SR 400 retro

[rktmanfj]

kick starter ---- ahhh that is what makes it the coolest retro out there ....

yea... me tooo... now if only the fj1100 could be a kickstart:-)

My God! Either your memory is failing you or you never owned many, if any of them.
There is nothing cool about kick starting bikes, particularly big singles and anything that's temperamental.
People used to literally break their legs kick starting bikes.


Starter motors, electronic ignition and fairings are the best things to happen to bikes in the last 100 years (and hydraulic brakes)
I'm sure some of the scars on my shins are from kick starters.
It makes as much sense as crank handles on cars (with which people used to break thumbs)

I was probably on my 20th bike before I got my first electric start, oh what joy.

Nooooo, leave them back in the dark ages where they belong and limit retro to styling.

Noel

The XT pictured above is one of the easiest starting bikes I've ever thrown a leg over...   if one knows the proper drill.
If not, it can be pretty nasty. 

[Burns]

if only the fj1100 could be a kickstart:-)

Nooooo, leave them back in the dark ages where they belong and limit retro to styling.

==========
A kick starter is fine for a small bike with electronic ignition, fuel injection  and automatic decompression, but makes about as much sense on a big bike as it would on an SUV.

[FJ_Hooligan]

Then there was my brother's OSSA Pioneer 250 with the kickstarter on the LEFT side.
It was so awkward that I never got the hang of it.  I would just push start it.

[rktmanfj]

Then there was my brother's OSSA Pioneer 250 with the kickstarter on the LEFT side.
It was so awkward that I never got the hang of it.  I would just push start it.

My Husky 390CR was like that.  I hated it.

One of the reasons I sold it, the other being that it was totally inappropriate for trail riding around here.

[Mike 86 in San Dimas]

First bike I rode was a 1951 Matchless 500, single cylinder thumper. We called it "the tank". It was my dads dirt bike. "when you can start it, you can ride". It was an adventure every time. Use the compression release to get the piston just past top dead center, you had to feel it. Kick like hell. Of course all this after you tickled the carb and put the choke in the sweet spot. Sometimes it was just easier just to coast down a hill and pop start it. It was striped down so much that the electrical system consisted of a single wire from the magneto to the spark plug. When it did not run quite right my Dad would say...Hmmm, must be the electrical system. RIP DAD.

[charleygofast]

My 85 SP/DR 600 is kick only. with comp. release and two plug head she usually starts 1st kick for 40,000 miles now. But stall her out in the woods... forget it!!! take a break and let it cool for ten minutes then shell start. You gotta know the drill. This model evolved into the DR 650 and now has E-start...go figure. I love this bike anyway, for 25 years now.                                                                                                                                                                                                            Charley.

[ribbert]

First bike I rode was a 1951 Matchless 500, single cylinder thumper. We called it "the tank". It was my dads dirt bike. "when you can start it, you can ride". It was an adventure every time. Use the compression release to get the piston just past top dead center, you had to feel it. Kick like hell. Of course all this after you tickled the carb and put the choke in the sweet spot. Sometimes it was just easier just to coast down a hill and pop start it. It was striped down so much that the electrical system consisted of a single wire from the magneto to the spark plug. When it did not run quite right my Dad would say...Hmmm, must be the electrical system. RIP DAD.

Now YOU know what I'm talking about.

You make the starting process sound so simple but of course they never did and you'd need at least third gear to roll start or the back wheel would just lock up which meant rolling it faster than you, or your buddies. could push. I had lots of old Pommy bikes and they were all bastards to start.

Good thing to remember too, those extra few seconds you sometimes spin the starter when your bikes being a bit cranky are equal to about 20 plunges of the kick starter, and without the continuity.

Noel

[Dogsbestfriend]

Easy but you have to do it right and from cold is easier than hot. In the past a stalled big single gave you enough time to smoke a cigarette while it cooled down. Lower compression engines with manual advance and retard are pussy cats. Treat them right and they purr. Treat them wrong and it gets very nasty very quickly. I used to have a 620 KTM with a very high left hand kickstart. That thing was an animal and I used to approach it with all the humility that one reserves for wrathful gods that demand blood sacrifice. The previous owners did not use it much. I did not use it much and I suspect that its new owner will have been mauled by now.

[mikedastonfj1100]

I had a 1990 Suzuki Dr 350.... Just would not die... I tried everything to kill it... Just would not die.... Had it for 6 years b4 someone gave me an offer I could not refuse... Long story short best dirt bike I ever had... Used it on the street to:-)...

[Burns]

My 85 SP/DR 600 is kick only. with comp. release and two plug head she usually starts 1st kick for 40,000 miles now. But stall her out in the woods... forget it!!! take a break and let it cool for ten minutes then shell start. You gotta know the drill. This model evolved into the DR 650 and now has E-start...go figure. I love this bike anyway, for 25 years now.                                                                                                                                                                                                            Charley.
[/quote

I had an XT550 that if you stalled it when hot you HAD to drain the float bowl to re-start.  It took a lot of kickin' before I figured out the drill. Big singles definitely have personality.

[charleygofast]

 When I stall the SP when hot sometimes I  turn off ignition pull in decomp lever, hold throttle wide open kick a half dozen or so times then switch on and kick...no throttle or youll get booted over the bars or break your leg!!! Still, I love this bike...personality, oh yeah! Speaking of love... Not a libs profile pic!                         Thump-on!                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Charley.

[Burns]

I read the article and came to the conclusion that this bike is a cute puppy, but it is still a dog.  Shoulda gave it 600 cc's and put it on a diet ( chrome-moly frame, alloy tank/fenders for a start). I doubt that there is a market niche for this pretender to the throne.

[FJ_Hooligan]

I just read Motor Cyclist's review of the SR400.  It is the exact same bike they have been building since 1978.  The only update is FI.

$6000 is a lot of money for what is essentially a 36 year old motorcycle.  Performance is on par with 1978 also.

[TexasDave]

I read the article and came to the conclusion that this bike is a cute puppy, but it is still a dog.  Shoulda gave it 600 cc's and put it on a diet ( chrome-moly frame, alloy tank/fenders for a start). I doubt that there is a market niche for this pretender to the throne.

I agree. I can not imagine what market yamaha is looking for in this retro bike. If it is the younger starter bike riders why make it kick start only? If it is the older kick start riders should have been at least 600cc.  Dave

[rktmanfj]

I read the article and came to the conclusion that this bike is a cute puppy, but it is still a dog.  Shoulda gave it 600 cc's and put it on a diet ( chrome-moly frame, alloy tank/fenders for a start). I doubt that there is a market niche for this pretender to the throne.

I agree. I can not imagine what market yamaha is looking for in this retro bike. If it is the younger starter bike riders why make it kick start only? If it is the older kick start riders should have been at least 600cc.  Dave

+1

I've been waiting for another SR (or perhaps XT) roller to come along, since I have a spare engine to hot rod a bit, and SRX600s are rare a hen's teeth in these parts.  I doubt if anyone is going to bring something like that Stateside again (and no, an Enfield isn't quite going to do it).