#RoadTest: 2014 Yamaha SR400

Photos by Ted Baghurst

A kick starter... when was the last time you HAD to use a kick starter?

For me the answer is never. Sure I've ridden kick-started bikes, but the last time I did I was still under 10 and my cousin started it for me before I promptly crashed it into an electric fence. With the 2014 Yamaha SR400 you have no option; there is only a kick starter to get this 399cc thumper going. Don't worry though; it's a piece of cake and incredibly rewarding to kick the SR400 into life.

Yamaha NZ have brought back the classic SR400 with modern touches like electronic fuel injection, but you won’t be thumbing an electric starter to get it running, no sir. Yamaha are putting the classic feel back into the segment by giving it a kick starter only. Better start warming up that right leg then.

The soulful little thumper has been around since 1978 in one form or another. Displacing 399cc from its 17.1kW air-cooled single cylinder which; apart from the addition of a modern fuel injection system, is technically identical to the original that debuted in 1978.

Punching out maximum torque of 27.4 Nm from 3,000 rpm the SR400 is more than capable on the open road, but I really found it was more at home below the open road limit, with the narrow frame making the SR400 ideal for squeezing through stationary traffic, bursting away from lights, and negotiating low speed obstacles.  Humming along in fourth gear around town the engine was quite smooth, a big surprise for a single cylinder engine that has been around for 35 years.

The gearbox shifts nicely, though didn’t appreciate my attempts to quickly shift through gears. Trying resulted either in the box simply saying ‘no thanks, try again’, or finding neutral. Forcing myself to remember that speed isn’t what the SR400 is all about and shifting with planned and purposeful shifts on the other hand was rewarding. It quickly becomes a real joy as you practice achieving the perfect shift.

The SR400 sports great classic looks thanks to its chrome 18 inch spoked wheels and exhaust, low tank and matt grey colour scheme – the only option currently. I can’t help but think how lucky the LAMS market is. I remember looking wishing there was something learner legal like the SR400 to fill the retro niche I desperately wanted to fill in my driveway with when I was starting out on two wheels.

During my time with it, its looks certainly attracted more than its fair share of onlookers asking about the bike compared to my usual daily ride.

Occasionally I get an older chap come over while I’m out riding and start talking bikes, which is always nice. The SR400 seems to attract people left, right, and center however. In my week riding the SR as my daily I was approached no less than five times by people wanting a closer look. This wasn’t just the older generation reminiscing about when the SR400 came out in 1978, the majority were hipsters (Read: Young trend setters; high in fashion, often bearded) taking the time to get a close up look and learn more about the bike.

The comfortable ergonomics and suspension combine to make the SR400 a stable and forgiving ride, especially around the potholed and uneven streets found around the Driven office in Auckland’s CBD. The front forks have a plush 150mm of travel while the twin rear shocks allow 105mm and are also preload adjustable for when you have the need to carry a pillion.

Braking is handled by a single 298 mm disk clamped by a two piston caliper up front, which is enough to send that soft suspension into a dive while hauling the relatively lightweight SR400 up in a hurry. At the rear braking is handled by a classic drum, which despite what you may think about drum brakes, is surprisingly effective at its job. 

Photo by Ted Baghurst

Yamaha’s engineers have worked wonders in maintaining the classic character of the bike while still making it easy to live with. Kick starting was a far more rewarding procedure than I could have ever imagined it to be. The act of pulling out the kick starter, priming it into position while pulling in the decompressor lever, and more often than not the bike whirrs into life on the first kick. There is a really strange pleasure to it.

On the road I learned quite quickly that the kill switch, with its two off and one on position, is something to be avoided after I accidentally switched off the SR400 off in peak hour motorway traffic. Going through the motions of kick starting the bike on the shoulder is something I definitely don’t want to repeat. 

Yamaha offer a range of accessories for buyers to customize the SR, with alloy wheels, exhausts and luggage available through Yamaha’s dealer network and website, but the real fun in customizing the SR400 is when you start picking bits from the rest of the Yamaha parts bin and finding all sorts of amazing combinations - as Yamaha NZ have been doing with their two project bikes currently squirreled away in a corner of Yamaha HQ.

The first bike for instance, has knobbly tyres, custom green painted tank and chopped mudguards to give it the look of a classic TR350.

Bike number two however has been fully overhauled into a café racer – with the clip on bars being the only stand out part not coming from the extended Yamaha parts catalog. You can view the buildup of the bikes on Yamaha NZ’s YouTube.

With a starting price of $9,599 the SR400 is at the higher price end of the LAMS scale but is definitely not another disposable learner bike. There is a reason SR400 has a cult following. It charms its way into your heart and stays there. 

FAST FACTS

ENGINE: 399cc air-cooled single cylinder

POWER:  17.1kW / 27.4 Nm

FUEL CAPACITY: 12 Litres

SEAT HEIGHT:  785mm

PRICE: $9,599