Need Bike Info

 
Hi Group, I'm down grading from a '83 500XC Husky. I've been looking at
XR Honda's around 400cc. What does Yamaha, Kawasaki, and Suzuki make in
a dual sport about the same size. Thanks, Jim
--

 
Actually, I thought the XR350 was supposed to be one of the best trail
bikes Honda ever made... until the XR400. :)
I had a 1997 XR4. ***Great*** trail bike... although a bit heavy and
not really suspended for racing. Well stuffed up from the factory, but
once you freed it up to breath a little it ran pretty well. Mild
mannered, very dependable and easy to ride.

 On 8/13/2011 11:48 AM, James wrote:

Honda xr400 is nice, i liked the xr600r better (not much heavier)
the xr are a dirt bike that can be made street legal, the XL is a dual
sport our of the box...

dr400 are pretty good too,

not much has changed since the early 90's on dual sports unless you go
to the KTM or GasGas exotics... they basically make a not real good dirt
bike that does pretty good on the street... if you ride them slower then
they are very capable of taking you to places no one would normally go,
which IMO is the purpose of a dual purpose bike.

 
An important question is, what kind of riding, what dirt/road mix, how
serious does it need to handle dirt/street?

Dave

 
Honda thumpers (all that I know, from 125cc to 400cc) have weak cam
chain tensioners. The 350 is no different. There are shade tree
mechanic fixes though. The 400cc is slightly better, the 250 (not the
RFVC version) is a nightmare. RFVC is weak on this department too, but
not as bad as the no RFVC (found on old NX250 and others)

The XR400 is a great bike, a bit heavy, but it is indestructible.


-- Tiago