Total Motorcycle Community Forums

I've searched on some Forums and haven't come up with a lot of info on these Bikes. Do people think this would be a good Beginner Bike?

1981 Honda CM400 $700
-Title Clear
-Registered
-Tagged
-Carbs redone last Summer
-Front tire Replaced, Back tire still has tread
-14,000 miles
-Fresh Oil, New Filter
-Everything Works
-Inspected a Month ago
-Small Split in Seat
-5 Speed

Suggest you send a PM to forum member ceemes. He loves CM400's.......

jstark47 wrote:Suggest you send a PM to forum member ceemes. He loves CM400's.......

This is true. I started off on a CM400 and used a couple as courier bikes. I still say they are the perfect starter bike. Light, nimble, very forgiving, cheap to run, easy to maintain, damn near bullet proof. I'd say go for it, not only will you have a great starter bike, but also a classic to boot. Only down sides to the CM400's I found were, the drum brake model lack in stopping power and they did have a habit of shredding the clutch cables, mind you the cable problem was only on my courier machines.

It seems like a good bike, but I just haven't found that much info on them. Most people seem to like the Rebels and old CB series. I've looked for a good one of those, but it's difficult. People keep them because they are good bikes.

mgold wrote:It seems like a good bike, but I just haven't found that much info on them. Most people seem to like the Rebels and old CB series. I've looked for a good one of those, but it's difficult. People keep them because they are good bikes.

There has been a bit of a resurgence in the demand for the CM 400/450 lines of bikes, especially among the classic cafe racer crowd, who chop these bikes to turn them into replicas of early 60's era British style cafe races. Still, they were produced in the 100's of thousands, so you still can pick up a good one for a decent price just about anywhere.

Can you tell me anything to look for on these bikes? Any problems that are common?

mgold wrote:Can you tell me anything to look for on these bikes? Any problems that are common?

Clutch cables mainly, my courier CM's ate them up. However the one I started on as my daily commuter didn't have that problem. Of course oil leaks are not uncommon, especially around the valve covers. Apart from that I never really had any problems with them. Keep the oil levels up, do basic chain maintenance and you are good to go. Keep in mind tho, these are old bikes and were never considered to be a hot ride even in their day. But as a good starter bike that is easy to learn the basics on and is very forgiving of ham fisted neebs like myself, they were next to perfect. Oh yeah, take a close look at the tyre sprocket, I seen them turn into chain saw blades by idiots who never took care of their bike and rode them into the ground. Simple basic chain maintenance will avoid that problem.

I think a CM400 would be an excellent biginner bike for most persons. My 1st bike was a 81 CB400T that had the same 400cc twin engine that I put 6 months and 6000 miles on and then traded "up" to a 82 CB750K that I put 80k miles on before replacing it with a 81 CM400A that had a Hondamatic 2 speed semi auto tranny.

I bought that CM400A in like new condition with only 2k miles on it and put another 96k miles on it before I gave it to a friend re-entering biking and the last time I saw it it had over 100k miles on it. A very durable engine and bike. I had to put a new head gasket on it at about 30k miles and the magnets inside the alternator/ignition drum on the left of the crank starting coming off and locking up the engine somewhere between 60-70K miles, fixed permantly with a good used one. I attribute both of those problems to the bike being stored unused in a hot barn for several years before I bought it. An old low milage used bike is apt to have some dried out seal issues.

Another thought would be how tall you are or more aptly how long your legs are. I was on the tall side and had to swing out a knee so the pull back type handlebars wouldn't hit the knee at tight parking lot speeds, no big issue since once your out on the street/road you never turn the bars much.

My first bike two years ago was the CM450A....got her used with 16K on her. Put 10K miles on her before giving her to my son as his first bike. He is still riding her today (I have a new bike).

What I love about the CM400's/450's is that they are VERY easy to work on if you can read a manual, and have common sense. As a girl who is not mechanically inclined, I was able to do my own chain adjustments/cleaning, oil changes, air filter changes, spark-plug changes, etc....easily. In addition, I am only 5'1" at 130lbs, and the CM450A didn't intimadate me as a noob, and gave me the confidence to hit the freeway and reach 70mph without a second thought within a month of starting to ride.

I can't say enought about the CM400/450's...except that I love them. Parts can be tough to find...but if you are patient, and monitor eBay, you'll find whatever it is that you need for it.

gsJack wrote:My 1st bike was a 81 CB400T

Me too!

Great learner's bike. In fact, excellent learner's bike.