Cruisin' the SR400

[tommymck]

Put another 200+ miles on the SR400 when in CA the last few days. It's definitely the "little engine that could" on the freeways... not much to recommend it from a sports handling perspective, but there is something about a small bike for around town cruising (buzzy as the thing is) that's very satisfying. Line the cylinder up in the sight glass and it's very satisfying to kick it on. Small bikes are fun in the right environment.....

[Wisedrum]

They are. You can make every environment into a fitting one with such a "small" bike as I found out on my comparable Bullet. It depends on your internal attitude and how you react to the given possibilities the bike offers. Sometimes less is enough...

Wisedrum

[Cormanus]

Wise men: tommymck and Wisedrum. Sometimes small is indeed enough.

[GoldOxide_imp]

Thumpers will have a place in this world for quite some time. Like the SR, they are modest, classic, fun, easy on the dino, non-obtrusive, easy to park, easy to navigate in urban centers, easy to trailer and travel, easy on the pocketbook, easy to maintain, and easy on the environment.

[Wisedrum]

These kind of thumbers will easily bring a smile on your face wether you look at them or ride them.

But not only thumbers among motorbikes can do it.

Wisedrum

[misterprofessionality]

I liked this bike a lot for my wife until i discovered that it was far too tall for her. I'm still exploring ways to lower it. I thin it has a lot of potential since it has such a thick seat.

[pdedse]

The W800...the SR400...that CB1100 thing... ... good looking bikes, all of 'em.

[GoldOxide_imp]

The W800...the SR400...that CB1100 thing... ... good looking bikes, all of 'em.

Someday when we are all drooling in our rocking chairs people are going to say, "I remember lovely single cylinder fossil fuel burning motorcycles that used to pull on the heartstrings of the rider."

The year is 2040 ...

Marketing determines , " ... let's bring back the vibe of the thumper."

Using bots, some rogue nation fashions up an electric propelled, air-cooled single "cylinder" block that actually cools the inverter power electronics. Beneath the seat is a waterproof subwoofer that thrusts out PWM'ed bass sound of a by-gone era gasoline-powered thumper. The kickstarter, although real-feeling, is basically a big switch that starts the subwoofer a gurgling.

The would-be future rider on their "cool" retro thumper motorcycle pulls up curb side to a parked, banned late 20th century HD. HD dude (grandson of the original HD owner) says something to thumper dude. Thumper dude says, "Huh? Wha?". Thumper dude can't hear HD dude. In order to solve this problem, thumper dude pressed the "mute" button on his instrument cluster interface to cancel the vibe of his retro machine. The two riders continue the conservation.

[misterprofessionality]

I had a conversation like that with somebody not too long ago.

We're all buying bikes today that emulate the most popular bikes of a bygone era. the CB1100 looks like the CBs of history, the SR400 is..well...basically just like the SR400 of history lol. The W650 and W800's are japanese Triump bonnevilles. Suzuki is even remaking the Katana.

So, in 2050 or whenever, it stands to reason that people will be riding "retro" bikes that look and feel like the most popular bikes of *this* era. can you picture yamaha re-making a "retro" Mt-07 bike that looks just like the MT-07 of 2019 or therabouts, with a few modern mechanical improvements to make it compete with the two-wheeled Hydrogen powered vehicles of tomorrow? Can you picture Honda making a "retro" remake of the NM4, powered by cold fusion? the mind boggles. Old men will totter up to riders at gas stations, Point at their retro bikes and say " i used to have a Z1000 just like that in 2020. what year is that?" The rider will snicker and go "this is the new 2048 Z 180kw." and speed off in electric silence.

[Django]

Those SR400 are really expensive here in Germany. You would pay around 4,000 - 6,000 Euro for a used 2014 model!