Honda Bros400........questions

[Marc_Buck]

what is top speed?
cruising speed?
reliability?
price of parts? ease of getting them?

thank you

[Dusty]

I have the 650, Wildgoose and Carvell both have 400s though.

Reliability should be good, mines done nearly 100,000 km.

Parts should also be fairly cheap, not sure how widely available they'll be though.
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Gallery

[carvell]

As Dusty said, I have the 400.

Top speed is a shade over 100mph I think, I have taken it right to the top yet but I hit around 95mph and still had more to go.

Cruising speed, it'll cruise all day at 80mph quite happily, and still have room for overtaking.

Reliability, I haven't had mine for long, but it's been perfect, the guy I got it off said they were bullet proof. The fact that Dusty and Goose own them probably proves this fact.

A lot of parts are standard so can be bought from any motorcycle shop, for more specialist parts, take a look at the link below, I've never used them (nothing has ever broken!), but as you can see they offer most parts that are unique to the bike, plus some more common parts.

https://shop.wemoto.com/index.dyn?oid=25327.
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Yamaha TDM 850

[DukeRed]

Another Bros Question. Can you get sport tyres for them? Because the only ones I've seen have the square commuter tyres on. Is there a big difference between MK1 and MK2?

Jan
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Enjoy Life There's Plenty of Time to be Dead
https://www.janoner.com

[carvell]

As far as I know the tyre size is quite common - so you can certainly get a wide range of tyres for them, sport tyres included.

The only visible difference I can see between Mk1 and Mk2 is the wheels - I'm not 100% sure what other differences there are.
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Yamaha TDM 850

[Clanger]

[ProXimaCore]

I had a go on my mates bros 650 the other week there and I noticed there's a little red light that comes on now and then with the word 'speed' under it. What's that all about? Does it mean you're breaking the speed limit when it comes on? I never noticed how fast I was going at the time. Was an import bike though.
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Honda NSR125R -> Suzuki GSXR400R GK76a -> Kawasaki ZX636 B1H -> Honda CBR400RR NC29 -> Nothing

[Clanger]

The light means you have just hit the 50km/h limit - its a Japanese bike and they have these lights as standard - so the riders know when they are going too fast I presume!

It good though - its just below 60mph for us, keeps you aware of your speed
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Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter won't mind - Dr. Seuss

[funmonkee]

...proxi... the red light comes on at 60-65mph see u at work monday!

I have a few of questions for you guys about my bros 650.

Can anyone tell me what the actual differences or advantages and disadvantages to having the 650 v-twin over the 400. Actually whats the pros/cons of vtwins anyway? [fuel consumption, top speed, anything useful or interesting]

On my bros 650 the clutch seems to bit very late when releasing the lever,,, is this normal for a vtwin or the bros or is it just my buggy bros??

I took the 650 out and drained the tank - I think I got about 40-45 mpg and i was pushing it around at an average of say 70mph. What mpg is reasonable to expect from the bros 650?

...okay and I pushed it to 105mph and there still seemed to be alot more available... what will the 650 do? obviously I'm not going to do that on a public road.

Cheers
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**** Don't ride faster than your angel can fly Get this Free Space
The democratically elected Mod of the Scottish Section - The Peoples Choice[b]

[Clanger]

Main differences I can remember are that 650's are shaft driven and 400's are chain driven. V-twin is a preference, ride a four stroke and you can feel the diffference. Thats why I chose the sv650 next!

I didnt get the 650 cos I may as well have put an African twin lump in the 400 to make it quicker. The sv is lighter and quicker and a lot more desireable than the Bros 650 (IMO)

Cant help with the rest - never rode one!
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Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter won't mind - Dr. Seuss

[carvell]

[WildGoose]

bros's all all chain driven, 400' and 650's

as is the hawk, the american version of the bros

also in the family is the NTV650 this is the shaft driven one

revved to the redline my bros has hit a shade under 180kmh down a big hill with the wind behind it, no kind of real cruising ability at this speed, it just feels like its gonna blow up, and the chassis definately cant handle it, max cruising speed with no luggage is maybe 160kmh but 140 is a fast comfortable and 120 is what i cruise at when i cant be arsed, vibration above 120 annoys me

sports tyres. you can if you want, but there isnt a lot of point, ive ground the pegs out, using BT45's on a dry day, they are more than enough sticky tyre for this bike, and seem to last pretty well, as my bike is mainly for motorways and they are still round

reliable, yes, has always started, only problem ive ever had is the petrol cap freezing one january morning, which was arse

parts...cheap-ish, but ive thrown a lot of money at mine so i wouldnt call it cheap, mine had a host of problems when i bought it, rusty tank, bent radiator, shot suspension, crap tyres, chain and sprockets dead, no front brake, fucked master cylinder internals, instrument lights blown

ive sorted some/most of the problems out, it now stops, goes and handles alright (nowhere near as good as i need/want bikes to handle, but its just a bros)

i get 40mpg on mine, but i tend to redline it everywhere, because thats what im used to/enjoy doing, 150km's before the tank runs dry, 130 redlining it on the mway, never run out of fuel completely, reserve seems fairly decent, but aim to fill up around 150kmh

mods...CBR600 front forks from an early model bolt straight into the bros, so this will improve brakes, tyre choice, and handling

the riding position is more agreeable to me than say a CB5, but not in terms of comfort, the bars hurt my hands going slowly, and the pegs are too high, my legs are stiff after a long ride, but these high pegs and clip on bars do make it handle, beyond what its capable of unfortunately, cos it just encourages you to lean, and when you do the pegs dig in, arse

