Posts
3463
Joined
9/4/2006
Location
Arlington, VA
US
Edited Date/Time
2/9/2013 8:11am
Recently my brother dropped by my house with five boxes of stuff from above my parent's garage, including a box of old moto mags. I thanked him for that.
I had a sneaking suspicion that MXA used to promote four-strokes despite their recent criticisms. So after grabbing a couple random mags out of the box, I found a July 1996 MXA with an XR400 project motocross bike on the cover. I'll try to get it scanned.
Point being, here's some quotes on the XR400, which had mods totalling $1632 dollars in 1996 dollars of White Bros. and PC pipes, suspension etc.
The bike made 40 horses with high compression piston, new cams and head pipes.
"pliable engine", "superb handling manners", "clean lines",
"Honda's torquey XR400 can win motocross races. Under current motocross rules, the XR is eligible in the 250 class. It works best on hardpacked dirt and pure outdoor tracks."
"the complete XR400 motocrosser not only has open-class power, but is AMA legal for the 250 class"- that's actually written on the front cover.
Not dissing MXA here, but come one, are four-stroke buyers stupid?
I had a sneaking suspicion that MXA used to promote four-strokes despite their recent criticisms. So after grabbing a couple random mags out of the box, I found a July 1996 MXA with an XR400 project motocross bike on the cover. I'll try to get it scanned.
Point being, here's some quotes on the XR400, which had mods totalling $1632 dollars in 1996 dollars of White Bros. and PC pipes, suspension etc.
The bike made 40 horses with high compression piston, new cams and head pipes.
"pliable engine", "superb handling manners", "clean lines",
"Honda's torquey XR400 can win motocross races. Under current motocross rules, the XR is eligible in the 250 class. It works best on hardpacked dirt and pure outdoor tracks."
"the complete XR400 motocrosser not only has open-class power, but is AMA legal for the 250 class"- that's actually written on the front cover.
Not dissing MXA here, but come one, are four-stroke buyers stupid?
never in a million years would i think they could be made competitive in mx. desert racing yes, it was done plenty, but mx no.
very cool project bikes.
The Shop
Yep this is the aloop kit.
I thought it was interesting that MXA was saying this bike could be competitive in the big bike class, thanks to the AMA displacement rules. They were not as crtical of the rule as they are today.
So yes, XRs get a bad rap but they are a blast! If I was on my 98 YZ250 my dad could easily stick with me in the woods when he was on his 98 WR250... when I hopped on the XR he couldn't keep me in sight!
And speaking of the '98 WR250... that is the best all-around bike I've ever been on, I could race any type of race on it with minimal modifications.
I rode my XR in countless tough races in Hawaii (including a couple MK200s) and I probably wouldn't have finished many of them on anything else.
I think MXA is concerned now since they sense the 2-stroke being in jeopardy of disappearing from racing.
Yamaha came out with the 400 and everyone praised it as the next best thing. Then Honda brought out the 450 and underwear in all corners of the world were soiled. What could be better than a Honda 4 stroke motocross bike! Rejoice, the world is perfect. Remember how Kawasaki and Suzuki got dogged for not having one.
The demand for 4 strokes was so high that Suzuki put yellow plastic on a Kawasaki just to keep selling bikes and not to lose all there amateur team to others. They were still making 2 strokes and nobody was buying.
The notion of OEM's pushing 4 strokes to make more money is a joke. They made more money with the 2 strokes as they were already made and engineered. No new frames, no new from the ground up engines. These things cost money. Now because the 4 strokes cost more to make, they have to charge more and guess what, they sell less of them. How often did you change piston and rings in a 2 stroke? How often in a 4? How many clutch plates did you burn off in a 2 stroke? How many now? People talk about the high price of a 4 stroke, but most people ride the shit out of them and only change the oil and check the valves every once in awhile. They dont explode as much as is hyped on the internet.
Looking at this article, 4 strokes already had a cc advantage back then, so when did the OEMs get together and lobby to get everything changed to rake in more money and screw you the consumer????
FYI, Dealers for the most part lose money selling to MX riders. Everyone wants a deal and they have no loyalty to a dealership. If a guys wants to make a few hundred dollars on a sale, most guys will say screw it and drive halfway across the country to buy cheaper. Same with gear. Most guys come in and try stuff on and then order from the internet.
MX riders can be there own worst enemy. Be careful for what you wish, you just might get it.
Pit Row
Why?
Because a lot of folks seem to think their CRF-R is and XR...or...that it should be...
I'm jus' laffin'...
Great POST.
But you're right, people snapped them up. My theory is people just wanted something different.
Helps with cornering and turns it into an instant ROCKETSHIP!
And yea I luved both my XR's too. Bikes are bulletproof!
I'd argue that those with the highest post counts are the idiots in many cases.
Post a reply to: MXA on the XR400-- 1996