Honda CM400 Custom Project wAmmo Finished

Posted on December 13, 2015 by Motopsycho

The day I originally brought this Honda CM400 home it was sold and the new owner almost immediately asked me to rebuild it as a tribute to his days as an ordnance technician during the first gulf war. He wanted a rat bike simple and rough edged with his rank and an Ammo Corp logo on it. Olive drab paint was necessary, wrapped exhaust & low bars were part of his specification. He also did not want a side mount tail light, a rather unusual request on this type of bike. The rest was up to me

The hand painted logo is not necessarily authentic to his unit but is based on a generic amalgamation of such insignia as I found online.

The long exhaust pipes were made from small chain link fence posts bent & brazed to the stubs of the original head pipes. The exhaust wrap makes everything look cool and it has a mean sound, just listen to this video.

The rear fender started life as a brand new aftermarket front fender for a Harley Electraglide, that I cut down & installed backwards to make a fantastic custom rear fender. The voltage regulator was bolted to the side and a good old fashioned Sparto tail light was mounted on top.

A little while back I did a post on twin leading shoe brakes and here they are installed and working just fine on the front of this little Honda CM400

The factory carbs got a serious overhaul and were re-jetted to work with the 54 mm velocity stacks & open exhaust with a Six Sigma jet kit. The fine people at Six Sigma really know their stuff and can usually set you up with a jet kit custom matched to your application. The key switch is your basis auto parts store universal hot rod part but the alloy bracket and the ABS plastic battery box & side covers are my work.

The solo seat was a swap meet find that was reworked to fit and the covered in olive drab Cordura fabric.

Here’s a shot of my buddy trying to look all serious and tough when he really wants to smile

The bar end mirrors actually work very well on this bike.

That’s enough words from me, here’s a little 1 3/4 minute video showing various excerpts from the build and the proud owner taking it for his first spin around the parking lot, and a couple big pictures further down on this page.

Peace Y’all!

An Enjoyable Compilation of Bad Ideas (a Custom Baja Minibike)

Posted on October 9, 2014 by Motopsycho

compilation :

[kom-puh–ley-shuh n]

noun

1. the act of compiling 2. something compiled

Yes that sounds like the perfect definition for this little project, it was a compilation, and now it is a compilation. It started out as a little extra sweetener thrown in on a deal when I purchased an old motorcycle to part out. Originally I planned to see if it would run and do the bare minimum to get it rideable and flip it. One of the great things about the Baja MB165 & MB200 minibikes is the fact that they are actually big enough for a grown man to ride comfortably. The bad thing for a full grown idiot like myself is that they are slooow. This is great when your kid is riding it but kind of dull for daddio. Plus there was no dirtbike in my stable so I decided to keep it and have some fun with it!

The original gas tank was full of rust and the carburetor was gummed up but the engine was otherwise sound. It turned out to be so inexpensive to replace the Honda clone carburetor that was on it, that there was no point in overhauling it. The rusted original engine mounted fuel tank has been removed and tossed in favor of a motorized bicycle gas tank. Plus I decided to use an aftermarket air filter as much for the looks of it as anything else. The stock muffler was retained so that I could use it for driving to my deer stand without disturbing every creature for miles around.

The other really noticeable bad idea you see here is the addition of a large heavy duty sprung bicycle seat. This was accomplished by cutting up an old jack handle and welding it to the frame. The seat has been kind of a mixed blessing. the extra height gives an even more comfortable riding position and the springs do help a teeny tiny little bit on small bumps, but the padding is so thin on this particular seat, that the engine vibration will buzz your taint if you slide too far forward on it. No it’s not an enjoyable feeling either, sorry.

Of course, being me I kept as much of the crustiness as I could only covering the fenders and the crappy looking dirtbike handlebar with a thick coat of do it yourself truck bed liner.

The handlebar came from an eighties Honda XR250. It had a fair amount of surface rust that I knocked off with a wire brush before coating it with the bed liner. I am sure the rust will eventually come back through but that’s okay with me for now. Changing out the handlebar was the single best comfort & control improvement to this minibike. From the factory Baja installs what looks like a “beach cruiser motorcycle” handlebar on it. Very good for little people with short arms, not so good for long armed gorillas like myself. The foot pegs are a set of passenger pegs from another old Honda motorcycle and are much bigger & sturdier than the oem items that came with it.

