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(10-17-2018, 03:19 AM)Hondahawkrider_imp Wrote: My hats off to anyone who kicks a bike every day.. While I’ve never ridden a sr400, I owned 2 Sr500’s.. When they ran, it was everything motorcycling should be, basic and raw..
My issue was the kick start.. shudder... yeah, no thanks, never again..
That's also something I like riding a Bullet. You can kick but don't have to because the bike has an e-starter too.
I use both and practice the kickstart from time to time just for fun.
The W800 only has an e-starter, the former W650 had both. I like having both ways of starting an engine. But if a motorbike only has the easier and more comfortable one like the CB I don't miss the other.
When I testrode a new and leftover SR400 just for interest I wasn't able to start it running keeping to all advices of the dealer. He then called his mechanic and after a few more kicks the engine starts working, it was that easy or not. One thing that took me away from the bike...maybe I would have developed more routine if I had bought the Yami but I didn't want to find out. Despite from the fact, that the not run in engine wasn't up to my expectations whatever that means....
Wisedrum
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(10-27-2018, 02:00 PM)the_undecider_imp Wrote: (10-27-2018, 01:10 PM)DaSwami_imp Wrote: Here's a PSA...I owned an SR400 from 2014-2016...traded it in a V7II Stone...anyway the original selling dealer called me yesterday to say there has been a safety recall on the SR400...something about an oil line/fitting coming loose and spraying the rear tire with engine oil...just a heads up....
My bike is free of recalls. We check all new bikes sold for recalls before warranty registering them. If a dealer warranty registers a bike with an open recall, especially any sort of safety recall, it is bad news. You had me a little worried a recall just popped up in the last 2 weeks, so I logged into Yamaha's dealer system from home and checked just to be sure. All is clear.
How do you like your V7? We just took one on trade the other day. It is a 2017 V7 III Stone in army green and I love the way it looks. Previous owner put some knobby tires to make it sort of a scrambler. Never have ridden a Guzzi, so I may have to take this bike out for a ride to see what I think...not that I have room for another bike in the garage.
(10-15-2018, 11:10 PM)baxtercat_imp Wrote: I think you'll like the SR400. It's like a vintage bike from the 70s that just got made fresh for you. I've had mine as a commuter/around town 2nd bike since 2014; dead reliable, year round, with Japanese build quality. Yamaha's pricing may have kept people away, but I got over it in about a week and have enjoyed it nearly every day for 4 years.
What seat do you have on there? I have been looking into buying a different fuel tank for mine and wanted something that style that is all black instead of the two-tone gray and black of the stock seat.
My bike is free of recalls. We check all new bikes sold for recalls before warranty registering them. If a dealer warranty registers a bike with an open recall, especially any sort of safety recall, it is bad news. You had me a little worried a recall just popped up in the last 2 weeks, so I logged into Yamaha's dealer system from home and checked just to be sure. All is clear.
How do you like your V7? We just took one on trade the other day. It is a 2017 V7 III Stone in army green and I love the way it looks. Previous owner put some knobby tires to make it sort of a scrambler. Never have ridden a Guzzi, so I may have to take this bike out for a ride to see what I think...not that I have room for another bike in the garage.
(10-15-2018, 11:10 PM)baxtercat_imp Wrote: I think you'll like the SR400. It's like a vintage bike from the 70s that just got made fresh for you. I've had mine as a commuter/around town 2nd bike since 2014; dead reliable, year round, with Japanese build quality. Yamaha's pricing may have kept people away, but I got over it in about a week and have enjoyed it nearly every day for 4 years.
What seat do you have on there? I have been looking into buying a different fuel tank for mine and wanted something that style that is all black instead of the two-tone gray and black of the stock seat. Seat is a new Yamaha accessory item they sell in Japan and in Asian markets. I think I got it from Webike. Required a bit of adjustment to the front retaining arms (near the tank) but has more padding than the one that comes with the bike and a nice vintage look.
kicking the bike to start is easy to learn and not at all difficult to do. the fuel injection helps--experience on the old SR500 will be misleading in this regard. mine usually kicks over on first kick, without regard to temperature. at 400 cc, the engine doesn't offer much resistance.
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What made me wonder was, when the W800 appeared on the scene back in 2011 some articels and even a mechanic of my Kawa dealer wanted to make people and me believe, a kickstarter and fuel injection can't work together and named it as the reason why Kawasaki left the formerly 650 one out at her new model.
When I see my fuel injected Bullet or the SR400, I think this explanation doesn't fit anymore. They should've left the kicker where it has been.
