The humble Yamaha XS 400 is often overlooked by people who are lured by the larger XS650 and although I’m well aware of the attraction of additional power, I’ve always been a huge fan of slightly smaller engined, lighter weight bikes.
When men first had the idea of dropping an engine into a bicycle, they used very simple, low-powered engines combined with very light, single down-tube bicycle frames which resulted in motorised velocipedes only just powerful enough to dislodge your monocle.
As time progressed and engineering pushed ahead motorcycles with 10hp engines were usurped by motorcycles with 20hp engines and as the decades passed we found ourselves looking at bikes with almost 200hp that weigh in at over 500lbs – 20+ times more powerful and 4 times as heavy as the bikes our great-grandfathers raced around wooden stadiums wearing leather helmets and having the time of their lives.
Telling you all of this is my way of saying that bigger isn’t always better.
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