Also missing was the original big round chrome chopper style headlight, but in all honesty it would have been ditched in favor of the evil eye shaped driving lamp you see below. Like the original this light’s a bit dim at idle, but give it some gas and it keeps getting brighter & brighter.

There is one really good performance enhancing mdification and that is the installation of a GTC Torque Converter. In my last post I did a quick installation overview & product review on this part. There is also a video of this mini running & being ridden on that page so that you can check it out. Click here to view it if you haven’t seen it yet.

The front end is still a little bit tweaked from an accident that is was in prior to my owning it, and will stay that way. It’s such a little thing & it doesn’t bother me or anyone else who has ridden it. It’s just that the handlebar is cocked about a half a degree to the right when the bike is going straight, & not really worth trying to fix.

Now that I have told you all about this custom Baja minibike, it is time to say that it is for sale. There’s a real running dirt bike sitting in the barn and I anticipate that this one will soon be sitting around more & more. So the first person to give me $350 bucks for it gets it. Although I would prefer to sell locally for cash, I am willing to crate it for shipping as long as 1. you make all the arrangements for the shipping. and 2. I get at least 3 working days notice to build the crate before pick up. and 3. I have been fully paid via verified USPS money order. NO online payment options available for this, as I have been the target of too many scams lately. If you do purchase this machine you acknowledge that it has been altered from its original factory condition using questionable & potentially unsafe modifications and that you the purchaser assume all risks associated with operating it including the possibility of severe injury or death. And for heavens sake if you’re gonna let a kid ride it, put a belt guard on it.

This minibike has been sold!

Peace Y’all

Just a few more interesting things.

Posted on March 8, 2014 by Motopsycho

In my last post I showed you a nice old Harley service-car, now here’s the bones of one.

While we’re looking at basket cases check out this Mobylette.

There was actually a pretty good selection of offbeat European project bikes available.

And my personal favorite Harley Davidson model, the XLCR.

It is been a long day but we’ve had a really good time. Good night to all.

1985 Kawasaki 454 LTD Another Junkyard Dog.

Posted on February 2, 2014 by Motopsycho

This one had been leaning up behind the fence in some guy’s back yard for a while…

the droopy turnsignals are kind of sad looking

Back in 1985 Cycle Guide raced on of these against a 454 Corvette and spanked it good. But time has not treated this little Kawasaki well.

Somebodies kids tried to fill the tank up with dirt.

Notice the relatively low miles on the odometer, like so many motorcycles this was ridden for a while until the owner got bored with it or scared of it and it was left to rot. It no doubt switched hands a few times and had the same sequence of events happen over and over until finally something broke or the carbs finally gummed up and no one cared to fix it.

This side view below shows that these bikes had a fairly good looking profile but even then the writing was on the wall for the fast, good handling, and comfortable 2 and 4 cylinder Japanese cruisers. Lighter & faster was no longer fashionable, so the big four answered the demands of their American customers, who really wanted a 1960s-70s Harley but with Japanese reliability & no oil leaks. It’s a pity because I think it would’ve been interesting to see where these designs went if they had continued to combine cruiser styling with super bike technology.

Here’s a little bonus picture, not really big enough be a dog, we’ll call this one a junkyard puppy. It got thrown in on the deal with the Kawasaki 454 LTD above. It’s a little Baja MB165 mini-bike. A friend of mine has one & I really enjoyed riding it, and wanted one of my own, but never could quite convince my self to buy one. This one was left to rot after mommy & daddy got tired of replacing clutches on it. Most people don’t realize when they buy these mini-bikes (or go-karts either) that the clutches are expensive consumables that have to be replaced on a regular basis. I going to put a torque converter on it, a bigger rear sprocket & some ATV luggage racks to make it into a modern version of the old Tote Gote.

The Organic Rat! Honda CM400 Junkyard Dog!

