I've owned Suzuki DR350, 85 Honda XR350R, Suzuki DRZ400S and Honda XR400R. They are all pretty good woods/play/desert bikes that you could take to the vet track and mess around with. I like the suspension of the DRZ, the six speed transmission of the DR350, the reliability of the XR400 and the awesome 80's vibe look of the XR350R.
I bought my 99 xr400r brand new. Now it`s 22 years old and i still love it. Yes i have done some upgrades to it over the years, Suspension, levers, Bars, intake mod, exaust mod. Wide foot pegs. Been rejetted and a 14 tooth front sprocket installed. it works great in the woods and trails.
GREAT video. I winterized my 2000 XR 400 12 years ago.Got it stuffed into a storage unit and never went back and started it again or did anything. I literally pulled it out of the storage unit last Saturday.Put fresh gas in it and on the third kick that sucker came to life and ran just as good as the day I parked it. I THINK😂 A REAL BEAST! I was literally shocked. I thought it was gonna be a complete carburetor overhaul, everything. I mean, I took it out rode it half hr, not an issue one still pulling Wheelie's. In first and second gear cracking the throttle. It is one amazing machine and I had tons of fun on the trails with it never ran into a hill. I couldn't climb except for some that I was too scared to attempt. As they were vertical, LOL
aaaarrgh "my head is in a spin my feet dont touch the ground" what a song (kelly marie a fellow scot sings it,google it you will be dancing around your living room) anyway enough clap trap from me, i have my old faithfull xr400 (40000 miles never been apart) my go to bike when i want a thrill (xr650r) and a bike i really also like my drz400e, none are show queens,well used with battle scars,anyway...it took me months to decide something has to give so i decided finally the other day to sell my xr 400 and 650r with a heavy heart... THEN i have just watched this video and now my head is up my a+£e again, i want to keep my xr's..mr honda you have a lot to answer for..cheers from bonnie scotland..
I owed my 98 Xr400r for like 12 months now and it’s a badass bike in my opinion. I’m 28 6 foot 200lb. and learning to ride still. But I take it on sand lava rock pavement loose gravel ,dry trails. It does it all for me. Only down side to me is the weight feels high in the corners. But I guess it’s cuz I try to race my friends on a track lol. Love this bike tho. Can’t say anything bad about it at all. I want to do a full restore. Thank you for sharing the knowledge. I learned a lot about my machine and it’s history.
Great history overview! Sold my 2014 crf450x last year and bought myself a 2000 xr 400 half a year later ( today ) ! Looking forward to having tractor like torque on the trail with out having to rev the piss out of it ! I agree with you I think Honda would still be selling them like hotcakes today especially if they made some slight upgrades !
How does the XR400 Stack up Compared to the Potent Crf450x - I have a '05 450x & it Definitely has the Grunt, but Tendency of Stalling in Slow Technical Trails is Annoying!! -Cheers🇦🇺👍🍻
It's interesting that you went backwards from a CRF to an XR but it's uncanny because that's exactly where I'm at now. I've been looking at more expensive modern 4 stroke enduros & I think to myself: Do I REALLY need to spend thousands more for somethingvthat is more expensive & more time consuming to service & maintain with more additional things to break, go wrong & worry about?? These modern liquid cooled high tuned 4 strokes need so much attention with the shorter oil changes & valve & shim checks & changes. Then there's the water cooling. With radiators, hoses, a water pump, thermostats & gaskets erc there's more to things to go wrong & there's the added maintenance of changing/ topping up the coolant. Even then, that's not enough & an additional cooling fan needs to added. Ultimately this all adds to more weight & more crap to take off to get to other stuff. I've had Honda XL"s for years but always wanted an XR. I just don't understand that when the electric start DR350E came out in the mid/ late 90's Honda didn't add an. Electric start. That would have been a game changer & would have doubled sales & possibly increased its life span.
