Premium Member hippiebikerchick Posted March 17, 2015 Premium Member Share Posted March 17, 2015 I saw one of these today and sorta liked it. It reminds me of the bike hubs rode while he was going to college and I rode on the back of although his was a Honda. Has anyone here ridden a thumper? http://www.cycleworld.com/2014/03/06/2015-yamaha-sr400-first-look-review-photos-specifications-pricing/ Illegitimi non carborundum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YZEtc Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 I've owned many Thumpers. They feel smaller and lighter compared to bikes of similar displacement with more cylinders. Old-fashioned ones like the SR400 don't make a lot of horsepower at high RPM, but have good low-end torque. The SR400 also has another old-fashioned feature of having to be not only kick-started, but the decompressor used to start the engine is activated manually via a small lever near the clutch lever (modern designs, like with the FZ-07 and all of the 4-stroke motocross bikes, have the decompressor mechanism built into the exhaust camshaft and is done automatically). Back in the day, this is how all big Thumpers were. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member hobbs Posted March 17, 2015 Premium Member Share Posted March 17, 2015 They talk about a kick starter like it's American kryptonite. One of my desires when I was shopping for a new bike was to have a kick start! There's just something about the way it makes a bike feel kicking it to life. Of course the 07 doesn't comply, but damn, maybe I'm a weirdo. Everything went braap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scordiaboy515 Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 I saw one of these today and sorta liked it. It reminds me of the bike hubs rode while he was going to college and I rode on the back of although his was a Honda. Has anyone here ridden a thumper? http://www.cycleworld.com/2014/03/06/2015-yamaha-sr400-first-look-review-photos-specifications-pricing/ Back in the day I had a 1979 SR500, kinda cool bike but a very boring ride. Didn't really do anything good. I've seen them in cafe mode and at club races, but you have to wake up the motor with a big bore kit, cam, pipe.....blah blah blah... ......save your money :-/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fooschnickens Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 I thought they were pretty cool until I saw the price. $5k for an "old bike" isn't exactly my cup of tea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member snowdriftless Posted March 18, 2015 Premium Member Share Posted March 18, 2015 I thought they were pretty cool until I saw the price. $5k for an "old bike" isn't exactly my cup of tea.I agree! I love the styling and simplicity of the SR400 along with bikes like the Royal Enfield classic/cafe racer, but I don't think they are worth the $5000 to $6000 MSRP. P1: Vice? I have no vice, I'm as pure as the driven snow! P2: Yeah but you've been drifting All the gear all the time! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vodapas Posted March 18, 2015 Share Posted March 18, 2015 They talk about a kick starter like it's American kryptonite. One of my desires when I was shopping for a new bike was to have a kick start! There's just something about the way it makes a bike feel kicking it to life. Of course the 07 doesn't comply, but damn, maybe I'm a weirdo. You're not a weirdo. I'm paying $200 to add a kick start to my DRZ400. I mean there is a logical reason in that you don't want to be out in the middle of the woods with a drained battery and no way to start your bike. But yes, beyond that there is just something visceral about kicking your bike to life. (Please no lectures about bump starting. When you're off road it's quite common to find yourself in places where bump staring is highly impractical if not impossible.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kwaipuak Posted March 18, 2015 Share Posted March 18, 2015 This was an extremely popular bike in Thailand and the modified ones were amazing. However, I refuse to pay that much money for this bike when it's almost the same bike from 25-35 years ago. I wish we could pick up a mid 90's SR for a few hundred like many other places in the world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member rowdy Posted March 19, 2015 Premium Member Share Posted March 19, 2015 I just saw a "vintage" 400 yesterday, and I must admit, it was a classic design. Simple, purposeful, did the intended job without pretense. Easy to ride, relatively inexpensive and, for the day, had great power and torque. I'm not sure Yamaha can really capture that spark with a copy, but maybe they have already created a new spark with the FZ-07. Why can't left turners see us? