xr 400's are slow

[ZEKEDAWG]

I was riding my mtn bike this afternoon, about 11 miles close to 1000 ft of climbing. But the funny part was i was able to race and keep up with some dudes on dirt bikes.

The red line is my route. From my house to the top of digger bay road is close to 800 feet in elevation and about 4.6 miles. as you can see I have lots of area to screw around in and there is some of the most insane single track out here. There is no poison oak amazingly enough. I hit a new trail at the top of the ridge and it came out at the placemark 4 corners. I was going to take a fire break road down but this new single track caught my eye. no pics but, it was burly. the blue line is the route that the dirt bike dudes took, i saw them hitting some jumps where the blue circle is. The orange line is where i first heard the dirt bikes following me and the pink line starts where they caught me. I was giving it all I had, which wasn't much after 9 miles of rough riding. I pulled in behind the XR 400 and started cranking. I was able to stay with him as the trail was pretty narrow and had some twists. We cam to one spot where a tree was down and I was on his ass and yelled for him to hurry up. He turned around and I must have scared the shit out of him cause he almost crashed, He later said that he was looking at the highway but the highway was on the other side. He turned on the gas but I caught him again at a small step down and a narrow cut through a rock. I saw which house they went to and went to bs with them. They were shocked I could keep up with them on my mtb. I was too.

Did a little d/s ride last night too. Out to the dam, then back toward digger bay to some SSS and back to the house.

This photo is before the burn last year. there are some new road that you can't see in the pic. Some of this is Nat forest up near the top, but the rest is railroad land, people have been riding out there for years, the sad new is they are going to develop it and much of the lowland betwee the tracks and the highway will be lost.

oh yeah I saw a huge buck out there last hunting season. I have started marking the places that I see deer on goggle earth for future reference.

[yz426weelieking]

sounds like the rider of the xr 400 was just slow, you wouldnt keep up with me on a mtb if i was on that 400, or anyone that i ride with, anyways, those bikes are not really built for speed anyways, there trail bikes

[Wayne_Nosala]

I own an Xr400, was wondering why I get passed by those

pesky mountain bikes all the time:excuseme:

Maybe the new springs I just bought will help

Wayne

[02WR426Cali]

Yeah there is no way you would even keep up with me if I was riding an xr100. What are you like 5 Lance Armstrongs put together?

[G'nK-ville]

Trying to give a swift kick to damone's baby maker, eh? How much does that Giant weight? I saw my buddy's specialized that he bought from a sponsored racer that was less than 15lbs. Insanely light. I would actually want to ride my mtb if it were that light.

Also, I have seen some of the stuff Zeke likes to ride and it may actually be faster taking a mtb than a 300lb dirtbike.

Off topic: How is the Quail and other upland game population up there? Pheasant?

[MotoChris521]

I own an Xr400, was wondering why I get passed by those

pesky mountain bikes all the time:excuseme:

Maybe the new springs I just bought will help

Wayne

Naw, I would go with the 440 kit and pipe.?

[ZEKEDAWG]

sounds like the rider of the xr 400 was just slow, you wouldnt keep up with me on a mtb if i was on that 400, or anyone that i ride with, anyways, those bikes are not really built for speed anyways, there trail bikes

I'll race you on this trail. It isn't the speed of the rider, necessarily, but the trail itself. Well, the speed of the rider does count some. But it has more to do with my speed on the MTB than the xr400 riders speed. When he hit a straight section he easily put distance on me.

[ZEKEDAWG]

Yeah there is no way you would even keep up with me if I was riding an xr100. What are you like 5 Lance Armstrongs put together?

Nope, just know the trail and my equipment. The mtb can be faster in some sections due to the lighter weight.

[GrizzlyFlatter]

Nope, just know the trail and my equipment. The mtb can be faster in some sections due to the lighter weight.

? I have noticed this this before as well on the mtb,they work even better when you make two-stroke noises and ride wheelies out of corners! Keep up the good riding!

[Kev_XR]

I'm really slow and my XR400 isn't exactly fast. I just fan the clutch and shoot out some roost before pesky mtn bike riders get too close. You do wear a chest protector riding right?

I learned that trick from a couple YZ250 riders that didn't like the dual-sport bike on the MX track. I handed over my XR400 to a local vet pro and let him return the favor by being passed by a trail bike.

[rjboschjr]

I'm really slow and my XR400 isn't exactly fast. I just fan the clutch and shoot out some roost before pesky mtn bike riders get too close. You do wear a chest protector riding right? ?

I learned that trick from a couple YZ250 riders that didn't like the dual-sport bike on the MX track. I handed over my XR400 to a local vet pro and let him return the favor by being passed by a trail bike.

just fan the clutch and shoot out some roost before pesky mtn bike riders

Didn't know XR 400 could roost!

