Honda CM400T. Nice enough

The Honda CM400T was never intended as a show piece. It was a brave and obedient twin, with whom you could drive to and from work. You could get groceries with it and you could take uncomplicated tours with it.

On a Honda CM400T you may have attracted less attention than on a CBX 1000 or a Goldwing. But that did not detract from the basic experience of motor fun. And don't underestimate how many of those 400 cc twins Honda put away. That is considerably more globally than that sold to CBXs and Goldwings.

All in all

The Honda CM400 types were street bikes with a few custom genes made by Honda from 1979-1982. They were the forerunners of the Honda Rebel series of motorcycles. And nobody wants to be seen on that for the time being. The CM400s had a 395 cc air-cooled parallel twin-cylinder engine. The block was equipped with electric start and electronic ignition. And three valves per cylinder (two intake valves, one exhaust valve). That was quite unique. Models include the CM400A (automatic), CM400C (Custom), CM400E (economy) and CM400T (Tach). The CM400C was only produced in 1981, making it one of the rarer model types.

A kind of retro

The Honda CM series also resembled the older bikes from the 60s and 70s because of its flat buddy. These were motorcycles with 'conventional' looks, but with some elements of the early cruisers (king & queen seat, a more relaxed fork angle, extra chrome).

The CM400 series only has a speedometer and three indicator lights (neutral, oil pressure, high beam). (And a revolution counter for the C and T models.) The E (economy) model had wire wheels and drum brakes, while the other Comstar wheels and a brake disc had front brake / drum brake.

Pretty classic, not expensive, well-arranged

All in all, such a Honda CM400 is a reliable motorcycle that, due to its performance and size, is well suited for novice riders m / f. The twin proves that the classic market does not only consist of priceless masterpieces. The reliability of such a Honda - and in the late 400s a 400 cc machine was a borderline between medium and heavy - is still exemplary. Just like employability. Very neat, often original, copies are still popping up here and there. Unfortunately, here too the trend is that those machines fall into the hands of people who - often with technical limitations - turn them into café racers, scramblers and / or bobbers. So maybe it's time to find and buy a CM600. Especially when it concerns such a rare machine. But because the market is not completely crazy yet, these CM1000s often end up in what you could call 'the bottom' of the market. Motor run cum trade Joost Woesthoff receives them with some regularity. Of course we don't know what Joost pays for it. But are between XNUMX and just under XNUMX euros for a neat copy? Those are not Sotheby's amounts.

In 1982 the CM engine was drilled into 447 cc and the series was named CM450

And then too

In the film Purple Rain from 1984, Prince rode a Honda CM400 Custom in the role of The Kid and he can also be seen on the cover of the eponymous soundtrack. The Honda fitted well with Prince, the man with the nickname 'the Minnesota Midget'

The Hondamatic that is hidden in Arnhem