Cm 400 to Bobber

[Hortons Heroes]

With winter seemingly fully arrived I figured it was time to start chopping another bike.

I'll make this first one quick with some brain storm ideas and questions. I still need to get my engine back together for another bike so it may still be a few weeks until this bobber build really starts.

After doing my cafe last year I bumped into Jamie (one of the chopper boys) on his Cm 400 Bobber and was really impressed by it. The sound caught my attention first, his rising sun tank emblem was pretty sweet.

We traded for a ride a I loved it except for the position. I am a little big for where things were set-up. I love the ammo box for battery and fuses. I am leaning towards something like his exhaust as well.


I know it's not a CM 400 but I am toying with the idea of a passenger seat like this one. I would go smaller but something similar.


I really liked the bare metal look of taking all the black off of the wheels and clear coating them but I am toying with matching the tank and wheels as well. I just happened to have 3-4 cans of this yellow from my 454 build I was going to do.


I am debating the hard tail. Is it really as bad as people say? I need to ride 2km on a dirt road everyday and I don't want to sacrifice my safety for a look. Talking with Russ I don't think I want to stretch out the back end but do want to drop it down as much as I can and move the seat really far back.

That being said I really want to go further than I did with the cafe and put on pods, clean up the electronics in to a case/hide a lot of wiring. Are pods OK in the rain?

I have debated the spoked wheels (found on CM 400 E models, mine is a T) but I am to budget to spend the money and in the end I really liked the look of what I did with the cafe wheels. If I stumbled across some CM 400 E wheels I would probably get them.

there is so much about this bike that I like, the colours, spokes, seat, using font fender as rear fender. I want something a little tougher looking like Jamies but it's tempting to try and just copy this build.


I have some parts already here (headlight, headlight mount, led penny lights for signals, tiny tail light, bars etc) but I can't decide on a seat. Emery rides with a bare metal pan and doesn't seem to mind it, I really don't want to fork over $100 for a seat when I could take shot at making something.

love some feedback and suggestions, I start chopping soon and am looking for some more experienced eyes for advice.

[Billy Thunder]

Looks like you are on the right track. Cool looking bikes for your inspiration. I also have seen Jamie's chopped CB400. It's cool.
 Wire spokes came on the CB400T until about 1979, I think... I have them on mine... (with a drum brake up front).

[Hortons Heroes]

is your CB stock?

[Billy Thunder]

Mildly caf?-ed.


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[Hortons Heroes]

What a great looking bike, love the spokes. Pre 80 means kick start too, I am a fair bit jealous.

Here is before shot...man this bike is ugly.....


I got most of the big pieces off, turns out you have to take off the back tire to get the airbox out. Like a fool I pulled the wiring through the channel in the fender only to find that it connects into the harness at a different point, I worked way to hard getting it out haha.


End of a nights work, I am getting excited about the possibilities. Front head light is off but to make it worth the time I need to redo the forks seals when I go to do the fork ears so I never got into it tonight. I have some serious wiring to hide. It's all dangling right now but I am realizing how much work I have made for myself hahah


-I was going to take off the rear suspension but I really need to hear from a few riding hardtail, does it make the bike unusable on some roads?
-my question of -do pods make a bike fair weather only- was answered somewhat here
http://www.ninjette.org/forums/showthread.php?t=78251

my list of things to do now is
-redo fork seals
-take of fork ears
-rebuild front brake master and slave
-lift tank?
-create battery box
-plan out ignition (I really want to do a hidden switch with no key)
-remove tach
-remove dummy lights
-mount headlight and wire oil light

I really want to clean up things that don't seem totally necessary. Was thinking to put the high/low beam on a switch on the back of the new headlight, get rid of the kill switch all together (is this the worst idea ever), remove the starter button and put on a switch.

[Dennis]

Hey Dave.  I am posting this even though we talked last night in the shop.  Hardtails are often feared by people who have never ridden them.  There are pro and cons.  The main "pro" is that nothing looks cooler or more simple than a hardtail.  Ride wise, its just a different feeling.  You feel the road, but at speed, most roads are actually quite smooth.   

The build has to be a bit more robust also.  A hard jarring when you hit a pot hole can break stuff.

If you are still nervous, try some solid struts first.  Just make 'em from some square stock.  Struts seldom look as good as a proper hardtail, but ridewise its the same feel.

I'd like to have a good look at your frame.  The CM400 has some odd bends.  Anything can be hartailed.

Peace & Grease, Dennis

[Dennis]

Here's a link to a hardtail project.  Its longer than I would go, but it shows the odd ball cm400 frame getting nipped and tucked.

http://www.bobberforum.com/forums/showthread.php?tid=606

Peace & Grease, Dennis

[Hortons Heroes]

I am having the hardest time turning down your offer Dennis, I am going to hard tail but I am going to go the solid strut route first. It's something simple enough that I can be more hands on then watching it happen and I can do it at the shop where my bike is parked.

In my head as soon as I go for a really nice hard tail it goes from a bobber to a chopper but I think my terms are off. I am interested in doing a proper hard tail but it will probably be another winter from now. Goodness know I may ever buy another typer of bike sometime then really go crazy.

Did a bunch of work tonight but didn't set any records for productivity.

Goal was to get the exhaust off, redo the fork seals, take off the fork ears and get a rough fit for the head light. The forks are not what I am used to for CM 400 so I took longer than I should have (air asst forks) here are the parts I got off at least.


