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You again!
by Guy ‘Guido’ Allen, Feb 2021
The good, the bad and the ugly of factory clones
(See the 'You Again' home page here.)
Part 7: Yamaha SR400
Opportunity knocked
It’s hard to know whether this represents a fantastic revival or a wasted opportunity. When Yamaha unveiled the first SR500 back 1978, it drew a very clear visual link to the old-style British singles that once roamed and were a hugely significant part of the motorcycling landscape.
Not only was this done with very simple visuals on a black motorcycle, but the factory ads showed it lined up alongside its spiritual predecessors and drew a very clear reference to the Pommie machines of old. This was retro marketing long before it became such a huge worldwide trend and arguably way ahead of its time.
While it sold in tiny numbers here, it ended up inspiring a club that has enjoyed baffling success over the years – see SR500club.org. Though the SR500 lasted only two years in the market here, it went on for years in other places like Germany, and in 400 form in Japan.
Move on up several decades to 2014 and the revived SR400 was launched locally to some modest success. It had some worthy technical updates such as fuel injection but missed in one critical area – no electric start.
Yes you can argue kick-start only is a mark of a true retro, but so are crap brakes and lots of other ‘features’ we’re all happier without.
That aside, there’s no question the SR is a tough little beastie and a thoroughly enjoyable thing to swing through the bends even if it could use more straight-line urge.
Yamaha SR400
Power 17kW @ 7000rpm
Torque 27Nm @ 6500rpm
Weight 174kg wet
Rating: 3/5
Pleasant to ride, but an electric start would be handy.
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Produced by AllMoto abn 61 400 694 722
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