The Great Destroyer - Building a 'Bratstyle' project bike in the PNW


Bringing new life to a bike that's older than me.

 Since settling in Seattle, I've been looking for a project to work on. I didn't want to risk messing up one of our bikes, so I started looking for a on old bike on craigslist that needed some work. I ended up buying a 1978 Honda CB400II Hawk TII from my friend Tyler. With a rebuilt salvage title, and numerous obvious injuries, the bike's past was a mystery. Tyler shared the following photos of when he first purchased the bike, as well as the modifications he made.











Tyler made the following upgrades to the bike:
  • painted most of the frame
  • refurbished original gauge housing / replaced cracked bit
  • new ignition switch
  • restored the controls with paint, de-greased internals and applied new electric grease to all contacts
  • Honda factory grips / throttle tube
  • Motion pro throttle/clutch cables
  • new vinyl seat cover, painted seat frame
  • new gear selector
  • new brake lever
  • new mirrors
  • replaced headlight bucket, painted black
  • stripped gas tank of all paint, clear coated it
  • oil/filter change
  • cleaned carb
  • new air filter
  • new tail light cover
By the time I purchased the bike, it looked much better:






Since I got the bike, I've removed the tail light and installed a side mount brake light. I also replaced the rear and front turn signals with matching LED sets.


I replaced the old headlight with a dual LED headlight, which was easier than expected considering the wiring mess inside.



I also painted the side panels and did my first pipe wrap.





Finally I clear coated the tank, replaced the grips and added a single handlebar mirror.








And of course some flavor.





Have a nice day!