Got the seals done and while trying to refill them forgot that there is a hole in the top of leaked fluid everywhere and lost track of how much actually went in. DANG IT! letting the forks drain, back at them in a few days. I think I should just mount them like this permanently. Could be a real hipster look....

[Hortons Heroes]

What really concerns me with that project Dennis is where the pics ended ahahaha. He got the hard tail done then seems to have just dropped the project. I do love that line from under the tank straight back to the rear wheel, much better than the loops and curves the CM has.

I do that that spare frame at my place that I could start looking at modding...hmmm...sounds like I may pop in again sometime soon.

[Dennis]

Good observation about that build thread.  I see it a lot online ... a flurry of activity and then the thread goes silent.  That's why my build has a publicly announced end date ... the Father's Day Show 'n Shine, 2014.   I will make it or be ridiculed.

Peace & Grease, Dennis

[Hortons Heroes]

I think my due date for this one is March 1 but we will see how much I can get done before Jan.

Whilst taking down and rebuilding the brake (master and slave) that I knew was in rough shape I discovered why is was dragging a little. Some nice person made Guinness jello out of my brake fluid....well I guess time and water did that but I was a little shocked at how bad it was considering I put on around 2000km on this bike in the later 1/2 of the season. I also broke a screw off in its hole (bottom of pic) and while trying to get it out I drilled a hole in the screw then proceeded to break off an easy out...in the hole...flush with the top....dang it. I have hit the limits of my knowledge so up to Bens I go.


the slave came apart and went back together nicely, little bit of pitting but nothing crazy like the top.

[Hortons Heroes]

Well I opened Pandora's box for modding...dang it I did not think this through enough.

I only had my IPOD to take pics so quality is low....very low

I tried this method for filling the forks and only have regrets about every set of forks I have done before. I just took the top caps off once they were mounted, filled then put the caps back on. I used to fill from the tiny drain hole in the bottom with a funnel.


looked at raising the tank and it has a nice line with the bottom of the tank and the frame if I were to just weld on a 1/2" bar on top of the frame. The rubbers would slide on and give a little more room for air under the tank with the wiring under there.


I forgot about a place to mount the choke, Ben figured this would be a great place. We broke the head off of the choke cable, drilled a small hole in the nut and run the cable to the carb. Would have been sweet if it was threaded but Ben has some great ideas like gluing on a drilled out dice or something else fun.


new headlight and fork ears on. I had lots of room to hide the wiring harness under the tank but there isn't much room for air to flow. Love the clean look it already has with that small headlight on.


tank in stock position with wiring hidden.



This would be the potential position of the raised tank. I have 2 other different styles of tank I am going to try on before starting the final mounting.


We goofed around with the frame by taking the rear shocks out and it turns out I have no idea what I want to do back there. I know I don't want to just put solid struts in and I know I don't want to stretch it. Loving the options that are coming out.

[Hortons Heroes]

I brought a friend who welds up tonight so any real work is really on him,

mock up of 14L tank


CB 750 HUGE TANK!!! You can see how much further it goes back than the other two.


This is a tank is great shape from an 81 400 I got a few years ago. Love the two tone look, cherry red and the striping. I think I will go with it. Don't love the 7L capacity but do like the look, raised and moved back a few inches.


Two of my buddies proving that I did very little of my own work tonight.


Lowering the bike means it wasn't leaning enough on the kick stand. Fell over on me while I was working on the front end. Shorter side stand now done...woot.


The end of a nights work. Tank still in mock up mode, could raise a bit higher. Need to get some tubing then can finish the hardtail welding soonish. You can see the chunk I cut off under the bike. Not that bid of a deal but still a very big deal for me to chop some frame.


I tried my ammo can for fit of battery and wiring but it's way to wide and interferes with the chain. Realizing that Jamies battery box is cut down quite a bit....hmmm...time to figure out a new box.

I removed all the connections and whatnot from the harness/metal frame thingy that sits next to the airbox. shoudl take up a lot less room now when I need to hide it.

[Hortons Heroes]

LARGE NOTE: My friend does the welding, he is teaching me but really he is the work.

Here is the headlight I got from honest Roy. I have some cleaning to do. I found a lens for it and the stock wiring from the bike works. I am just going to cut it from the bike, run it through the small hole on the left (from removing the screws in the back of the light). Ben has some tiny loom to hide the wires after I lengthen them. I am going to try and wire up the little light to the high beam.


Took some cleaning and I nicked the frame a few times so there were repairs needed. My welder friend was amazed at how thin the frame was on the bike. First cut trying to cope (is that the right word?) it in and nailed it.


Here is the dry fit, Rusty did me a nice thing and cut the U pieces off of the stock rear shocks so it would mount easily. THANKS RUSTY


This is just tacked on. Needs a few more welds until we can dry fit the rear wheel and fender...and seat...and tank...dang it I am just making so much more work. I like the look and the angles work OK for me. WOOT PROGRESS!


Once we get the rest of the welding done I am going to take off the center stand and remount the side stand. So stoked for how things are starting to shape up. I think there may not be enough room for the seat that I want but maybe a nice 5' 1"  person will want to buy it from me if I can't get it right...

[Hortons Heroes]

The Carrie Underwood Christmas musical was on last night....needless to say I got some work done on my bike.

Cleaned up the headlight bucket, cut out the oldwiring and put in the new light and  plug. Got the high beam indicator light working as well.