BLACK BRIDGE HONDA CB400

It was only a matter of time before the nascent custom motorcycle industry started to blossom in China. We already have Bandit9: now here’s another recent start-up, Black Bridge.

Black Bridge is the nom de plume of Beijing-based Adrien Macera. Macera has been tinkering with motorcycles for as long as he can remember, but this Honda CB400 is his first commercial build. “The bike was for a friend who owns a bunch of restaurants in Beijing,” says Adrien. “We normally ride on trackdays with a group of friends. But for this project, he asked if I could build a smaller-capacity cafe racer, for commuting around town.”

It’s a pretty impressive result for a new workshop. After all, there isn’t the parts availability or network of builders that we enjoy in the west. But this CB400 has a squat and purposeful stance that belies its capacity. A lot of that comes from the CBR600RR front end—complete with Tokico brakes fed by a Brembo master cylinder. At the back, the frame was chopped—to fit the custom seat unit—and is suspended by Showa shocks. A beautifully crafted underslung exhaust system completes the aesthetics.

There’s a lot of aluminum fabrication on this machine, not only for weight reasons, but also to reduce corrosion. That includes the tank, seat pan, battery box, headlamp bowl and assorted bracketry.

Keep an eye out for the Black Bridge name. Hopefully we’ll be seeing more from Adrien Macera in the future.