Which 400?

[Redoko]

Long story short, I've decided I want a fairly 'old' () 400 after my CBR. Passing my test soon. (hopefully )I want an 'old' one because it will be cheaper to insure and repair, if I spill it, which, chances are I probably will.

Please vote in the poll, either your decision be what you rode or what you would prefer to ride as your first 33BHP bike.



What bikes did you buy after passing?

Cheers BCF
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"Let's face it, this is not the worst thing you've caught me doing."
Sudika Sportsman SK50QT > Gilera DNA50 > Honda CBR125 RW7 > Kawasaki Zephyr750 > Suzuki GSXR600 > Honda Hornet CB600F '51

[Wozza]

I vote CBR400 for IL4 goodness and Honda reliability and quality.
Which is why I've got one.

Await lots of people telling you that 400s aren't worth it...

[MaybeGuy]

KTM 400

mine.
as its for sale.
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Blue_SV650S wrote: it was a sh1te wheelie, but it proves that he can get it up in 3rd and can do angles. In summery, mattsprattuk is a gobby little sh1tebag, dopehead tw4t, but sadly for all of us, he probably isn't THAT full of sh1te!!
Kickstart wrote: Hi I tend to agree with Matt. All the best Keith

[Redoko]

How come they're not worth it?

If I bought a 600 then it'd be an extra £50 a month on insurance.
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"Let's face it, this is not the worst thing you've caught me doing."
Sudika Sportsman SK50QT > Gilera DNA50 > Honda CBR125 RW7 > Kawasaki Zephyr750 > Suzuki GSXR600 > Honda Hornet CB600F '51

[The Original Muzza]

Can I just ask why you felt the need to have two BCF accounts MikeCBR125?

As for those bikes, I'd take the CB400, for looks and being the least likely to be molestered.
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Current Bikes: Husqvarna Svartpilen 401 (2020)
Former Bikes: Honda MSX125 (2014), BMW Funduro (1996), Honda VT500 (1983), Yamaha FZR250 (1989), Suzuki GZ125 Marauder(2005),:Triumph TT600 (2002) (stolen)
From then on, I and the bicycle feelings deeper.

[P.addy]

CB400 super four...lovely bikes!

[prawny1]

All nice bikes but would (biased cb-1 cb400f) say go for the hondas with gear driven cams all the way, v4 is more powerful but the straight 4 will be cheaper/easier to service and imo look nicer especialy with a smart paint job, The later cb400 sf has a cam chain and the usual chocolate tensioner.

also cbr4 nc29 model had a good long production run (as did the zxr4rr) the gsxr has some nice looking versions but by all acounts can be very fussy about fueling/ carb troubles.

[Redoko]

Haha waiting till someone picked up on it.
I realised my old name was really going to bugg me because I plan on staying in this forum for longer than I would keep my 125.
I knew a name change would be out of the question because none of the mods do it, especially to a new member.
I've pretty much binned the old account, moved it to an inactive e-mail address and wiped all information off it. Would delete if I could...




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"Let's face it, this is not the worst thing you've caught me doing."
Sudika Sportsman SK50QT > Gilera DNA50 > Honda CBR125 RW7 > Kawasaki Zephyr750 > Suzuki GSXR600 > Honda Hornet CB600F '51

[Redoko]

[prawny1]

the gsxr400r / sp (90's models) look nice much better the older ones but are harder to find in good nick than the cbr or vfr.

[craigs23]

As a first big(ger) bike, I'd be torn between a Superfour and NC30.....think it'll be a Superfour - cheaper to run, easier to work on. I'd rate one just slightly above a CB1.

[Wafer_Thin_Ham]

People will just recommend the 400 they had when they were younger.

So, GSXR400 from me.

I don't think they are really worth it now though, most are 15-20 years old, been crashed and abused multiple times. They cost more to purchase than a 600cc roadster(hornet, bandit, fazer etc.) and can be insured for similar money.
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[Cptn. Awesome]

I'm a little biased because I still have my VFR400 NC24 and will keep it until at least February next year. Simple reason being is it's costing me next to nothing to run and although insurance for a 600 isn't all that much more I can't really warrant buying something that atm I'm not going to be using all that much.

My mate had a CB400 and compared to my VFR the power comes in quite softly and was easier to control. Theyre both nice bikes but it depends what you're after really. If you want cheap and comfy get the CB4, if you want cheap and sporty get a VFR4.
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Rides - '60 Plate Ford Fiesta Zetec 1.25, '03 Plate Kawasaki ZX6R B1H and an '87 VFR400 NC24

Naughty Fawbish: "An eagle is but an eagle until the suns flare blinds his prey." - Fawbish, 2010.

[Irezumi aka Reuben]

None of those will be cheap to repair due to the plastics and relative lack ofgetting hold of them, OE ones anyway. Parts on some are beggining to become scarce as well.

Get an early CBR600 or an SRAD.

If you really want a modern 400 that crashes well get a DRZ-SM.

