Pro's & Cons about the XR400

[Big Fred]

I currently ride a KDX 220, 03 . I am thinking about adding another bike to my collection. Please advise the Pro's & Con's of the XR 400.Thanks

 

[kelseybrent]

I've got an 00 XR400 and an 03 KDX200.

Pro:
Air cooling - No rads to smash
Point and shoot in the tight stuff
Pump gas
Relativiely easy to get registered
Fun and forgiving trail rider

Con:
Heavy
Air cooling
Old tech

My XR is out of commision right now. Stretched cam chain and replacing the valve seals. They are reliable, but you have to maintain them. Keep a close watch on the oil and as with all Japanese bikes, tear down anything that needs grease when you buy it and actually put some grease there.

 

[Nordegg]

Tom,

The XR400 has great torque making it easy to ride slowly; great for extremely technical trails or beginner riders. It withstands being dropped, driven into trees, and sloppy maintenance better than anything in its class because it has remained basically the same since 1996. No rad, no electric start, very simple. It is very comfortable to ride, good seat, good brakes, soft suspension.

The downsides are all related to the plusses. They don't rev well, so they have torque but not much peak horsepower. It has remained basically the same since 1996, so the suspension and power are dated compared to the competition. It is amazingly heavy given the lack of a rad or electric start; my KTM 400 is five pounds lighter with both of those features. It does not like to be ridden fast over rough terrain (controversy, but IMHO). It does not like being jumped. It carries its weight fairly high, so riders 5'8 and less (or riders with little upper body strength) may struggle. My bike feels 20lbs lighter.

If you want a bike for basic trail riding, or for long desert trips the XR400 is great. If you want to feel racey and zip around with your buddies there are more fun machines.

 

[cactusreid]

one of my buddies has one that he takes into some tough single track rides here in b.c. with us. It's heavy,but it has a ton of tractable torque. the major problem that he has with it is that when he does fall over or drop it on a hill, it's a bit#@$%$@$Ch to start. any where from 20-75 kicks to get it going again!!! needless to say he is exhausted when he finally gets it going again. this is a great way to spoil a good ride,especially if you stall it a few times over a 3-4 hr ride. think E-start if your going to buy a 4 stroke. My 2 cents worth.

 

[James]

There is a very easy to learn starting technique that will prevent 20-75 kicks to restart. Your friend may also need to take a look at his jetting. Thing should start in 1-3 kicks and if you drop it, you may need to clear the cylinder, they tend to flood.

 

[Nevertheless]

About 6 years ago the XR400 was the bike of choice for the serious riders. Of the 7 or 8 XR400's I knew of only one guy still has his. And he has a really hard time with his, starting and flooding.

Cactusreid talked about riders getting exhausted and trashing their day from kicking those b*stards. He's not exaggerating. I've watched six foot 190 pound guys standing on the pegs with the kickstand down and wailing on that kickstarter till they were totally p'ssed off and out of breath. I've heard of guys breaking the kickstands. XR400's flood if they spent 1/2 a second on the ground. Then you're kicking your brains out again. All the other XR400 riders (but that one guy) have moved over to KTM's, the 450 is the most popular.

 

[James]

After a fall, if it doesn't start after 1 or two normal kicks - hold the kill button, throttle wide open, decopression lever in, kick it ten times or so to clear the cylinder...this takes no effort.

Then, do a normal kick...which is find TDC (slowly push kickstarter until you feel the compression stroke and then let the kick starter all the way back up), and then kick it through firmly ONCE with no throttle. It should start right up.

This takes about a minute to type/read but the actual drill takes far less time. Anybody that would kick it til the starter breaks needs to reevaluate a bit.

 

[Wolf]

IMO the XR is a great trail/all around bike. Forget the horror stories about starting them, its just not true. James explains it best. Stick to that and you'll be fine.
I had a 2000 and was really happy with it. There are plenty of hop ups available also, including e-start.
Of course, if you are looking for a race mount, I would recommend others.