Heating Up the 400 Wars

HEATING UP THE 400 WARS

ROUNDUP

IN WESTERN MOTORCYCLING countries, not much attention is paid to Japan-market 400s, but that could change. Both Yamaha and Suzuki are poised to release new equipment in this category, and from each could spin off bigger machines that will reach the U.S. and Europe.

For example, Yamaha has finally released its Japan-only XJR400, a bike that is more important for what it represents than for what it actually is. What it is, is a small-displacement standard aimed at capturing a piece of the growing Japanese market for such machines. But what it represents is the tip of Yamaha’s standard-bike iceberg, with 600cc or 750cc versions lurking below the waterline, along with perhaps the Big Mama of all retrobikes, an XJS1200.

The little XJR’s spec sheet delivers few surprises. Apart from a newly developed fourcylinder engine that makes a claimed 53 horsepower at 11,000 rpm, the bike conforms to the traditional retro-standard recipe, using a tubular-steel, double-loop frame, piggyback shocks, a 4-into-l exhaust, an upright handlebar and no fairing whatsoever.

It might not have bodywork, but the XJR does have distinguishing features, including a fuel tank styled to resemble that of the old XS1100, finned alloy sidepanels similar to those used on the V-Max, an aluminum box-section swingarm and a pair of Dymag-look-alike wheels. The bike sells for the Japanese equivalent of about $5300.

With the upcoming release of a reborn 1994 GSX400F Impulse, meanwhile, Suzuki will join the battle for homemarket lightweight motorcycle supremacy. Though its chassis is almost completely new, the Impulse is cosmetically identical to the GSX400F sold in Japan in the late 1980s. The bike will use the 53-horsepower engine from Suzuki’s Bandit, 17-inch wheels and dual piggyback shocks. Expect this one to sell for the equivalent of about $5000.

Pat Devereux