MotorStar Cafe 400

The very purpose of the MotoStar 400 SS is to look good. And as a vintage bike, it does indeed. The overall shape of the bike checks all the right boxes from the vintage styling catalog. There is the classic shape of the tank that carries tasteful flourishes of pinstriping along with an old school fuel cap, logo and tank pads. A full set of handlebars gives company to dual pod analog instrumentation and a classic round headlight. Bullet style indicators and round rear view mirrors also add to the vintage appeal. The brat style seat comes with just the right amount of padding and stitching that compliments the lines on the tank. The rear fender carries the look of the bike just as well and sports a slightly ungainly taillight. The mechanical components like the front suspension and rear suspension and spoked wheels (19” on the front and 18” on the rear) seem to have been placed to preserve the look of the bike. The bike even comes with twin peashooter exhausts coming out of a single cylinder engine that sports doubleheaders to give the impression of a bigger parallel twin. The tires (90/90 front and 110/80 on the rear) complete the look of the 1800 mm long, 600 mm wide and 980 mm tall bike. And yes, some of us may have complaints with the excessive chrome on the fenders and headlight cluster, while others may find the seat to be too unwieldy. But the beauty of the bike is that all of them can be replaced with custom parts. Something that this bike has gained a reputation for. The company now also has a black and silver option in addition to the chrome and green one originally. The instrumentation includes a speedometer and a tachometer but there is no fuel gauge. There is however a fuel warning light.

The bike comes with telescopic front forks and dual gas-charged shock absorbers in the rear. It sports a compact wheelbase of 1420 mm and a seat height of 790 mm with a minimum ground clearance of 160 mm. The riding position is as you’d expect from a bike like this. Handlebars are placed at a comfortable height and even shorter riders should have no trouble with the seat. The wide seat makes it very well suited to long rides on the highway, something that comes with the forte of an engine this size.

As for performance, the MotorStar uses an oil-cooled and carbureted 397cc engine mated to a 6-speed gearbox. This allows it to produce 26.8 hp at 7000 rpm and 30 Nm of torque at 5500 rpm. Max speed is rated at 135 kmph. Power delivery is linear and easy to manage. The frame does transmit a lot of vibrations to the rider’s arms and the throttle is not the most responsive. But this is kind of expected from this style of bike that favors a more relaxed style of riding. The tank has a fuel capacity of 14 L. The exhausts give the bike a nice thumpy roar.

There is a single disc brake on the front while the rear gets a drum brake instead. This too then seems to be following the classic UJM setup from the 60’s.

Being probably the cheapest bike with a 400cc engine in the market today, the MotorStar Café 400 may seem like a pretty good deal. But as it comes with any Chinese built bike, there is a big chance that you might end up with a lemon of a bike that spends more time on its side than on its tires. Service and part availability too have a long way to go before they can get to an appreciable level. Still, it can serve as a good project bike.