Viridis Viator. A 1998 Honda CB400 Super Four
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Honda CB400 Super Four pertama kali lahir di tahun 1992 sebagai gambaran masa depan motor naked sport. Tiga puluh tahun kemudian, produksinya harus berhenti karena regulasi emisi. Tidak banyak motor yang bisa bertahan selama itu.
Tapi yang satu ini? Unit tahun 1998. Selamat dari waktu, “diselamatkan” dari Jawa. Secara mesin masih jujur dan sehat, tapi secara visual sudah mulai lelah. Brief-nya jelas: dijadikan motor mingguan yang proper. Motor buat kabur dari hiruk pikuk pesisir, dibawa untuk bernafas panjang ke udara terbuka, dan mendesis halus di jalanan berkelok.
Tantangan pertama: stance. Tinggi motor standar terlalu rendah buat pemilik barunya. Subframe dipotong, tapi karena tangki original tetap dipakai, ekor tangki harus dibentuk ulang. Bagian belakang yang turun dipangkas, plat besi dipukul dan diratakan, lalu garis jok dinaikkan, tinggi bertambah tanpa menghilangkan karakter aslinya.
Di bengkel, lembaran aluminium berubah jadi side cover, spakbor, dan cover karburator baru. Selang rem braided kini menyalurkan tenaga ke dua Brembo di depan dan satu Nissin di belakang. Sok depan dibongkar habis dan direbuild dengan benar. Shock belakang adjustable jadi penutup sempurna bagian buritan.
Area kokpit jelas menunjukkan umur 27 tahun, jadi speedometer baru dan CDI didatangkan dari China. Dari Australia, Purpose Built Moto Black Box menangani seluruh sistem kelistrikan, dipadu saklar tiga tombol berwarna silver. Di belakang, lampu rem Orbit Mini mereka ditanam rapi ke dalam spakbor belakang, dibentuk pakai palu dan keyakinan dan didukung sein kecil yang ukurannya mini tapi cahayanya terang brutal. Setang baru, tuas rem & kopling baru, grip, dan bar end ikut diganti. Lampu depan lama tetap dipakai, sekarang “dikurung” dalam cage baja buatan tangan.
Header berbahan stainless steel mengalir ke sistem knalpot inverted cone stainless yang memberikan karakter khas. Bengkel’s Boys juga merancang sebuah saklar tersembunyi yang cerdas untuk membuka jok. Sebagai sentuhan akhir, logo Honda vintage dipotong menggunakan dengan teknik laser dari alumunium se-tebal 2mm untuk panel samping, menyempurnakan detail dan karakter dari motor ini.
Urusan cat dan grafis, kami biarkan tetap santai. Tangki yang besar dan berisi ini masih menampung sedikit di atas 10 liter dari kapasitas aslinya 11,3 liter. Logo putih berukuran besar, dipotong pendek, mengambang di atas hijau lembut.
Proses build datang dan pergi, mengikuti alur waktu dan suku cadang lintas negara. Sampai akhirnya, semua selesai.
Sekarang, tiap akhir pekan, Viridis Viator, Sang Pengelana Hijau, meluncur ke pedalaman. Melakukan persis seperti tujuan kelahirannya kembali: mesin bersih, menikung halus, dan membuat pengendaranya senyum tanpa sadar.
Honda’s CB400 Super Four launched in 1992 as the future of naked sport. Thirty years later, it bowed out under emissions laws. Few bikes earn that kind of lifespan.
This one? A 1998 survivor, rescued in Java, it came to us mechanically honest but visually tired, with a new brief in mind to turn it into a proper weekly rider. A machine to escape the coastal madness, stretch its legs in open air, and purr through the mountain twisties.
First problem was stance. The stock ride height sat far too low for its new owner. The subframe was removed, but keeping the original tank meant reshaping its trailing edge. The drooping rear section was cut away, the metal panel-beaten flat, and the new seat line lifted—gaining crucial height without losing character or performance. The visually girthy tank still holds over 10 of its original 11.3litres.
Our Bengkel Boys shape-shifted, aluminium sheet to become new side covers, fenders, and carby covers. Braided lines now feed twin front Brembos and a single Nissin rear. The front forks were stripped down to nothing and rebuilt to perfection. Locally sourced adjustable rear shocks finished the rear end.
The cockpit showed all of its 27 years, so new gauges and a CDI were sourced from China. From Oz, a Purpose Built Moto Black Box now runs the electrics, paired with silver three-button switches. At the back, their Orbit Mini tail light was recessed into the rear fender with a hammer and conviction. We finished it all off with tiny, brutally bright indicators. New bars, fresh levers, grips, and bar ends went on, while the existing headlight bucket was refurbished, an LED bulb was added, and now lives inside a hand-built steel cage.
Stainless steel headers feed into a single stainless inverted cone exhaust. The Bengkel Boys built a trick, hidden switch to pop the seat. And as a final flourish, we laser-cut vintage Honda logos from 2mm aluminium for the side covers.
For paint and graphics, we kept things loose. We opted for oversized, truncated logos in antique white set adrift across a sea of soft green.
The build swayed on and off as parts crossed borders. Then one day it was done.
Now, every weekend, the Viridis Viator, the Green Traveller, slips inland and does exactly what it was reborn for: running clean, carving corners, and making its rider smile.
Rider. Arwin, Chief Bengkel Boy
Photos. Rachmad Hidayat
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