16 years abandoned 1980honda cm400E is back to life(NEWPICS!

[scan]

I hope I'm able to do something like this one day. Amazing, and these were the best bikes - the standards of the 70s and 80s. I have thought someone needs to open a shop and restore and sell these bikes stock. I think there would be a market for such a thing. Very well done.

[Justy]

Thank you everyone for all your kind words and compliments. It's hard to explain how wonderful it makes me feel and the sense of accomplishment I get while reading everyones replies. It's just makes all the hard work even more worthwhile.

It's nice to see theres still people out there who like these old , now classic motorcycles. As "coffe_brake" put it ...this bike is far more to me then just a machine that will be with me always. It will be passed down to my son , who is only 3 years old now. I will give it to him when he is old enough to ride... like ummm...40ish? lol

Anyways, it is going to be a long winter for me. The bike is almost finished and it is now to darn cold to ride. I'm going to take a motorcycle safety course with my father... (who owns a harley grrrr) ...in the spring to get my motorcycle license. I'm looking forward to riding next year and I will take some more pics of the bike when it's completely finished. I will definitely also take a pic of my mother and I with the bike as well.

Thanks again everyone!

[coffee_brake]

Time well spent this winter!
Hey, maybe you could get Mom on the bike for a picture in the garage!
Maybe get her all psyched up for a little ride this spring on her old "steed"!

Don't sweat the Harley, they're just really easy to ride with their low center of gravity so lotsa folks like 'em just for that, not the chrome and noise factors....I love my Harley Dyna just like my other two Asian machines!

I got a feeling you're gonna be an asset to the "rational but passionate riders" segment of motorcyclists....

[flw]

I posted a few days ago about what people consider a classic. Your bike and the story behind it, is what makes it not only a classic but one that you keep for the next generation.

With all that hard work and time, you may think about a different bike for the first couple months. It not the size of the bike, its the value to you. A dent or scratch after all that work and time would be devastating. Just a suggestion. Thats why most smart new riders start with a well used bike for season 1 or at least the start of the season. Then sell the bike.

[coffee_brake]

I hear you, FLW, (ok what does that stand for, I just keep thinking Frank Lloyd Wright when I see it). But this (soon to be) rider has spent so much time and elbow grease making a "little" bike, not some '64 Panhead or '86 Ironhead Shovelhead, into a real beauty. Do you think, if it takes a little get-off, that it will get fixed right back up again?
But I understand where you're coming from. Little local bike shop near here has a Kawasaki KZ 440 or some-such little parallel twin in pieces and I yearn to bring it back to life.....as a hard-tail, springer, kick-only, ornery beast, but then that's just me.... I could also see it or some of the other dozen little, old twins for sale around here as excellent affordable bikes for the mechanically inclined new rider. Worth a thought at least.
Justy's gonna make a heckuva rider I'll bet. Already a decent wrench with some determination. I rest easy with that kind coming up to join us.

[Justy]

The thought did occur to me that perhaps I should buy some old run down bike to start off with , something that I wouldn't care to get damaged ,but I dismissed that idea quickly reason being....

Before I decided to restore this, I had no idea what to do, where to start, plus I had no tools. Only thing I ever did myself was change the oil in my car.
My point is, one of the many things that drove my determination though out my entire restoration was keeping that vision in my mind of me riding down some nice country road on this particular bike. A friend at work told me I should perhaps buy another bike and ride that and fix this one up in my spare time. I figured that idea was out of the question figuring that if I did that I would loose my desire to finish the bike by spring. My husband, even my father kept telling me I should just make a dirt bike out of it and buy a nice NEW bike instead of spending money and time on an old, rusted bike. I still remember bringing the bike to my house from my mother's and standing there in my garage looking at it thinking to myself "omg, soooo much work, can I really do this on my own? what If I take it apart and I can't get it back together?, What if I make it worse ?etc etc...
So, I just was determined to prove to myself and everyone else that this can be done.

I then did the very first step and that was to buy a manual and do some research online. I then found John, a guy who restored the same bike with his son. I contacted him through e-mail and we became friends. He gave me advice and sold me alot of the parts I needed off one of his parts bike.

My father seen my determination and gave up on the idea Of me just buying a new bike. He then purchased me all the tools I needed and was able to help me out a little on some weekends when he had the time.
The most exciting part was , after I finished a project ,for example, when I finished painting the frame, I would e-mail the before and after pics to my mother, father and to my friend John.

Now back to my point about me buying something else to start off with..(sorry). My bike is far from perfect. The paint job I did on it has some flaws, the exhaust and just about everything I have replaced or fixed Isn't perfect and I don't want it to be. It was my personal project and When I do start riding next year, if I have an accident, scratch it or whatever, I know I can fix it back on my own It's all part of the wonders of true riding, in my view anyway. Thank you for that suggestion though.

Justine

[ofblong]

even if it "may" not look perfect its your first try. Your first try will always be the one you remember the most and the one that you had the most fun with. You gotta learn somewhere and this bike was a good "learning" experience .

[feliz]

Can't beat the old classics, they're one of my favorite bikes. Good job.

[TorontoBoy]

That's a really touching story. Interestingly enough there are TONS of riders out there that love '80s Japanese bikes, called UJMs (universal Japanese motorcycles). It's their overbuilt engineering, the bulletproof engine, easy riding position, and really nice looks. What can I say but I also have one.

Your Mom payed you forward when you were 9. You should pay her back. Snap a pic of you on the bike with her as the passenger. Have it framed. I'm sure the photo would mean a lot to you in the coming years.

[rt1maillady]

Thanks for sharing that wonderful story. I also love that classic style bike. I have only been riding for a year (and I am 48 ) and my first bike was a 1981 CM400T. I had a little spill with it a couple months ago and I am still working on getting her back up and going. I just purchased a 1979 CM400A. Those things are worse than the Lay's potatoe chips. Ya can't stop at just one!
rt1maillady Sue