runs.

Sort of.

 

[planningoncrashing]

Dude...

I love the hop burnout.

Holy shit, that thing is tiny.

Holy shit, it needs baffles.

Make yourself a nice choke linkage too. It's a little Honda, so it's going to be cold-blooded.

Rad.

 

[spidr]

Thats the plan on both counts, I found one of mmy baffles on the shelf, just need to find the other, came from my old pipes from the other bike. Not sure How I;m doing the choke yet though, have to sleep on it.

 

[spidr]

New kicker pedal, a little side by side love since I've been neglecting the big one, and a couple bucks worth of rubber.

 

[vernk]

how did you do the seat graphics? diy please?

 

[spidr]

Its called tooling, or carving leather.

I'm a real amateur, I just insist on doing my own because My grandpa showed me how when I was a kid. If you search youtube theree are a ton of how tos though.

 

[Fog]

hesitation to come back down to idle, and the popping would indicate to me its running super lean and this will make it a twat to start also.

looking good so far.