Hello 1st post :D

[Bobber]

as the title says, this is my 1st post.. just want to say hello.
im joining as im looking for information on a bike im looking at getting,
im origionally after a road legal supermoto 400cc type
been looking at the 2008 honda xr400sm but i cant seem to find any dealers or anything
also been looking at other makes.. seems like every bike company do a similar spec, im not fussed what make the bike is really.. i just want something reliable and pretty quik, im used to 125cc 2 stroke bikes so the low down torque will be nice
also, is there any way of accomidating a pillion on one of these type bikes as i have noticed not many come with pillion pegs?

anyone got any suggestions of bike make/model etc

cheers,
Rob.

[Wafer_Thin_Ham]

Why have you limited yourself to a 400cc SM?

For town work something like a 500ccc commuter or 600cc roadster would be far better suited, and have better pillion accomodation.
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[Bobber]

Well, I just like the look and fee of that type bike and i like the idea of being able to go offroad if the need occurs, maybee even a bit of racing if im feeling brave
It will be the first expensive bike i will have owned, i just want ome oppinions on the best SM 400cc ike thats quite recent,
I have also been looking at some husqvarna`s also... im just spoiled for choice


Rob.

[Wafer_Thin_Ham]

No point in racing unless you're on a competition spec bike that needs rebuilds every 8 hours or so of running, and thus are crap for the road.

The only 400cc SM that really springs to mind is the DRZ400, or various CCMs which use the DRZ lump. The DRZ is rather gutless from what I've heard, but you're struggling if you go for more power with the service intervals.
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[Bobber]

I have been looking at those aswell, im not looing for serious power, just something that offers a bit of grunt as standard, even though my 125 was pretty modified, it was still a bit flat from 3rd gear onwards until it got into the power band, i dont want anything much bigger than a 400 as it will be my 1st insured bike and i dont want to be paying silly money, i got a quote of £500 a year fully comp on a honda xr400.. thats about as much as i could afford insurance wise..

[Wafer_Thin_Ham]

Why do you want fully comp insurance?

Many cases with fully comp insurance where it's not worth claiming for a small drop, so rather defeats the point of it.......just sugesting you may be able to get insured on bigger bikes if you look at TPFT insurance....
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[.....]

Honda XR400's are slow and have a pretty flat and boring power delivery. I'd be looking at a more performance offroader with SM wheels, something like a WR or KTM. Ideally for the fun factor a stroker with road wheels is what I'd go for.

[Bobber]

I dont actually know why I got quoted for fully comp, I just wanted to be covered for everything, I dont think i would like anything more than 400/450cc anyway.. it might be a bit of a step up from a 125 :O
ill just have to go to all the local bike dealers and see if I can find anything I like the look of

[Wafer_Thin_Ham]

It only goes as fast as you tell it too, and 600 fours make most of the serious power high up anyway, they are very friendly down low, as is the SV650.
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[Bobber]

In that case I may have to do some test riding

[Darth]

Yeah. Grow some balls and get a 600!

I and i would imagine a fair number of others have stepped up from a 125 > DAS > 600. Remember picking mine up (was only end of last year) and first couple of days if you nail the throttle then its a bit scary but doesn't take long to get used to it and to echo what was said above and what my DAS instructor told me - the bike only goes as fast as tell it to!
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Harold_Shand wrote: I suppose it's like anything, you get your fingers burned when you start out, you learn from it and eventually become a complete arsehole about the whole thing.