[350Kid]

Maybe they were just out for a cruise. You seem like an A-hole...telling guys to get out of the way. Dont be suprised when the next guy takes that fancy bike of yours.

[desert4seat]

When he hit a straight section he easily put distance on me.

Great thread! I’m Glad Someone’s got the balls to shed some light on these dumb “dirt bikes!”

I find it hard to believe that an XR4 actually got you in the straights though. He must’ve had a modified engine or something.

I raced one on my skateboard once …lost him when we got to the half pipe section!

I was all yelling and screaming at him, “Get out of my way dicface!” Then he bailed hard! Think he broke his wrist! LOL! Kinda funny actually. He was all scared and acting like a pu$sie !

What a pile of a bike though! Not to mention SLOW as f@ckkk!

Should’ve paid for a much superior dirtbike…like a sweet ass KTM, or something with cool looking plastics and black wheels and matching grips!

I mean get with the times, XR4’s are so 80’s!

[esbotto]

I've had a similar experience on a 1.5 mile downhill stretch of singletrack. I pulled up to the trailhead and there were a couple of dirt bikes sitting there so I stopped and said hi while I was lowering my seat. Before I could take off they asked if they could go first. (They didn't even have their helmets on yet). I said sure. I gave them a 30 second head start so I didn't have to eat their dust. Well about a half mile down to my surprise I caught the first one. I asked to pass and he turned around like ***? Another half mile I was realing in the second guy and decided to follow him the rest of the way down. He stopped at the bottom and turned around. When he saw me he asked if his friend had crashed and I said no, I passed him. He thought it was hilarious. FYI I had been down this trail once or twice a week for a few years and it is pretty tight with minimal straightaways.

[Kev_XR]

just fan the clutch and shoot out some roost before pesky mtn bike riders

Didn't know XR 400 could roost!

It really helps to have a crossbar pad, so you can lean forward and let the lightened rear wheel spin. If you've ever had an angry 5 year old throw a handful of sand at you, you know what it feels like. Ouch! Sand in my eye. ?

[FZ1426]

At some of the goat trails some of these socal guys like to ride and post pictures of you could probably go faster on foot!

Makes me wonder why they don't just get trials bikes or go for a nice hike instead of burning up the clutch on a perfectly good dirt bike.

[ZEKEDAWG]

Maybe they were just out for a cruise. You seem like an A-hole...telling guys to get out of the way. Dont be suprised when the next guy takes that fancy bike of yours.

HMM lets see, I was there and you were not.

Rather bold statement for someone who wasn't there. I didn't say get out of the way, i said get going.

They saw me hauling butt and when they came up behind, I pulled over, then proceeded to catch them, in and enduro or hare scramble it is common place to whistle or yell at a slower rider in front to get them to let you pass.

So did you have a nice ride on your XR 400 today.??

I suppose I should look for the bad gas now.

[cubera]

I'm old but a fairly consistant 'B' level trail rider and probably faster when I let it all hang out. A buddy of mine borrowed my second bike which is a tricked-out XR4 and smoked my ass on a trail ride big time. It ain't the bike and XR4's are not slow in the right hands at all. I was on my race bike which is a tricked-out CRF450X. My bud rides a KX500 normally and the I've been chasing him around for more than 2 years....He might be faster on the XR400 so I know that bike is not slow.

[ZEKEDAWG]

The part about XR 400's being slow is meant tongue in cheek. Just happened to be what he was riding, the other dude was on a clapped out rm 80 with no rear fender. If they were on YZ 250's i would have put that in the title.

It always cracks me up when people say "x" bike is slow or fast or "a blah blah blah " bike passed me on the track. It is almost never the bike, it is almost always the rider. In this case this rider on his bike of choice was as fast ofr faster than the other rider on his bike of choice. The trail really dictates how fast you could go. 20-30mph is max, my top speed yesterday was 28 and when racing the dirt bike, I was at my fastest speed.

Besides , one of my very good friends rides an xr 400 and when he sees this tuesday, he will be laughing his ass off. I often ride his xr 400 when my KTM 300 breaks down, luckily i have fixed that problem.

[jeffro450]

My little bro is an absolute maniac on a mountain bike. I have never seen anyone ride a bike like he can (He is doing a downhill race tommorrow throug the terrain park at our local mountain). He can eat up ANY dirt bike on downhill single track. He has raced anything from 2 smoke 250's to big bore 4 strokes, and whoops all their butts. It is amazing to see him rally down some of those trails. Any time the bikes are not hard on the gas he's pulling away from them. It all comes down to weight when you are racing downhill. The lighter you are the faster you go.