I have a 99' and a 01' 400. Fantastic bikes. Torquey reliable motors and decent suspension. I can certainly keep up with the orange bikes on the trail! Thanks for the history lesson. 👍
That was fascinating. I own a 1997 xr400 which I love. Great bike, still running original piston and rings!!! The engine has never been opened. I've just subscribed to your channel. Thanks for the great content. Love from France.
I have a 91 xr600r that is well used , original gaskets all over. It was abused when I bought it the oil was gloopy and grey, I have spent a lot of time on it and flushed all fluids and pretty it up but never opened the engine. Runs a treat
Thank You for very much well needed information on the 350, I started out back in the day of my youth with my cr60; And now on to and into my adult midlife crisis of pursuing a 350. Best Regards
I bought the 1983 xr350 new and kept it for a year and sold it. It was a comfortable bike but heavy for me as I was about 140 lbs. Great video presentation!
Your uploads are always interesting and accurate. Good to see this upload and watch the evolution of the XR's. Seems like I always agree with you color preferences. My brother had the 350 and it was so easy to ride all day......a bit soft, but nice for a long day. I still have my '85 XR 250 and when I want a slow, relaxing ride where I just let the bike do the work, I will get it out of the shed, check the fluids, oil the chain, and have some fun. I certainly agree that if Honda made the 400 today it would sell every one it made. I've ridden them and torque is the name of the game.
@@tomnekuda3818 thanks mine was owned by a pro motocross rider who passed away he had super moto excel wheels on it when I bought it also had the stick wheels which I put back on and sold the excels for half of what I paid for the bike! It’s jetted perfect with the FMF q series pipe
Just sold my 85 xr250r couple months ago and bought a 96 xr400 and the power difference is unreal im glad i went to the 400 the ergonomics feel very similar to the 250 to so just feels like same frame but bigger motor!
Ive owned a 98 XR400 since '99 when I was 19. I loved it so much I recently bought a cherry 2001 model to go along side of it and dual sport. It a works very well in the type of trails I ride. North eastern US tight and technical stuff. Never really out of 3rd gear very long. It's like a billy goat on the nastiest trails and I just never got used to riding other bikes in these conditions. Call me strange or whatever but I'll never sell these bikes. I even prefer them over my XR650R in the tight woods. Open areas....that's another story lol
I had an early XR 350, raced the crap out of it, in fact it was modified and I raced it in open class MX. Yes it did run hot, never had any problems with it, awesome motor and handling. Many a time when a landing went wrong, it always found a straight line and saved me from a massive dumping. Yes was was hard to start if you stalled it. No 1 bike in my view.
Still have my 98 xr400 and coming from a 2 stroke lovers viewpoint , I love the twitchyness of the handling for open bush riding in Botswana and South Africa
I was one of those guys that built MX bikes out of XR's. My first was my 1990 XR 250 (270cc, Cam, Carb, Progressive Susp. Springs and custom valving and cartridges, Cr Shock,...etc. Then I got the bug again when in 1997 he sold me his 84 twin carb XR350. It weighed a ton but was a freight train in motion.
Forgot to mention that the 85, the 350 also got an aluminum swingarm. I had an 84 that I put many happy single track miles on. Short of flat tires, it never failed me. Great bikes!
Great thanks. I owned the 85 350 and liked it but the 87 TT350 was so far ahead in every way inc enduro racing that I had to get rid of the sexy XR. I would look to the 2000 XR400 for a collectors item tho. Cheers again.
Awesome video. You explain things so well. The 85’ XR350R I feel like overall has such a good look. XR400R can’t go wrong overall super fun trail bike. Owned the DRZ400 Dual Sport...outgrew suspension real fast not a trail bike but awesome for mostly road or mild trails...so I have to agree with you on that one...I wound up with a broken foot before I hit 500 miles on the DRZ. Lesson learned. I could be wrong but I assume the off road only DRZ had different cam or carbs? Not sure.
2002 DRZ400K K for kickstart only model. Much better suspension better than Honda XR400 and a complete bike being DOHC and water called superior to HondaXR400
Yes. I have 2002 Suzuki DRZ400K. K for kick start only model. Great bike dohc water cooled motor would take a lot of beating and not getting hot like Honda did.