rearsets are availible imported if you are so inclined, and as was mentioned the africa twin engine drops right into the frame, but this would still be a mammoth job...can be made into something it isnt, but is it worth the effort, its always gonna be ugly and its always gonna have a gay boy band name

if you dont like the speed light, its easily pulled out of its socket, and just left loafing inside the clock internals. or take the bulb out, but as mentioned it is useful, but can also get annoying when getting used to the bike, thinking its the oil light

www.wemoto.com

good site for info

overall good learner bike, but wouldnt wanna own one for longer than i have, and its not gonna set the world on fire, keep up with larger bikes, or be that much fun when it comes to handling, a 33bhp bike through and through

hope this helps, wow that was long
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So in other words, he stopped you for being flagrantly in posession of a motorcycle in direct contravention of the Hippies, Darkies and People Whose Face I Don't Like The Look of (Police Powers) Act. 1976

[funmonkee]

Cheers you lot.

I have to agree about the riding position - it feels pretty good at first, but for extended rides say an hour my legs complain-so do my wrists [never see so much action;-)]. Still small price to pay.

My bros has a bit of rust in the tank, but I'm putting filter in to ensure clean fuel to the right place. I've got my garage changing the tyres, brakes and looking at the clutch next week. but what is really worrying me is the clunk when I hit some of the [many] pot holes in town. I had a rt125 and it managed to float over these without too much of a clunk ~ could there be serious problemos with the front suspension....I hope not as this bike was cheap but it turning into something more expensive...

Thanks again
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**** Don't ride faster than your angel can fly Get this Free Space
The democratically elected Mod of the Scottish Section - The Peoples Choice[b]

[DukeRed]

I was speaking to friend who I found out owns a bros and he said that the normal suspension is a bit cack. The best way to sort this is to replace them with CBR forks of some description.

Jan
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Enjoy Life There's Plenty of Time to be Dead
https://www.janoner.com

[Inglesina94]

WildGoose & pblack9455, can I ask your sizes?? Could that be the reason you find it uncomfortable?

I am still in the middle of getting the licence (re-booked the test for beginning of July) and eventually I was thinking of getting one.
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Passed my DAS - Third time lucky!!!!
Naked Bandit 600 ... Beautiful!!!

[Clanger]

You didnt ask me but: I have 35" inside leg, it only got painful to ride after my accident (knackered pelvis & crushed lower left leg injuries)
I now ride the naked sv and love the riding position - and I can go distances even with injuries
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Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter won't mind - Dr. Seuss

[WildGoose]

5'10'' approx

32" inside leg, i do have some problems with my leathers that dont help the pain in my knees tho, so it may not be 100% down to the bike

front suspension...i replaced the front fork springs with some hagon progressive jobbies, and thicker fork oil, that seemed to sort it for about 70 quid, but cbr6 forks are the way to go if you are serious
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So in other words, he stopped you for being flagrantly in posession of a motorcycle in direct contravention of the Hippies, Darkies and People Whose Face I Don't Like The Look of (Police Powers) Act. 1976

[funmonkee]

5'9'' or 5'10'' if a berd asks!!!

Anybody got any good pictures of their bros? I'll try to upload a couple of mine. Care to do the same?
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**** Don't ride faster than your angel can fly Get this Free Space
The democratically elected Mod of the Scottish Section - The Peoples Choice[b]

[Kickstart]

[DukeRed]

Has there always been this intrest in BROS or has it popped out of thin air? I know it isn't to everyone's tastes on here but I think the streetfightered bikes look the dogs.

Jan
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Enjoy Life There's Plenty of Time to be Dead
https://www.janoner.com

[funmonkee]

These look 100% better in the original size - superfine!!

...always had an interest in the BROS when I saw one two or three years ago. It wasn't actually a bros it was a dark blue Hawk, it took me a while to work out that Hawk=BROS. Does anyone know why it was called BROS?

...
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**** Don't ride faster than your angel can fly Get this Free Space
The democratically elected Mod of the Scottish Section - The Peoples Choice[b]

[carvell]

You got one of those radiator covers off ebay I see!

Nice, clean bike.
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Yamaha TDM 850

[funmonkee]

clean = yep I got the bike + rad cover from ebay and spent a couple of hours cleaning it, there was rust all over it ~ amazing what you can do with a few tins of brasso!!

Anyone got any pics of their BROS, especially modified bikes.

Question: My garage is about to replace the tyres and they offered to powder coat the wheels... I don't really know what thats all about but they say it'll protect them from rust. I think they look okay just now does anyone here know wany good reason (pics would be good) for doing that. They want £30 per wheel....
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**** Don't ride faster than your angel can fly Get this Free Space
The democratically elected Mod of the Scottish Section - The Peoples Choice[b]

[WildGoose]

i always wanted white wheels on the bros, not really sure why

but id go for it, anything but that manky dull grey
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So in other words, he stopped you for being flagrantly in posession of a motorcycle in direct contravention of the Hippies, Darkies and People Whose Face I Don't Like The Look of (Police Powers) Act. 1976

[funmonkee]

Does anyone know if this can be fitted to a BROS 650?

https://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7905787025

I'd like to see it on my BROS, but I'm not confident.....
____________________
**** Don't ride faster than your angel can fly Get this Free Space
The democratically elected Mod of the Scottish Section - The Peoples Choice[b]