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New from Ohio, Honda CM400E Brat Tracker

2K views 4 replies 3 participants last post by  pknopp 
#1 · (Edited)
Hello, My name is BShape from Ohio! Last summer my Dad traded me a motorcycle for our extra car. I told him, being the enthusiest, that I wanted something vintage that I could wrench on and also make my own with some customization. Also, that I wanted something easy to find parts for and easy to ride, not a crotch rocket and not an old geezer bike (no offense to those of you with either one of those bikes, just not for me). Anywho, I ended up with a 1980 Honda CM400E. Not gonna lie at first I was a little skeptical of it's looks and shape but I loved it's feel and ride and after seeing many other bikes like mine and what people have done with them, I must say I a very excited about it's potential.

I have an uncle who runs a metal fab and powder coating business called Watchmen Metal Works, Watchmen MetalWorks - Powder Coating, Metal Fabrication so I knew I could do a lot of the fabricating and painting fairly cheap and between my uncle and my dad, have the know how. The bike is now well into it's transformation, the first hic-up was fact that the bike had no title... we looked into getting it and finally found out it had been locked in will of man who died over ten years ago, it would have costed over a grand to re-open the will which is more than we payed for the bike so we began to seek other options... My dad stumbled upon a used frame (with a new vin and title) for pretty cheap so we had it shipped and now we were able to move forward with a road legal bike and began the planning and vision stages.

I couldn't decide between going with a Brat Tracker style bike and a Cafe Racer style bike so I believe the vision of this bike is a little of both but leans more towards the Brat Tracker on account of it will be missing most of the trademark Cafe Racer staples (like the seat and dropped front) I shy away from those things because I still want the comfort of a sitting-up-right feel on the bike.

Where we are with the build so far: (and pics)
The new frame is Powder Coated white
Current frame and bike is completely stripped down
Carburetors are being rebuilt and rejected for future modifications
Seat is torn apart and foam is reshaped to be reupholstered (still working with the leather...)
Switched out the Mini-apes style handle bars for a straight bar.
Exhaust/Mufflers cut down 4" and in fabrication to shape them from the stock Megaphone style to a Reverse Cone style
All parts to be Powder Coated white to match the frame are ready for powder

Land vehicle Motorcycle Vehicle Motor vehicle Car
Land vehicle Vehicle Motorcycle Motor vehicle Automotive tire
Floor Flooring Table Tile
Bicycle wheel Bicycle part Vehicle Spoke Bicycle
Motor vehicle Vehicle Auto part Engine Suspension
Auto part Automotive exhaust Exhaust system Pipe Muffler
Room Table Cloud Furniture
Sewing Sewing machine Typewriter Hand Office equipment
Room Textile Linens

Alright! Looking forward to getting to know some other Honda bike builders and learning new things.
 

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#3 ·
How's it going BShape? I had a similar issue. Here in Ohio we are a Notary state and although my title was signed, it was not notarized. The bike was last registered to the grandfather of the seller, and grandpa has been dead for nearly twenty years. The seller had also moved back to the west coast and I was up a preverbal creek. Long story short, I found a special someone who helped me out and I was able to get it notarized by having the seller get on the phone. Saved the build, and a few bucks.

Good luck with the build. I am from the Cinci area and might be able to send your Uncle some extra business down the road. I am just getting started on mechanics now. I suppose I should see if I can make it run before sinking too much into it.
 
#4 ·
Glad to hear you got it worked out as well be wilson! Good luck on the build and yea my uncle would definitely appreciate the business. You can send people to Watchmen MetalWorks - Powder Coating, Metal Fabrication to check out his stuff and contact info. He has been getting quite a lot of business in the off season!

Also, pknopp, the brat tracker is not very common in america but very common in japan "home of the hondas", I was searching online for different styles of 1970's and 80's Hondas and kept coming across bikes that weren't quite bobbers, scramblers, or cafes and my curiosity lead to the "Brat Tracker". Basically a "Brat Style" bike is the same as a "Bobber" in the fact that everything that is not a necessity is stripped off, other than the tail is usually left soft tail and not cut down at all. Also the seat and handle bars are most generally changed out for skinnier low profile and straight bar look. So by definition, its not quite a "Bobber" and not modified enough to be called a "Cafe" style. So you end up with a "Brat Tracker". I love the look and the ease of the low modification for a first time builder.
 
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