Posted on December 7, 2013 by Motopsycho

This one has a kind of an interesting story to it. I had stopped at lunchtime a couple of weeks ago to fill the Suburban Assault Scrambler up up with ethanol free premium at my favorite gas station, when a local folk artist named Frank Cooper rolled up next to me in his mural covered Roadmaster. He comes over & tells me that he has an old Honda 400 in a storage unit that he might like to sell.

super cool acrylic painted sled

I really didn’t think anything more of it for a week or two and then this morning I gave him a call and met him at the rented storage unit where he stored this bike & apparently the rest of his worldly possessions also. After moving piles of junk (aka art supplies) this little bobber came into view. My immediate reaction was oh no I don’t want anything to do with that one. but after we got it outside he hooked up a battery & poured some gas in the tank and within a minute or so it fired right up and the engine sounded pretty good.

After negotiating a price I loaded it into my van & let it ride along to lunch with my beautiful wife & I. She didn’t even roll her eyes at me for buying it, I wish every man were as lucky as me. Here it is tucked into the back of my old Astro van. A normal sized motorcycle will not fit without removing the mirrors & maybe folding down the handlebars, but this one is so low it fits with plenty of headroom to spare.

loaded up and ready to haul

After getting it home I snapped a few pics of it to share with you. Lets start with the details first. I have no idea where this hardtail came from or what that silver thing is that is hose clamped to the frame.

It kind of sketchy and dangerous looking….

The bottle opener is a nice touch.

I might trade the bottle opener for one that says Guinness

I have no doubt this was the license plate he rode around with. 😉

The seat is literally a junkyard dog.

woof woof!

How ’bout a top view?

I hope any passengers don’t mind the comfy looking rear fender.

Come on you have to admit it has a mean looking stance!

“The Gunn”

The design and fabrication look as dangerous as a gunfight but all I plan to do to this one is to get it as functional & dependable as possible without changing anything about the way it looks or worrying about safety beyond making sure that it is not too likely to break in half if it hits a bump in the road. All motorcycles are dangerous, but some are more dangerous than others.

<wicked evil dangerous chopper motorcycle>

“The Bullet”

I am more than willing to entertain reasonable offers on this machine, as long as you understand that it is being sold as folk art with no warranty that you would ever be able to ride it at all and that it was fabricated by an unknown amateur of questionable talent & that I am not responsible for anything that happens to you as a result of attempting to ride this motorcycle. Of course the longer I keep it & the more I do to it, the better your offers must be.

Peace Y’all

Motopsyco.

QUICK UPDATE! A friend of mine saw this bike on Facebook & has purchased it from me. It is still parked in my shop because I have been commissioned to rebuild it to his specifications. Though I hate to see a real vintage rat disappear it will be a gritty down & dirty bobber, just right for him to tool around on down here in the dirty south! STAY TUNED!

Revenge of a Junkyard Dog! (Suburban Assault Scrambler Finished!)

Posted on August 30, 2013 by Motopsycho

It seems hard to believe that it has already been six months since I dragged home a rusty non running 1980 Honda CB650 Custom that I bought sight unseen at a local junk auction for the princely sum of 150 bucks. If you didn’t see it back then click on this link to see the before pictures. Of course along the way there were various challenges & fun but I had a blast getting this one going and as unlikely a candidate as it was for a scrambler conversion it really did turn out that the whole was greater than the sum of its parts!

Normally I am a man of way too many words so how about if this time I just show you some pictures interspersed with a few tidbits of technical information?

1980 Honda CB650 with 1974 Honda CB750 gas tank & a set of 1979 CB650 standard wheels.

1980 Honda CB650 Custom Scrambler

The handlebars are courtesy of a 1970 Honda CL450 I just happen to have lying around. The tires are Shinko 705 adventure touring tires.

<Vintage Honda with vintage plasma cutter>

I wish I had a plasma cutter like this at home!

The green paint is a mixture of gloss green & flat black tractor enamel, & the exhaust is from Mac.

they don’t make machines like this vintage Lincoln welder anymore.

Don’t let the nasty looking lowers fool you, the forks have new seals, Progressive Suspension springs & fresh 10w fork oil. I decided to keep the 650 Custom fork legs for the scrambler conversion since they are longer than the 650 standard forks. When I raised the rear by switching to the 17 inch wheel & taller tire it helped to compensate for the extra rake of the custom and gave more ground clearance.

