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Stevie B Racing - 4HM log - XJR400R2
4HM Log - XJR400R2
The exploding bomb graphic turned-out to be quite apt for this bike! Not that I'm really sure that's what happened.
To start at the beginning, we bought this bike new from BAT Motorcycles in 1997 for £3400 for my wife
as a first 'proper' bike after passing her test. She used it
infrequently for a couple of years before wanting to move to something smaller / lighter (see the 1KT log). Then I
started using it on a daily basis for commuting and general transport duties and it was fine for my 30 mile round
trip for work. Over the years it was a reliable starter and, while a bit on the heavy side, had a reasonable turn
of speed. I think it's a good looking bike. It needed tyres, chains, pads, batteries, etc.
on a normal service basis as you would
expect. It had taken some time off from commuting while I worked in London but it was still being used at weekends
and for occasional meetings.
Then the bombshell. At the end of April I decided to use the bike to go to a meeting. As it hadn't been used for a
few weeks, I thought it would be a good idea to see if I could start it. The battery was flat so I bumped it down
the road. It started and idled ok, but it wouldn't rev cleanly at all above idle even when warmed-up.
I decided to clean the plugs. After
putting them back in, I attempted to bump start it again and the rear wheel locked. Clearly this bike was now going
nowhere in a hurry so I put it away and used the car. Come the weekend I started an investigation and this revealed
that the engine would not turn past TDC on the centre cylinders. All the valve springs moved freely and a look down
the camchain tunnel revealed nothing unusual. I removed the generator, starter motor and clutch but to no avail.
The good news was that there were no signs of wear on any of the visible components e.g. cam followers, etc. and
the inside of the engine was really clean.
My assumption at this point was that a valve must have broken and the head of the valve may be jamming one of the
centre pistons.
The next step was to remove the cylinder head but I decided against this as I don't need another project.
So, after 12 years and 40,000 km I sold it as a non-runner. I think the new owners got a bargain as it was still
in top condition and had new chain / sprockets, rear tyre, Hagon shocks, fork seals and was completely original.
I enjoyed this bike while I had it. Although it would not have been my first choice had I been picking a bike, it
was great from a comfort perspective (probably the most comfortable bike I've had) and the handling wasn't too bad
considering its weight. The handling took a bit of getting used to after riding more focused machines as it had a
tendency to run wide if forced through corners at speed - discouraging getting on the gas early. This contrasted
with its tendency to fall into slow corners (possibly as a result of some weight being carried high up). Although
the Brembo callipers up front were good, they were overwhelmed by the weight of the bike at speed (I can remember a
hairy moment on the M25, of all places, on a trip to Brands where the cars up ahead in the fast lane came to a sudden
halt and I almost didn't!) or when carrying a passenger.
The LCD instruments were quite funky and unusual back in '97. A nice smooth engine with no flat spots and what felt
like a consistent torque delivery.
Pictures below (better ones coming soon...).