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Global Moderator Guru Posted March 19, 2015 Global Moderator Share Posted March 19, 2015 I was seriously waiting for the SR400 to become available in Canada. But it never did so I started looking for alternative and the FZ07 was introduced. I love the simple design and the fact that it is pretty much unchanged since 1978. Yamaha has ball to offer a kick start only bike. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fooschnickens Posted March 19, 2015 Share Posted March 19, 2015 Yamaha has ball to offer a kick start only bike. And charge more for it than an R3, CBR300R, Ninja 300..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkH Posted April 4, 2015 Share Posted April 4, 2015 I'm really digging it for one thing... call me crazy but I would drop another 1000.00 on custom parts, mainly chrome tank and cafe seat combo. Take a look at this, main components to give it such a drastic change are the tank, seat, wheels, and clip ons. Obviously there are more mods on that pic, but those 4 changes will do the majority of it. But that right there is one beautiful sr400. Damn, I bought a new motorcycle recently, so maybe in a year or two. I will definitely look into doing something like this. Tank and seat, I'm looking at 650.00. Don't know about wheels yet. But guessing I can do those 4 things for around 1000.00 I visit here at least once a week. Got any questions, ask and I will answer! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member so1102 Posted April 4, 2015 Premium Member Share Posted April 4, 2015 My son (20) is wanting his first bike, and he really digs the look of the 70's era standards -- so I may end up trying to find him one of these. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ralph Posted April 4, 2015 Share Posted April 4, 2015 Don't know if these are available in the US but a nicer option if they are. http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201502100825327/sort/default/make/ccm/channel/bikes/postcode/fy60bt/radius/1500/advert-type/featured-listing/dealer-id/23583/usedbikes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beemer Posted April 4, 2015 Share Posted April 4, 2015 Kinda wanted one but they're too expensive for what you get. Would rather have an older SR 600 to fix up, smoke that 400. [attachment id=122" thumbnail="1] Beemer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lonerider Posted April 5, 2015 Share Posted April 5, 2015 The bike looks good but way too anemic and a lot too expensive for my taste. I had a few thumpers (dualsport bike). I love the torque from their motor. But some are very vibey. That's why i prefer twin motors. But, do you remember the Yamaha SRX 600? A very beautiful bike. It was available here in Canada in 1986. But for 200$ more, we could get a RZ350 (2 stroke). I only saw one SRX600. Didn't sell. 3299$ with just 30 hp and no electric start. But for a city bike, it would be great. past bikes: WR250X, KLR650, V-Strom 1000, DR650, FZ-6, SV650S, Seca II, GS400S, Seca 750, YZ80. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member rowdy Posted April 5, 2015 Premium Member Share Posted April 5, 2015 That's a good looking little scoot! (but 30hp out of a 600???) Why can't left turners see us? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lonerider Posted April 5, 2015 Share Posted April 5, 2015 That's a good looking little scoot! (but 30hp out of a 600???) It was 30.4 hp at 6500 rpm and 34 lb-pi at 5500 rpm back in an article wrote in '86 that i kept. But i read at other mag 45 hp. It was more or less the same engine as the XT600. past bikes: WR250X, KLR650, V-Strom 1000, DR650, FZ-6, SV650S, Seca II, GS400S, Seca 750, YZ80. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YZEtc Posted April 5, 2015 Share Posted April 5, 2015 The engine design comes from the 1982 XT550J, a dual-purpose Thumper (called dual-sport since the early 1990s). The design went on to be used with the 1983 TT600K dirt Thumper, the 1984 XT600L dual-purpose Thumper, and then the 1986 SRX600S street Thumper. The top end of the engine design (cylinder and cylinder head) was used on the original Yamaha Grizzly 600 ATV in 1998, too, the YFM600FWAK. These Thumpers were strong in low- and mid-range torque, not high-RPM horsepower. The "30 horsepower from a 600?" part is one of the reasons these bikes did not sell in large numbers. People were more interested in 4-cylindered sport bikes with racy looks and higher horsepower at higher (much higher) RPM, not relatively low-RPM Thumpers.Having to kick start the engine was a turn-off for most, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member rowdy Posted April 5, 2015 Premium Member Share Posted April 5, 2015 I guess as an FZ-07 owner, I understand that top end HP isn't the main thing to worry about when deciding on a bike. Why can't left turners see us? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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