At this time I would like to give thanks to the wonderful folks who provide me with my day job that makes all of this possible.

Safe Harbor Access Systems for allowing me use of the old warehouse and some production areas for this photo shoot. Click here to see the stuff I spend all day drawing blueprints for! And if you see anything you need let them know where you got the information.

Here’s some more of that headlight bracket drillium that I showed you in my last post.

speed holes make it faster right?

I couldn’t stand the 85 m.p.h. speedometer that came on this bike, plus it was making a horrible squeaking sound, so on went the 140 m.p.h. speedo & tach from a 1976 CB750F, with green faces of course.

Do you have any idea how hard it was for me not to attack this with the polisher?

K&N air filters hang off the back of the original carburetors, to learn what I did to them just click here. Other than a re-jetting

& a Mac pipe the engine is bone stock in all of it’s 11,000 original mile glory.

Slug & liquids? Sounds like the results of cheap beer & too many hot wings…

I put a lot of speed holes in this one ’cause I wanted it to be really fast 🙂

Holding up the rear is a set of Progressive Suspension 412 shocks with the heavy duty springs. I have been very pleased with this suspension, it gives a nice cushy ride over some pretty rough bumps but is still firm enough to rock out on a set of curves. Well at least as much as you can with a bike like this.

Sometimes you just find the perfect graffiti to really set a picture off.

Beware of the Dog

Peace Y’all

‘Psyco

The Fool Tank Chronicles Part 1

Posted on August 25, 2013 by Motopsycho

Some of us just have to do things the hard way, it’s in our blood and it will not be denied. Take me for example, while by no means wealthy in money I could probably buy any new motorcycle I wanted just sign the dotted line & add another automatic draft to my checking account & ride. But even the new retro bikes don’t have the pull on my soul that the old ones do, they aren’t part of my memories, & they don’t need my love to get back on the road. I don’t know about you, but for me the turning of the wrenches, watching dial gauges & degree wheels, the smell of parts washer fluid & the massaging & painting of old sheet metal bring me just as much pleasure a actually riding the finished product. When I finish one project, or sometimes even before I am constantly scanning Craigslist, Ebay, the local trader papers, & the internet message boards to find the next one.

Sometimes I do very irrational things that create far too much work for myself even by my own masochistic, self flagellating standards. This is the story of how I modified & then destroyed a fuel tank for my CB650 Scrambler project, & then had to fix another one.

Let’s start from the beginning, first there was my junk auction CB650C with this very holey tank.

As you can see there wasn’t much point in trying to fix that one so I used it for target practice & threw it away. Initially my plan was to turn this bike into a shiny polished cafe racer style custom with a big ’70s tank & some clip-ons, so I ordered up a 1974 CB750 tank from Ebay & set it on the bike just to see how it would look. Of course it wouldn’t work with the stock seat so I broke out the sawzall & cut 2 inches from the front of the seat. At this point I was still planning to cut the rear sub-frame off & put in a tail loop to support a proper cafe racer seat with a bum stop, because I had the Ninja for me & Mrs. Psyco to ride around on two up. Here’s a shot of the initial mock up.

old 750 tank mockup

By the time the above picture was taken fate had intervened in two distinctive ways. First we’ve had one of the wettest, nastiest, stormiest, summers on record. The dirt road that I use to get from my hole down in the swamp out to civilization, has been an almost constant quagmire because we have not been without rain long enough for it to dry completely up. This is not an environment conducive to the cafe racer style of motorcycle as your only bike. The second factor was the sale of the Minimum Ninja, I really wasn’t crazy about selling it, but the gentlemen who bought it from me was like a kid going, “please Santa, I’ll take great care of it I promise,” so I finally gave in & let him have it. To his credit he does keep it much cleaner than I ever did. But now I had to get something rolling & fast, preferably something with two up capacity that would roll down a dirt or gravel road just as good as a paved one. Decide to do a flat green rat bike that require minimum cleaning.

