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I hear good things about the Beta X-Trainers for a little bit of a milder ride. I heard rumors about a green motorcycle company bringing the two stroke back, but I forgot what they are called Sakizuki or Sakikawa. Something like that. Maybe it will be worth the wait.
Let’s add lightweight.
That GPX Curb Weight: 271.2lbs
Frankly an air cooled lightweight two stroke with modern chassis, the clutch only cover we’ve had for years, compact engine like modern 4 strokes, electronic adjustable powervalve- would be real appealing. Kickstart would be ok.
Good price, good performance, good weight - you only get to pick two
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Then you'd be bitching about the lack of E-Start 😂
I'd say a chassis sim to a KTM XCW, which is their 'enduro' line.....but I'd be happy with something somewhere between a XR and CRF.
LOL
100% agree - there are days I love ripping the 450 XCF but certainly days where I'm most happy on my 2000 XR400 just cruising and enjoying the ride. Those ol' XR's won't be serviceable forever and have an old-school school feel that is not ideal at times.
Ideal world, being 'realistic' here, CRF450X frame/sus, slightly shortened for better slow speed handling, lower seat height by 1", engine could be a big bore / bigger version of the current CRF300F, fuel injected (vs carb) and estart only (vs kicker) - I'd be 100% happy. Your thought of dialing back adjustment with a more simple sus package would be totally workable and (in theory) reduce cost.
Air cooled 2T really isn't practical, 2T rely on a fairly loose combustion cycle already, with the engines getting heat soaked fueling would be all over the map, there is a reason 2T went liquid a lot sooner than the 4T did. The 4T cycle is much more controlled and works better in a air cooled environment.
That last OEM air cooled 2T was probably the ATK in the late 80s/early 90's it ran ok but was really detuned and from memory was never really liked all that much.
Great news for you, someone already makes that bike.
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Kawi has screwed around so long with their 2 stroke that this thread has turned to discussing shitty little 4 stroke motorcycles.
Those 390's are cool (I've ridden them) but I don't trust Betas, I've had 4 buds with them and all 4 have had issues. I have a 23' 450 XCFW that is every bit the bike that 390 is (and a 22' XCF this sucks as a trail bike) and it's great but ain't no XR. To be honest the KTM 500's are great single track bikes too, longer stroke to bore ratio than that 390, same weight if not lighter, rode a 500 EXCF for years everywhere here in the PNW.
You can see here the XR is just a different animal with a super long stroke motor, rev's slow and almost impossible to stall:
Sorry that is partially my fault - I'll STFU about XR's now.....with that said, prior to buying my XR400 I was cross shopping a KDX200 since that was the bike I always wanted as a kid.
I’m 61 and that was my first bike. Parents co-signed a loan for me and I payed for it with my paper route. Clean Bike!
No worries. It’s not YOUR fault they haven’t delivered. Just thought it was funny how the conversation turned 180.
🤣
Nice, I’m working on 66. This bike has been in our family since 77.
Need it to be air cooled bro
My first "off-road" motorcycle was an xr650l. It was heavy, slow, old, heavy, and did I mention heavy. But the thing was bulletproof reliable. I swear you could run it without oil. I think it remains the longest continuously produced motorcycle. Unchanged since 1992?
Pit Row
You're 100% right. If only the XR lineup was around for a little longer, then maybe enough people could have tried them, and the mythical ultimate trail bike would still be in production today.
It's not that mythical - most guys over the age of 40 grew up riding them.....Honda still makes the 650L, which is a poor representation of what most of us would like to ride but has a lot of the core attributes.
Exactly, if it's the best trail bike ever then why are more people not riding them?
Mostly because they are old AF now. Most of them are thoroughly used up despite what people say about their longevity. The dry sump ones are the only ones really worth exploring imo.
Us brokie woods guys still keep our eyes peeled. My buddy picked up a pretty nice XR400R. For the small amount I got to ride it, it felt awesome. Perhaps the perfect amount of power for casual trail riding in any condition.
What, XR650L's that weigh 320 lbs or older XR400's? XR650L is not really a dirtbike.
In general I think a lot of guys assume the older XR's suck, a XR400R needs some minor work like carb/exhaust and sus mods, but once sorted, they are really good bikes and I think would surprise a lot of guys on the trail. That and I think guys old enough to appreciate XR's don't have the knees to kick them and guys young enough not to remember XR's probably don't know how to kick a bike nor get involved with jetting/tuning.....there are a few of us somewhere in the middle though.
The sus on a XR400 is surprisingly decent - it's spitting distance from a XR650R in concept (slightly smaller 43mm vs 46mm) but can work really well. They flex, but not in a bad way, it kinda works with the bike. I know Scott got a lot of crap back in the day on the XR600 but the results speak for themselves.
I started a thread in bike build on this topic 😂
20 years too late
Got a link?
Honda XR400 - Bike Builds - Motocross Forums / Message Boards - Vital MX
I don’t know anything about these but this is close to what some of y’all are asking for
https://www.ajp-usa.com/spr240x-2026
No to fast Soggy. China has a shit ton of problems. Declining population, debt, oppression, they have a shit ton of problems a communist country can keep hidden.
No
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