1982 Yamaha XS400 from Canada

Summary:

Great bike for a beginner - very, very reliable

Faults:

No major issues at all, just routine maintenance: oil, filters, etc.

General Comments:

A 10-year old 1982 Yamaha Seca 400 was the first bike I ever owned, fresh out of training school. I bought one that had been pretty hard-driven by a handful of previous owners. One of the previous owners had put some cafe racer bars on it and had done some amateur track racing with it. Despite that, it was very reliable and I never had any mechanical issues with it. It was a very good bike for a learner.

After a year and 4000 KM, I sold it and bought a nearly new Kawasaki EX-500 (also a pretty decent bike).

About 20 years after I sold that old Seca 400, I saw it again in a parking lot. It was the same bike with the same goofy cafe racer handlebars. It looked like it had been dropped many times over the years, and was not that well cared for. Despite that, I noticed the odometer now had 48,000 KM on it, so clearly it had been rode a fair bit since I owned it.

Would you buy another motorcycle from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 28th March, 2022

1979 Yamaha XS400 from Canada

Summary:

Best thing I ever bought

Faults:

Batteries as per norm and just replaced the original tires 2 years ago.

I bought this as my first bike when I was 17 years old and still have it today at 57. Not worth anything to sell, so I have always kept it. It was not started for about 20 years as we had kids, and I always said I would ride it again. I purchased an insurance write off for the carbs to get it running, and had to replace the tires and hard wired in fuses as the box was rusted and not repairable. Changed the oil and battery and she started right up.

This has always been a neat toy for me. I said I would give this to my oldest son, but he has enough problems on 4 wheels.

I had to purchase a new helmet and I paid the same $99.00 as I did back in 1979; only the new one has nicer visor and vents as well as a built in sun visor.

This was one of the best purchases I ever made, and the original price in 1979 brand new was $1600.00 cdn dollars, and if I tried hard I could probably get that today.

Would you buy another motorcycle from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 15th March, 2016