1996 XR400R for hunting

[Moserkr]

My hunting buddy has a yamaha enduro bike and wanted a riding partner/buddy to go hunt with on bikes. When his neighbor was getting rid of the honda 400xr, he hit me up and asked it I want it. I said hell yea and picked it up.



I dont know a whole lot about bikes, so Im looking for advice either specific or in general, including a good dirt bike forum maybe. Im not looking to ride fast and jump, I want to putt around, hunt, and pack out heavy. It is plated and was street legal too. I have some mechanical experience, my wife’s family rides, and their family friend has an atv/bike repair shop. First stop was to the shop and he gave me a list of stuff to do to it. His price with labor is beyond me, so most will be done myself which is fine. Heres the list it needs:

Carb work - shop?
All shocks rebuilt (leak) - shop?
New chain/roller - me
New sprockets - lower gear for hunting - me
Change all fluids - me

It already has some nice aftermarket parts - exhaust, handlebars, brush guards, camo wrap, probably more I dont understand. Id like to put a small rack on the back too or something to help haul whatever. Friend saw his neighbor ride it 4 months ago.
What say you all? Im pretty stoked and have ridden bikes a few times, never owned one like this. Appreciate any and all feedback!!

 

[Rob5589]

Nice thumper. Carbs are relatively easy to work on; the shock needs a shop to rebuild or just install a replacement. Depending on how much you weigh and potential to load it down with gear, dead critter, etc, you can have the forks and shock revalved/sprung to better handle the weight.

I'd break it down, clean and lube, replace whatever is needed, and ride the wheels off. Bikes like that are pretty easy to work on. Enjoy!

 

[TheTone]

I’d love to find one like it or better yet a 250. They’re very reliable, kinda heavy, and can be a pain to start if they’re hot and you drop it. Carbs on them aren’t super hard, should be lots of reading material and references if you want to do it yourself.

 

[h2so4]

Fully agree that a shop needs to do the suspension. I'd look at pricing of repair vs custom setup. It may be closer than you'd expect. If you can get custom suspension, it will handle the heavy rides much better.

You can do the carb if you can do the other stuff. However, I'll make the same suggestion- check out aftermarket carbs that may add alot of reliability/ performance with less headache.

 

[Moserkr]

Thanks guys. Shop owned by family friend quoted me $250 for parts/labor if HE had to take the shocks and carb off to clean/repair. I plan on taking them off and into him to do, so that will save money. Doubt I can get new parts for that much. I rebuilt 3 carbs on my old boat motor so Ill probably give the carbs a shot before taking them in. Will take shocks to the shop for sure.

As time goes on I will look at carb replacement first, shocks second. Definitely like less headaches and more reliability. Appreciate the insight. Limited budget and this was a spur of the moment freebie, who could say no?? Figure Id set aside around $500 to start and go from there.

Just pulled the seat off, cleaned/oiled the air filter, and will see if she turns over shortly. Needs a little wiring work too of course, a new seat cover, and just TLC in general. Im only 5’10” and 180 so not too tall or heavy. May look into the lowering kit I saw too so i can be flat footed. Im on my tip toes when shes balanced.

 

[Elk2008]

I have that same bike. It’s a nice powerful bike.

 

[Rob5589]

Thanks guys. Shop owned by family friend quoted me $250 for parts/labor if HE had to take the shocks and carb off to clean/repair. I plan on taking them off and into him to do, so that will save money. Doubt I can get new parts for that much. I rebuilt 3 carbs on my old boat motor so Ill probably give the carbs a shot before taking them in. Will take shocks to the shop for sure.

As time goes on I will look at carb replacement first, shocks second. Definitely like less headaches and more reliability. Appreciate the insight. Limited budget and this was a spur of the moment freebie, who could say no?? Figure Id set aside around $500 to start and go from there.

Just pulled the seat off, cleaned/oiled the air filter, and will see if she turns over shortly. Needs a little wiring work too of course, a new seat cover, and just TLC in general. Im only 5’10” and 180 so not too tall or heavy. May look into the lowering kit I saw too so i can be flat footed. Im on my tip toes when shes balanced.

