Tri Arm or Gull Arm?

[Dan 4RR]

Hi

I've been thinking about getting my first big bike now for a while and my parents have now gave me the go ahead.

Anways, I have been looking at the Honda 400's inperticular, mainly the RVF,VFR,Tri Arm & Gull Arm. By the looks of it the RVF seemed uber expensive for what looks like a prettier version of the VFR with loads of plastic and fairings, etc. The VFR looked nice, might still get one of these and so does the Gull Arm.

But, this is where I might change my mind. Matthew who is on my college course is extremley knowledgeable about motorbikes and things it general with his impressive A grades, has got a Tri Arm and has been buying bikes from scrap yards and rebuiling them and selling them for years now and he was basically telling me that the Tri Arm is better because of how it runs, ie - cam driven or however you put it, is far superior to chain driven bikes, maybe this is personall preference/opinion but it sounded pretty good from what he was telling me.

Matt also is in touch with someone who deals with cheap Honda parts so I will probably be able to get stuff uber cheap since he knows this guy, if I buy Matt's Castrol coloured, 1990 Tri Arm that is.

So i don't know wiether I should buy the Tri Arm because he says it's better than the others or get a different one.

Anyone on BCF got a Tri Arm or who have owned Tri Arm's to tell us your own opinion, thanks.

[McGee]

Tri arm for the win
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Its pronounced Jixxer!

[G]

Erm, wasn't aware there was much difference between the tri-arm and the gull arm (presuming we're talking two models of cbr).

Cams are the bits that push the valves down, these are usually controlled by a chain on a bike. A few bikes use belts (ducati etc) like cars do, while older designs use push rods, a very few use a chain of gears, the rvf/vfr400 is one such bike.
It doesn't offer a massive advantage.

[Annabella]

I have owned a Tri Arm and currently own a Gull Arm.

I love both

The Tri felt a more solid bike, and I had fewer problems with it. That being said the Gull has begun to handle far better since I actually bothered to put slightly decent tyres on it.

Both are good bikes. The Gull feels slightly smaller and looks very different. Go for a good example of either. Look for original paint work, original plastics and signs of maintenance.
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[johnsilva]

check this out

https://www.bikechatforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=46825&highlight=


all sports 400 hondas have gear driven cams, as did the old VFR800, RC30 RC45, Sp1/2


Gear driven cams are far more accurate than chain driven jobbies, and they sound sooo sweet!

John
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[craigs23]

I'd go for a Gullarm - like I did last year (only for 5 weeks though), don't think there's much in it apart from tyre sizes and looks. Like the Blade rep colours (which I had), or the early silver/black/mint green ones.

[Dom_]

[Wave2k]

Get some 090s on the cbr dom
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[johnsilva]

sorry, but i had to!

this is my bike!


John
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[fazed]

Get the gull-arm the nc23(tri-arm) is getting so old now and part's are harder to get for it.
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gixxer thou K6 , Cbr400 gullarm x 2 , cb400 superhack.

[craigs23]

An interesting comparison between 2 of my bikes, guess the Gullarm isn't referred to an the MiniBlade for nothing.

https://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y51/whers84/400900.jpg

[mistergixer]

I don't think there is much in it in terms of performance/handling, so personally i would go for the most modern version.
If i had to choose a sports 400, i would always go for an NC30 - mainly because i would love an RC30(happy memories) but can't afford one, and i love all the trick bits like a V engine and a single-sided swingarm.
Can any of you tech-anoraks tell me what NC stands for: the best i can come up with is 'Negatively Costly' ie for what you get they are incredibly expensive to buy, run, service and (unless ridden by a very skilled rider) will be embarrassed by a larger capacity, more modern sportsbike.
Still, i love 'em, and if i wasn't a long-legged 6 foot tall and weighed a bit less i would own one.
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[craigs23]

I thought it stood for 'Notoriously Complicated' for the V4s and 'Nicely Compact' for the inline 4s.

[NSR125-Kid-UK]

I prefer my swingarm

(Yes, the residue has all come off the LHS of the swingarm now and it's polished up a treat )
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[dainesefreak]

But yours is an RS, so your point is?

[Hotdog]

[Annabella]

[Hotdog]

[Dom_]

[johnsilva]

[Hotdog]

[Dom_]

[the grim reaper]

Neither, I'd always go for the NC30. They do have two heads to work on but the difference in the way the power is delivered is worth that extra cost. Mind you, as an example, I had the shims done on mine, at a Honda dealer, for 90 quid.

The CBR has a very weak clutch, I've lost count of the number I've helped replace, normally slipping badly by about 20k miles.

The other problem with the CBR is the ridiculously soft rear shock, for a small Japanese person, it probably makes sense, for the average pie-eating Brit, it's way undersprung, part of the reason the CBR struggles when pushed hard.

The VFR was always set-up better in term of the suspension and has less clutch problems. I'd always go for one of those over the CBR.

Cheers

Grim

P.S Your mate is trying to sell you his bike, of course he's going to recommend it over a gull-arm.
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[Hotdog]

Dom.

Earlier you said you don't want to argue.

Now I can see why.

That is the worst reply I've seen on a public forum to date.

I suggest you read through it and try to make some sense of what you have just said. I can't.

"Just because seomthings been re-designed it doesn't mean it performs a better job, and as you said, it looks better too - it's not a race bike, it's a road bike, parts get re-developed to suit the times not just because they work better"

No offense, but are you seriously claiming that honda spent a fortune 're-developing' a bike to 'suit the times' which ended up with an inferior frame ? When they could have left it alone for free ?

Are you retarded ?

No insult intended, I have to ask as I can't believe the load of crap you just wrote.

I don't think it's coincidence that the frame looks more like a blade frame and while the improvements may be minor from one model to the next they certainly add up over the course of a few models/years.

No, the later bikes weren't cheaper, they had the same rrp in japan when released.

Get a grip.
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[Dom_]