[JAMSXR]

RVF400.
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Honda SFX50 > Aprilia SR125 > Aprilia RS125 > Honda RFV400 > K4 GSXR600 > KTM Duke > C1H 636 > K3 GSXR1000 > Aprilia RSV-R > Triumph Street Triple R > Ducati 899 Panigale > Aprilia Tuono 1100 > Triumph Daytona 675R > KTM SuperDuke 1290 2.0

[and]

...

[rac3r]

Before I got mine I was looking at a VFR or RVF, lovely single sided swing arm. Although you could just get a 600, SV650's are pretty cheap on insurance as is my Monster
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Bikes : 2006 CBR125R - 2004 Monster 620ie - 2004 ZX-6R B1H - 2005 Monster S2R 800 - 2011 Street Triple - 2009 Streetfighter 1098 - 2014 ZX-6R 636

[Kris]

I never did the 400 route because I'm too tall.

However, I always had a thing for ZXR400s so would have probably got one of those. That or a RVF400. Yum.

To be honest I was given a '92 import VFR400 not too long ago and after several past teenage owners it was shagged beyond belief. DO as others suggest and get a 600 unless you are:

a) tiny or
b) rich beyond belief


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NSR125RR - ZXR750H1 - ZX9R E1 - GSF600S - GSF600SK3 - VFR400-NC30 - SV1000N - ST1100-R - CBR900RR-R - GSF1200SK5 - GSF600SK1 - VFR1200FA - GSXR1000K2 - ZZR1400 D8F
www.prisonplanet.com

[Blau Zedong]

A GK73A GSXR400. The Honda's are nice but too sterile (as are the GK76A gixxers), while the Yamaha's and Kawasaki's are made of cheese.

All are worse on the road than a £800 CBR600 / ZXR750 / GSXR 750 etc etc though.
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18:54:59 Rob Fzs: unless its their clothes/ hair/ golden teeth

[M1ke]

ZXR400 because they are the most modern of the ones you mentioned, were still in production 2001-2003 ish so parts are very available and very cheap.

The old hondas are looking dated and the majority will have electrical issues and cracked fairings (they are very thin/brittle).

Your only downside with the zxr's is the headgasket however i have had many many zxr's and only came across one suffering with this!

ZXr for looks, build quality and parts availabilty. Stay away from old abused Hondas (only get a Honda if you can afford a mint low mileage one).

[Hobes]

I had a ZXR400 H1, which I loved to bits, however it wasn't without it problems.

I paid £900 for it and easily spent that again over the next 12 months keeping it on the road!

Mostly just consumables needing changing but it just felt like 1 thing after another for a while.

Also the regulator/rectifier packed up and one morning on the way to work it just cut out and left me in the middle of the road with a tacho needle that just went mental everytime the starter was pressed.

But other than that, I loved the look of it and the sound was probably the best of any of the inline 4's me or the wife have owned. And even though it would infuriate me I still kinda wish I hadn't sold it. *Sheds a tear in nostalga*
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Current: Suzuki DRZ400sm (07) https://fbc.spruz.com
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[Charlie]

[Redoko]

Maybe a 600 is the way to go. Been looking around and for a half decent 2000 model they're around 1.8 - 2.3 k. Very broad evaluation.

Although I would prefer a 600, buying one would put me back into debt.
If I sold my CBR and bought a 400 (again, broadly) priced around 1.5k for a fairly decent one. (Source: AutoTrader)

So I guess it's really if I want to shed out another half a grand initially, seeing as the insurance (EDIT) isn't too much of a difference...

Didn't think it would be this difficult

I might have to open a 600 poll...

Would a 600 be more easily obtainable than fairly good nick 400. (I don't want to have to do any work on the bike, a few scratches I don't mind)
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"Let's face it, this is not the worst thing you've caught me doing."
Sudika Sportsman SK50QT > Gilera DNA50 > Honda CBR125 RW7 > Kawasaki Zephyr750 > Suzuki GSXR600 > Honda Hornet CB600F '51

[Wafer_Thin_Ham]

[Charlie]

If you are going to stick at 33bhp, something which produces around this much is going to be much more fun to ride than a restricted 600. The less restricting you have to do, the more statisifying ride you will have. My friends cbr600f doesn't have much power over something like 8,000rmp that leaves a lot of 'flat' revs in my mind. My 250 hornet when restricted would go flat for the last 2,000rmp leaving much more revs to play with.

Also the gearing is going to be 'more right' for 33bhp. My bike when restricted (28.2 bhp on dyno) would easily keep up and sometimes seem faster than my friends restricted GS500, Bandit 600 and cbr600f
But this could have just been down to the way I road it, learning how to ride the smaller rev engine means you know how to keep the motor spinning, and how to keep the speed up in the corners.
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Past: Honda x8rs, Honda City fly, Honda Hornet 250, Honda VFR750, Yamaha xt600e.
Current: Honda CBR929RR & Yamaha XT660Z Tenere