Emporio Elaborazoni CB400
By Anthony van Someren - 31 Dec 13
Andrea Aldini is a graphic designer from Rome who - like many of us - has extended his love of creative design into the world of the brat-style and cafe racer custom motorcycles. The good news for Andrea was that Rome is also home to Leo, Schizzo and Dopz at Emporio Elaborazoni Meccaniche, so when he wanted to get his CB400 transformed in a Brat/Tracker by a bunch of like-minded creative builders, there was just one place to go.
The donor is a 1979 CB400N, and it was in pretty poor condition, in fact the engine needed changing completely. The chassis was chopped back and shortened to give some space around the back wheel, with a low tapered tracker style seat. The short back-end and lack of a rear fender meant getting creative with the numberplate hanger. The rear LED lighting is also tucked discretely into the tailpiece.
The guys at Emporio Elaborazoni always like to get a little creative with the metalwork, but rather than their trademark spanner motif they used a welded chain to build an ignition key holder, positioning the speedo to one side of the headstock. Enduro handlebars completed the front-end upgrade.
Much of the rest of the bike uses original parts re-worked and modified, including the rest of the lighting and electrics, wheels, exhaust pipes and controls. The sidepanels were shortened and drilled for better airflow around the airbox and reg/rectifier, and the front fender was cut down and re-shaped.
The engine was painted dark grey and black, along with the bodywork, also in matte black but with an offset single racing stripe in metallic dark grey running from front to back.
It's a simple, honest and characterful build, on a much loved and popular platform, and Andrea is extremely happy with how she looks and rides. Thanks for sharing with the Bike Shed, Andrea.
See more from Emporio Elaborazoni on The Bike Shed Emporio Elaborazioni pages or on their own Website