VOL. 51 ISSUE 36 SEPTEMBER 9, 2014 P41
key on, bar-switch to Run, push through the stroke
with the kickstarter lever until you feel resistance,
locate the inspection window on the head, pull the
decompression lever on the left handlebar, push
through the stroke until you see the silver marker
in the window, bring the kick lever back up to the
top, give the bike one complete kick (no jabbing).
It sounds more complicated than it really is, but fol-
low these simple steps and it will start up first kick
every time. At least mine did.
The 399cc air-cooled single-cylinder engine,
with its SOHC two-valve head, 87x67.2mm bore
and stroke and 8.5:1 compression ratio, translates
into an engine that's quick out of the hole and per-
fect for around town. The SR400 has good torquey
pull through the midrange and decent top end for a
single-cylinder four-stroke engine. There's a slight
vibration through the bike when you rev it out, but
all that does is give the bike more character.
Clutch pull is light and shifting is smooth, but I
found the gearing to be a little tight. But you can't
knock the SR too much for that, after all, when
these bikes were made the speed limit everywhere
was 55 mph.
The SR400 is extremely easy to ride. With its
narrow and low 30.9-inch seat height, short and
nimble 55.5-inch wheelbase and a riding weight of
384 pounds, the SR400 is a great motorcycle for
anyone from the vertically challenged to the first-
time rider, to the person simply looking for a bike
that's easy to maneuver through traffic and has that
cool vintage look.
On board, body position is more upright, the
handlebars and seating is comfortable and pro-
vides plenty of room to move around. Thanks to
the longer, old school style seat and passenger
pegs, you have the option of taking your honey for
an afternoon cruise.
The KYB 35mm front fork with a spring and
damping-rod design for 5.9 inches of travel is
non-adjustable, but that is to be expected. It is set
up a little on the soft side but that only provides
an even plusher ride up front. Out back the KYB
dual shocks offer up 4.1 inches of travel and fea-
ture preload adjustment for the rider's weight. I'm
happy with the factory shock setting, as it also pro-
vided a plush yet controlled ride.
The SR rolls on 18-inch spoke wheels, front and
rear, fitted with Bridgestone Battlax BT45 tires,
giving it the old school look with modern perfor-
mance. The 298mm front disc and dual-piston
caliper do a respectable job of bringing the bike to
a stop with a little help from the old-school drum-
brake setup in the rear.
Over the years Yamaha Japan has experiment-
ed with all kinds of braking configurations on the
SR. In 1978, the U.S. model SR500 came with a
front disc (on the left side) and rear drum. At one
point, the SR400 in Japan had both front and rear
drum but eventually switched back to front disc (on
the right side this time) and rear drum, which you
see on this model.
The 2015 SR400 features a 3.2-gallon fuel tank
(Top) Gauges, of
course, are all
analog. No digital
readouts here.
(Middle) Yamaha
was serious about
keeping the
SR400 as original
as possible. They
even left the
manual kick-
start system in
place in favor of
more convenient
electric starting.
(Bottom) The
SR400 is fuel-
injected but
maintains that
carburetor look.