Wisedrum
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(10-31-2018, 12:09 AM)Wisedrum_imp Wrote: What made me wonder was, when the W800 appeared on the scene back in 2011 some articels and even a mechanic of my Kawa dealer wanted to make people and me believe, a kickstarter and fuel injection can't work together and named it as the reason why Kawasaki left the formerly 650 one out at her new model.
When I see my fuel injected Bullet or the SR400, I think this explanation doesn't fit anymore. They should've left the kicker where it has been.
Wisedrum
Hi Wisedrum. I had a W650, and I must say, I used the kickstart on it maybe once. It was not as easy as on the SR400. I expect Kawasaki ditched it on the W800 not because of anything to do with EFI, but because it was expensive to keep a feature that people didn't really use.
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The kickstart wasn't a big deal on the SR400, I'm just a big dude and needed more bike, even though I have a penchant for small bikes.
When I was coaching high school football one of the senior players flipped the kill switch on my SR400 as a prank, I must have kicked that thing 20-25 times before I discovered the problem....kids haha, though I wasn't laughing at the time
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Don't you hate that? None of the bikes I owned in phase 1 of my riding career had a kill switch. Fast forward a number of years and someone needed a bike delivered and I offered to do it. It was a lovely day so why not? When I stopped for fuel, I killed the engine with the kill switch and then forgot all about it. I sat on the thing cranking it for quite a while before I realised what I'd done.
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(10-31-2018, 09:27 AM)baxtercat_imp Wrote: (10-31-2018, 12:09 AM)Wisedrum_imp Wrote: What made me wonder was, when the W800 appeared on the scene back in 2011 some articels and even a mechanic of my Kawa dealer wanted to make people and me believe, a kickstarter and fuel injection can't work together and named it as the reason why Kawasaki left the formerly 650 one out at her new model.
When I see my fuel injected Bullet or the SR400, I think this explanation doesn't fit anymore. They should've left the kicker where it has been.
Wisedrum
Hi Wisedrum. I had a W650, and I must say, I used the kickstart on it maybe once. It was not as easy as on the SR400. I expect Kawasaki ditched it on the W800 not because of anything to do with EFI, but because it was expensive to keep a feature that people didn't really use.
Here in Germany some owners demounted the e-starter of the W650 to free the W from weight and kickstart each time instead. So, I would not do it, love to have the option of an e-starter, I kicked the bike much more often than you did and in a way it was easy. Maybe it was easy because I was used to it. Had a Kawa Twin LTD 750 and also had to kick it often, needed a lot more effort to start it that way, until I found out that a new battery brought the e-starter back to life.
I would not mind, if the W800 has one. Besides a kickstarter used can lengthen the battery's life.
Wisedrum
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W650! One great little bike. I bought mine in Aug of 2000. This dealership decided the three they had on the floor were going to gather dust at approximately $6400.00, so dropped the price to $4995. Not out the door, probably ended up being $5300.00 plus sales tax.
Fit and finish was nice, and the bike made for a capable weekender once equipped with E21 Givi bags, Corbin Gunfighter saddle, a small tankbag, and Kaw's lower Euro handlebars. I later added a small flyscreen, and was good to go for the next 7 years and 50,000 miles.
I admit to occasionally using the kicker. Typically when wanting to show the 'big twin' riders what it was like to start a bike without the 'electric leg.' On occasion, I'd even cut the ignition via the kill switch and give her a couple of good kicks before flipping the ignition back on, just to make it look difficult. Just playing with the new breed of riders, of course. 
I owned this bike alongside a 2003 Bonneville Centennial Edition, and found the bikes to both be pleasurable rides, and different enough so that it was fun to alternate. Unlike the Bonnie with stock pipes, the W actually had a pleasant exhaust note thru the double-wall stock exhaust. The Bonnie required TORs.
The Bonnie was sold in 2012.
Bob
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Hey I also had a 2003 Bonneville Centennial Edition and I put Tors on it. They didn't help much, it still didn't sound like a 60's Bonnie lol. I ended up selling it to my younger brother who sold it to my son's Father in Law when my brother bought a 2016 Bonneville.
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I fell in love and demo'd a W650 when it first came out in 2000 but didn't act on my urge to buy it. Fast forward one year and I was regretting my lack of action, so I went to the dealer to buy an '01 model. Nope. All sold out. I've been kicking myself ever since, and that's a big reason why I pounced on a DLX when the opportunity presented itself.
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