Staff Stuff
STAFF STUFF
STAFF: Jimmy Lewis
STUFF: 1999 Honda XR400R
FROM THE ARCHIVES: “We’ve seen XRs competing in motocross races, enduros and long-distance desert races, to say nothing of trail riding where the majority of them wi11 end up.” -Cycle World, October, 1996
WHY?WHY DO I own a Honda XR400R and ride it so much when I can mainline the latest, greatest and trickest dirtbikes on the market? Do I like to suffer? Or do I just really hate bike maintenance? Surely, it isn't because the XR handles so great or has sooo much power. It
doesn’t. In fact, the dated design may hold its greatest virtue in its air-cooled motor: I haven’t had to add a drop of water or fix a radiator yet!
I got this rig new in 1999, and still don’t know why I wanted one, what with the promise of really trick electric-start Thumpers on the horizon at the time. But for the type of riding that I enjoy, the stone-stock XR is just about perfect. Actually, most people don’t call what I like doing, “riding.” It’s more like a never-ending trials section. In fact, if we get done in less than 12 hours or haven’t cracked 150 miles, we don’t even call it a half-day ride.
What’s a full day? Don’t ask!
ask!
Although my XR gets great gas mileage with its Califomia-spec carb and stock muffler, I decided I needed more.
Range, that is, hence the IMS 4.5-gallon tank. I put on a set of Applied Racing triple-pinch triple-clamps that relocate the 909 Team Bend handlebar for a bit roomier riding position. As for the dual-purpose getup, it started with a Baja Designs kit that got minimized from there. Lights? Don’t ask. “H.I.D.” is all you need to know.
The biggest change (read: screw-up, maybe?) came when a too-good-topass-up deal for an electric starter came about. Good deals to me are when they’re free... Swapping the parts from a Honda EX400 Quad added about 20 pounds to my already heavy bike, took a good amount of snap out of the already tame power delivery and confirmed why Honda hadn’t already done this itself. But my XR starts with the push of a button, and that is better than kicking any day.
What I ended up building here is the no-hassle hardcore trail-riding bike, one I couldn’t buy anywhere, and it has been just about everywhere. It’s seen every inch of Baja and U.S., with the lower frame rails flattened to prove it!
It’s seen Mike’s Sky Ranch, the Five Miles of Hell, Moab, Pike’s Peak, the Black Rock Desert, the Mojave Trail, the Dumont and Glamis sand dunes and done Mexico-to-Canada off-road. I lend this bike out to friends way too often, but even worse let our staff photographers chase me around on it during photo shoots! And all I do is regular maintenance. The only failure has been the flapper on the choke mechanism inside the carb. It wore out, as did the body around the slide, making the throttle pull ever stickier. About 25,000 miles of hard use will do that.
So, what did I do? I sold the thing. Someone offered me cash, and I had my eye on a KTM 400 EXC. But just two months later, I found a good deal on a fresh 1998 XR400, all stock. So now I have another one. Will I ever learn? -Jimmy Lewis'
