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Well for a long time now I have wanted a zxr-400
But this got my brain a ticking, and I started to wonder what the other 400’s are like, such as the CBR-400, the FZR-400 and the GSXR-400, I also know there are some other 400’s out there, 400cc cruisers, commuters etc and really I’m just wondering what were the best ones for a guy with almost 1 years NCB, who is 20, and is 6’3 tallI can’t afford a 600, and the 400 class are the perfect combination of speed and handling and not too hard to balance for a new rider who’s only ridden 125cc machines.
So, all suggestions of 400’s please except for crossers.
Thanks
have you tried Here?
Apparently a good source for all things 400cc[
]That’s not what I have been lead to believe, all the ones I have seen for sale In the UK have their speedo in mph and are UK spec.
I don’t want to sign up to that website to read information that other people can tell me without having to sign up to a place I will never post at again.Ok Levi was just trying to help. There are some officially imported but the majority arent (they are bought up to UK spec cos they have to be), and if you decide to go for a parellel or grey I thought the link may be useful.
the only 400’s i know of are imports
you could check out the xjr 400 the upright riding position might suit your height not had much dealings with the race rep 400’s so cant really advise on those
and apart from the speedo change what do you mean by “uk spec” because the home market spec is usally higher than what they send us leviGrey import: For every 600 cc model bike there is normally a 400 cc (and sometimes a 250 cc) equivalent, which has been designed to comply with another countries motorcycle licence restrictions. There are literally dozens of 400 cc models including a Bandit, VFR, CBR and ZXR (official UK model). These bikes will do about 120+ Mph and produce around 50 – 60 BHP. Bikes destined for America, Germany and some other countries (not just 400cc either) may have emission controls, power restrictions and headlight modifications not required (or necessarily desired) in the UK Market. Japanese imports often have lower powerred headlights (35-45w rather than 55-60w). Some of these can be expensive to correct. When considerring a grey import it is better to go after those that are most popular. This helps to secure decent parts availability and mechanical knowledge.
Parallel Imports: The once thriving parallel import industry boomed when official UK prices were ridiculously high, compared with Europe. Although UK importers have realised the threat from parallel imports, you’ll still find many up to 20% cheaper. Unlike a grey import, a parallel will be similar to an official import, but my need a KPH – MPH and headlight conversion. In the strictest form a Parallel import should be full UK specification, just not imported via the official UK importer and sold through an official dealer. However, most manufacturers will not supply UK bikes via the back door in this way. Therefore strictly speaking few true parallel bikes exist. New Parallel imports (sourced from Europe) should have the same manufacturers warranty as an official UK bike. However, you may need to be proactive about recalls and warranty work, as the manufacturer may not necessarily know where the bike is.
In other words, most 400cc motorcycles were not/are not officially imported into this country, which makes them either a grey import or a parallel import.
This months BIKE magazine(June 2006) is running a £400/400cc/400 mile endurance race challenge
The bikes racing include a Suzuki Bandit, Suzuki RF, Honda Nighthawk, Honda VF, Suzuki GSX and Kawasaki GPz, all 400 obviously. Most are unofficial imports.
400cc has never been a well supported engine size with offiial importers, with only Honda with the NC30 and Kawasaki with ZXR400 offering bikes in this engine size.
However it has been a popular size with bikers in this country hence the vast numbers of unofficial imports that have come in. They offer the chance to get the feel of a bigger bike without the threat of excessive performance. Occasional forum contributor Toggsy made his step up to Superbikes (he now owns a ZX6R) via a ZZR400.
There is nothing wrong with parallel or grey imports, my YZF600 is a parallel import and has never given me any problems.
Whatever you chose, enjoy yourself.
There is a CBR400 still for sale on the forum – I know the bike and it is very tidy (it is a import)
If you want something a bit different then there is the 400 Katana (I know i’m a bit biased). They have a more upright riding position, which might suit you hieght,and are difficult to tell apart from their bigger (750,1000 and 1100)brothers. The chairman of the Katana owners club has 1 and reports that the reliability is great and spares no problem to source (you can also insure it on a classic policy). The engines on these are bullet proof and one rode from John Agroats to Lands End last year had no problem keeping up with the bigger bikes on the run.
All you need to know is here (specs, rider reviews etc):
https://www.katanacentral.co.uk/themodels/gsx400s/background.aspAnd there is one for sale for £1450 ono with only 8000kms (under 5000 miles) – ad 1580 and 1581
https://www.katanacentral.co.uk/community/freeads/freeads-show.asp?adtype=ForsaleOn British roads a well piloted 400 can do well up against bigger bikes, especially on tighter country roads. I even know people who traded back down to a 400 from bigger machines:
https://bikemeet.net/forums/topic/srx400-less-is-more/
The Yamaha RD350LC and YPVS are other bikes to consider, offering fun and performance beyond their cc. They are going classic now, so good ones can be pricey. I have owned three over the years and enjoyed them all:
the rd 350’s will be to small radar i struggled with the low seat and cramped position when i used one for a daily commute
Now that’s more like it! Information I can use
Thanks very much folks, the imports are a lot clearer now.The only thing bugging me about imports are the KPH clocks, how much would a converter to mph cost? Or would it differ depending on the machines?
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The only thing bugging me about imports are the KPH clocks, how much would a converter to mph costyou can just buy a sticker that goes over the top, shows the mph for each mph stage over kph. Some greys even have mph already, but on the inside of the dial where brit bikes usually show the mph. Most parallels and imports will have been done already anyway.
If you buy a grey you will need to find a specialist source of imformation regarding parts, both sourcing and parts off the 600cc you can use, unless you wanna pay through the nose if anything goes wrong (also good for finding out how to convert kph to mph if you wanna do it mechanically).
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