I had already made a new rear tank mount at this time by bending the CB750 mount down & brazing in a sheet metal angle the the proper size hole in it.

cb750 to cb650 rear tank mount clamped

My ugly brazing

The problem was that at the time I paid no attention the the seat to tank relation, something that would come back to haunt me later. After I changed my mind about the direction of this project but before really fitting everything together I decided to go ahead & change the color, but since I was doing a “rat bike” style build not to fix any dents or chips & just spray can paint it.

tank number 1 taped up

So I taped off the graphics & cap being careful to trim the tape around the nicks and chips hoping that it would look like the new color was original & spray bombed it with what I thought was a flat dark olive color

much lighter than I was expecting:(

About this time, I purchased a “skull pile” stencil from Airsick Stencils & decided to play around with it some, so I popped the tank off & taped it up following the instructions on the Airsick website for using these reversed stencils they sell, & sprayed my main color Createx Wicked Gold.

This color required a lot more thinner than the other Createx colors I’ve used in the past

After spraying the color I then put the stencil back in place and turned my air pressure down a little bit and sprayed in some opaque black to create the details.

laying in the skulls

Here’s what it looks like when you take the stencil off.

Just In case you were wanting to know the airbrush is a Paasche VL & yes I am very happy with it.

After finishing up and giving the paint a few minutes to set up I peeled the tape off.

peeling back the mask

If you try this at home just remember that most commercially available airbrush paints are designed for fabric use & require heat to set them and make them permanent, so go over the surface with a hair dryer or hot air gun & get it good and warm if you don’t want your paint washing off later.

Most people go back over these skull piles & fill in little details with the airbrush & some freehand stencils. Me I cheated a little bit by doing my detail work with a black extra fine point Sharpie, before spraying on the clear coat.

It looked decent enough for a rat bike I thought

airbrushed tank on cb650 scrambler

It’s kind of a shame that I destroyed this tank while attempting to correct the big gap between the bottom of the tank & the top of the seat. Oh well if you’re gonna cook an omelet you gotta break a few eggs. I’ll come back in a day or three and tell you the rest of the story.

A Custom Battery Tray & Other Stuff

Posted on June 5, 2013 by Motopsycho

Just thought I’d do a quick update on some of the things that I have done with my CB650 project. I have been working on it a little at the time between my normal day job, a few bikes & atv’s for other people, & some painting (airbrush practice & landscape oil painting). Since I’ve decided to go with the “rat suburban assault scrambler” look some of the things about this project have gotten easier, but other design ideas require just a little more ingenuity. Rather than sawing off the back half of the frame & welding in a new seat loop as required to get the proper cafe racer look I am opting for a modified stock seat with a 74 CB750 tank, but I still wanted to eliminate the stock side panels. My plan now is to replace the side covers with 2 pieces cut from some rusty old expanded metal sheet I have lying around. To do that I still needed to modify the mounts for the electrics, and since I will be using a Shorai lithium battery that is much smaller than stock, a custom battery tray was in order also. Since this is a rat I decided to do this with nothing but materials I already had on hand. After sitting down & staring at it a while with my note book, pencil & ruler in my hand I came up with a basic design that tucks everything up high, bolts into the stock mounts, & allows me to reuse the inner fender to protect the electronics. Here’s how it goes…

First I removed the stock battery tray, along with the airbox & some other now useless items. Then I drilled out all of the spot welds holding the mounts, & various brackets to it.

butchering a Honda CB650 battery box

In the spirit of my deep back country roots I decided to make do with the stuff I had on hand & not buy any new stuff to make this from, so this left over shelf divider that was destined for the scrap bin will get to live on as a motorcycle part. Here it is with all of the brackets & mounts salvaged from the original battery box.

a custom battery & electronics tray in kit form 😉

Then using my band saw I cut the tray to shape & bent it in a vise.

Then I bolted the stock mounts back into place using the original hardware & clamped the tray in between them. Since I do not have a tig box for my welder (YET) I simply use a 1/16″ 6013 rod to tack the pieces together without burning through the sheet metal too much.

tack welding battery box

After I got it tacked together with the stick welder I took it out and flipped it over & then brazed it securely together with the oxy-acetelyne torch. Then I laid out the various components such as the rectifier, turn signal flasher & etc & then brazed those mounts to the bottom of the plate.

custom rat motorcycle electronics mount

I know it looks awful, but I might just leave it that way, this is a rat after all. I will have to sort & secure all the wiring though, because neatly sorted wiring is easier to trouble shoot in the future & is less likely to develop problems that need trouble shooting.