Yes I really like your videos I'm just a little bit older than you Lee short bring back a lot of memories is there any way you could do a history of the XR250 and some of the XRL street legal line of that motorcycle those are really great motorcycles back in the day and they still are I would appreciate it if you could do that that would be great
@@wholikesdaboss not sure hurt 2500 minimum I have an 85 single carb im re-doing it now and its still beautiful been in a garage for 17 years well kept still nice bike
I like your video, I have xr650l got it and just fell head over heels for it. That being said I also had ridden xl250 Motorsport among others, such as Kawasaki kz750, Suzuki 750 tscc,, I realize last 2 street bikes, however more modern until the xr650l, which I absolutely LOVE, My Favorite of All Time However will unquestionably be My Beloved XL 250 Motorsport, I know it’s Older, Heavier, Wet Sump Etc, but What an Excellent Motorcycle for it’s time, but I like the Xr 350 R also, I think it would have been more successful had Honda made it just as it was, but given it the ability to be Street Suitable, or Simply made it the same way, but in a Street Capable format
It’s a big heavy beast but will lug up any hill and smash through almost anything unscathed. Just be sure to change the oil once every year or two 😂Love my XR400...will most likely never sell it even with other bikes in the garage.
Any chance of a review on the xr200 please mate? Had a 1998 I rode into the ground when I was a young fella. Snapped the crank in half and broke the foot pegs off jumping it off dam walls and stuff like that.
The XR350 is a pretty darn good machine that evokes great memories from a simpler time. A time when 4 strokes were great woods bikes and they were only ridden on an mx track by the one older guy who didn't look quite "American". He may have been some sort of eastern European. He raced in old road race leathers and an open face helmet. He never won and he never cared. Those were good days. Long live the XR.
There was a kid at a local arenacross event a couple years ago on a xr250r, racing against yz250fs and the like, he got second place and was giving the first place guy all that he could handle in the armature class, even though they had half again more horsepower and 30 year newer suspensions, I was proud of the boy, I didn't know him, but still proud
Al Baker and others were taking hopped up XL 350 motors and Red line frames and making some Baja racing bikes that were very fast from what Ive seen I never rode one but seen one from Powroll in the magazines.
Let's include also the XR400 super motards that came out in Asia from 2000-2004. Upside forks, electric start, just perfect machines (though a bit heavier than the US version).
I had the 98 xr 400 itbwas 5 years old when i got put a pipe kn air filter duval suspension i put cr 500 rear fender number plate on it and raced it at the local track
I agree. If Honda still made this bike along with the 250 they would sell out. Kawasaki brought back the klx300 and all they did was add fuel injection. I bought one for 5000 dollars is all in 2020. It's Hondas turn to do the same. Cheap, fun, and reliable is all that matters when you leave your ego at home.
You just cant beat the simplicity of an air cooled engine with less weight & bulk than a water cooled & far less to go wrong. Plus at the front of the bike everything is easier to get to without radiators, pumps & pipes in the way. Considering they made so many modifications & changes in 1998, They should have at some point added an electric start. Woukd have doubled sales overnight
Hi, great video with good detail..thanks. I'm in the UK and am tempted by a Honda on ebay....its an XL 350R but manufactured in 1988 and in white with red seat...do you know anything about what it could be?? Many thanks
As all XLs regarding XRs, street tyres, street legal lightning and horn, softer cam timing, less off road oriented suspension, longer seat and 2 pers legal, metal tank, bigger speedometer.
I dont know about the xr 400, but I believe in Australia in 2006 and 2007 Honda sold an xr250r with USD forks and electric start. Really wish they sold that here!
@@TheMotocrossVault i was born and raised in lucketts. i enjoy your channel. i come up occasionally from richmond to visit the old folks. would love to talk bikes. currently own and ride a 91 dr250s. its such a great machine. cheers