I wouldn't lower it just yet. If you're hunting from it you may be wearing your pack, have gear strapped to it, etc which will lower the bike a good amount.

 

[Moserkr]

Will definitely wait on any major mods until its running and I test it out over the summer, see how i like it. Want to try and start her but first things first - all wires are completely disconnected lol. Starting a search for a wiring diagram. Need to buy a repair/maintenance manual as well before diving in.

 

[kylegreulich]

advrider is a great resource for Dual Sport stuff. Forks aren't too bad to work on, shocks a bit more challenging. Its probably not worth diving into the forks if you're going to have the shop work on the shocks, that's my opinion at least. So many Youtube videos on carbs you should be able to clean and alter jetting with all the resources out there, it isn't bad.

 

[Jesse Jaymes]

Had 1999 a few years ago. I am NOT a dirt bike expert. Didn't start riding until I was 47yo. I thought that was the Prepper/Back Country Be-All, End-All bike.....I kicked that MF silly trying to start it.

I upgraded to a Red Button. Great Bike. Learn it's system and technique. Be patient.

 

[Wrench]

Those are great bikes. They pretty much have everything you need and nothing you don't......except the happy button.

 

[Moserkr]

Haha yea a happy button would be nice. Still working on rewiring it today with limited knowledge. Found a diagram but some colors are off so just going slow so its done right. I have noticed that this thing is simple - no battery, limited wires. Just simple. Not planning on changing forks or anything. Id like to keep it rugged, reliable, and the costs close to what i got it for lol.

 

[Elk97]

My son has one, I think it's an 2003-4. The carbs are a. problem, at least on his model year. Did a lot of research and sounds like a pumper carb replacement is the way to go (even the shop couldn't get it working correctly). Lots of info on it if you search. Hopefully yours is different and just needs a rebuild. Sweet looking bike!

 

[Customweld]

Haha yea a happy button would be nice. Still working on rewiring it today with limited knowledge. Found a diagram but some colors are off so just going slow so its done right. I have noticed that this thing is simple - no battery, limited wires. Just simple. Not planning on changing forks or anything. Id like to keep it rugged, reliable, and the costs close to what i got it for lol.

That was the genius of the XR line of bikes. They didn't change anything for 20 plus years except the color of the plastics. I rode a XR250 for years before I pulled a bonehead move and traded it for a WR450

 

[DAOutfitters208]

You can probably get a awesome rack from cycleracks.com. Those things can haul a lot.

 

[CApighunter]

Tractor of a bike and as reliable as they come. I’d pull the carb apart and clean everything out real good if it’s been sitting. I’d pay for someone to throw seals and fresh fluid in the fork and shock. Shouldn’t need much beyond that. Ride it a bit before deciding if you want to swap sprockets. Looked for one for a long time before grabbing my 426 that I’m now looking to offload and get something with an easy button haha

 

[Geardo]

Man F YOUuUuUUuUu a free bike! ?

I miss my XR 400 so bad!

 

[def90]

I have a 96 XR250.. the XR series from that era are bomb proof bikes. No need to do anything special to them other than regular maintenance. They are 4 strokes and have a ton of low end torque. Should get you pretty much any where you want to go.

 

[rbljack]

Great bike! Take your time and get her going again....you wont be disappointed. My son rides a XR250R. Needs a rear shock rebuild, but its been pretty bulletproof so far. My wife has the CRF230 and I have the CRF250R. Although my bike is way bigger than hers and more of a race bike....I gotta say there have been numerous times Ive thought.....HMMM....that CRF230 would be a great woods bike to take hunting....LOL. Just needs to get a headlight added. I saw Cory J using them on this years Elk101 video series too.

 

[Squamch]

advrider is a great resource for Dual Sport stuff. Forks aren't too bad to work on, shocks a bit more challenging. Its probably not worth diving into the forks if you're going to have the shop work on the shocks, that's my opinion at least. So many Youtube videos on carbs you should be able to clean and alter jetting with all the resources out there, it isn't bad.

Not any more. They've been taken over by vertical scrote, the new place is advbikes.com

That's a good old bike. You can like sort the carb yourself, shocks too, but it's easier and less messy to take em to a shop.