Here’s a view from the top side showing the Shorai battery lying on it’s side. I still need to make a plastic box to keep the battery from sliding around. Since my day job is doing design work using Solidworks, I may just draw one up & have it printed out using a 3d printer. If not I’ll form one out of ABS sheet.

fits just right!

I can’t say enough good things about these batteries, they’re light, powerful & durable. I’ve installed them in a couple of customer bikes, this one, and even have one in my lawn mower! Sure the cost a little more than the lead acid batteries, but are in my opinion a threefold improvement in all areas. I do sell these & would be happy to quote you one if you contact me.

Here a couple of other items that have been added, first an Ebay find of a 74 Honda CB750 fuel tank. This fit with modified rubbers & a custom rear mount. I’ll show you some more details later after I have it all worked out with the seat fitment. but I think it looks really good on here!

Honda CB650 with CB750 tank

Another Ebay purchase is this 1970 Honda CL450 Scrambler. I bought the whole bike just to get the handlebars!

1970 Honda CL450

It’s pretty much seized up and there’s no paper work but the handlebars gave me exactly the look I wanted for my project. Good solid bars with just enough crust to blend in. No need to treat a new set of bars to a faux patina.

1970 CL450 handlebar on 80 CB650

The CL450 will be parted, I plan to keep the frame, engine, carbs, gauges, charging system, fork & wheels. All of the sheetmetal and the exhaust are up for grabs to my fellow hobbyists who want them. The fuel tank is rusty bondoed junk but everything else is decent. Contact me using the form below.

I had a few other adventures including dealing with a stuck oil filter bolt that I’ll go over with you soon including how far I had to go to get it out.

Peace Y’all

Go back

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Another Junkyard Dog! 1980 Honda CB650

Posted on March 8, 2013 by Motopsycho

Man this thing is a raggedy P.O.S. I ought to have my head examined for bringing it home.

seriously rusted out motorcycle fuel tank

bleeping rust

But I’m a big believer in if your gonna seriously customize something you ought to be fixing one up, not tearing a nice one down.

1980 SOHC Honda CB650 before

Before I even pushed it in the barn I popped the rotor cover off of the engine and made sure the engine would turn. If it hadn’t turned it would have gone on the trailer and headed to the steel mill.

Here’s the right side.

After verifying that the engine was actually free, I pushed it into the barn, hooked it up to a battery, and did a compression test on it. All four cylinders had compression but the range between the four was a little more than I would have liked, about a 4o psi variation, but that variation may be due to it sitting for so long. I’ll go ahead and check the valve lash & clean the carbs to get it running again, then even if it seems to be running alright I’ll do another compression check just to be sure the engine is sound. I already have a set of wire wheels coming for it!

Peace Y’all

Another Junkyard Dog from the Bicycling World!

Posted on September 21, 2012 by Motopsycho

Hey I had a bike just like this as a kid, well almost.. mine was a Murray and didn’t have the awesome rat trap springer fork, or the motorcycle muffler chainguard but at least it had the same frame. 😉

a seriously vintage bmx bike! a Free Spirit MX-1

I am planning to restore this one one day but for now it will continue to reside in a place of honor hanging from the rafters of my shop. Thanks to my buddy Kevin for keeping this unusual vintage bicycle out of the shredder for future generations to enjoy.

Peace Y’all

Welcome to the Asylum

Crazy About Motorcycles!

Tag Archives: rat

Honda CM400 Custom Project wAmmo Finished

An Enjoyable Compilation of Bad Ideas (a Custom Baja Minibike)

Just a few more interesting things.

1985 Kawasaki 454 LTD Another Junkyard Dog.

The Organic Rat! Honda CM400 Junkyard Dog!

Revenge of a Junkyard Dog! (Suburban Assault Scrambler Finished!)

The Fool Tank Chronicles Part 1

A Custom Battery Tray & Other Stuff

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Another Junkyard Dog! 1980 Honda CB650

Another Junkyard Dog from the Bicycling World!

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