GSX400F comparo..

[thunderpants]

Hi guys, I`ve just bought an `89 GSX400F, it seems to me to be a 600 frame and running gear with an early Gixxer 400 motor.. can anyone confirm this for me? I`m told it`s an American import (we`re across the pond) yet the speedo is in kilometres.. will a 600 motor fit into this frame? I need to get it on the road soon, as I reckon it`ll be a sweet little thing when fettled up, thanks in advance for your help

[Black_peter]

Personally I would keep it as is. I bet it's on the rare side. No way is it an American bike. We only got the 600/750. But (as you will find by doing a search) the overseas (including the UK) got all manner of 400cc versions of popular sport bikes. The Japanese don't have as easy a time getting licensing for "big" bikes so they have versions down to 125cc..

[thunderpants]

Thanks..

Thanks Peter, I managed to get the motor running fairly smoothly last night, it`s a little rev-monster but needs induction rubbers, as they were leeching fuel out onto the gearbox.. but I did check to see if 2nd gear was still working, so the 400 stays! The bike needs work ( I had to remove the motor to get the headers out of the cyl. head, argh..) tho` I`m sure it`ll be a nice little scoot when done.. the 600 transplant is only worth considering if I can`t get parts for the 400..

that the early 400 motors have a bit of a reputation for lunching 2nd gear, hence the concern..

[chinto]

Thanks Peter, I managed to get the motor running fairly smoothly last night, it`s a little rev-monster but needs induction rubbers, as they were leeching fuel out onto the gearbox.. but I did check to see if 2nd gear was still working, so the 400 stays! The bike needs work ( I had to remove the motor to get the headers out of the cyl. head, argh..) tho` I`m sure it`ll be a nice little scoot when done.. the 600 transplant is only worth considering if I can`t get parts for the 400..

that the early 400 motors have a bit of a reputation for lunching 2nd gear, hence the concern..

keep it as a 400. if you do decide to do a transplant though, don't waste your time with a 600. Go big!! A 1200 with 400 insurance rates would be sweet

[Dan Dubeau]

keep it as a 400. if you do decide to do a transplant though, don't waste your time with a 600. Go big!! A 1200 with 400 insurance rates would be sweet

Unless it's a 600 frame as he suspects. all the oil cooled gsx line of motors seem to have problems with 2nd gear, if beaten on.

Post pics when you get a chance. Don't see too many 400's round here (wish we did).

[chinto]

Unless it's a 600 frame as he suspects. all the oil cooled gsx line of motors seem to have problems with 2nd gear, if beaten on.

If I am not mistaken, the 400's are watercooled.

Post pics when you get a chance. Don't see too many 400's round here (wish we did).

I have never seen a Kat 400 locally.

[loudnlow7484]

That is a rare bike indeed. Only made in 88 and 89. The engine is the same as the Gixxer 400 from back then. That definitely is just the Katana 600 frame.

http://www.suzukicycles.org/GSX-series/GSX400F.shtml

[Court93kat]

As to the original statement of it being an American import. No. That is an Asian bike. They have some really weird CC rules over there. I have run across a couple of guys that had 400cc Kats while stationed in Japan though.

[Black_peter]

They have some really weird CC rules over there.

They do have split CC licenses but more importantly you have to be able to physically pick up the bike during the test.

[Court93kat]

@ Peter

Yeah, and the two years I spent in Korea I never saw anything over about a 600cc bike. Even the "big" cruisers were single cylinders. Weird. Figured I would see some Jap imports running around, but only the Hyosung smaller stuff. Even the sportbikes looked strange compared to the ones we have in the states.

[cameron]

They do have split CC licenses but more importantly you have to be able to physically pick up the bike during the test.

what they better have some one elses kat for me to clean and jerk cause there is noway i would lay my bike on its side on purpose.

[BradsKat]

They do have split CC licenses but more importantly you have to be able to physically pick up the bike during the test.

how exactly do they check that? for darn sure they're not going to ask you to lay your own bike down?!

what they better have some one elses kat for me to clean and jerk cause there is noway i would lay my bike on its side on purpose.

[Court93kat]

I think he was referring to picking it up off the kickstand. Remember we are talking about Koreans and Japanese. The AVERAGE size is much smaller than we are. I am by NO WAY trying to offend anyone of asian decent on here, but I have spent two years in Korea and I am bigger than most of them at only 5'6" and 170 lbs.

[paintmann111]

I heard that the biggest bike you can have in japan is a 500cc bike. Makes sense with the busy and TINY streets.

[The CyberPoet]

According to Jarmo (SuzukiCycles.org), the 89 was an one-off:

Although the GSX400F model name disappeared after 1982 and the water-cooled GSX400FW took over, the model suddenly re-appeared in 1988. With an engine from the GSX-R400R and the frame and the fairing from the GSX600F, Suzuki tried to introduce a unexpensive mid-range tourer for the Japanese home market. Although the model was large and comfortable for being a 600cc motorcycle, the engine was too small and the model wasn't popular enough. The model was available only in 1988-1989.

Thanks Peter, I managed to get the motor running fairly smoothly last night, it`s a little rev-monster but needs induction rubbers, as they were leeching fuel out onto the gearbox..

Float heights or float mechanism seals in the carbs are problematic if you've got fuel coming through your induction rubbers (velocity stacks in American-English motorcycle vernacular).

but I did check to see if 2nd gear was still working, so the 400 stays! The bike needs work ( I had to remove the motor to get the headers out of the cyl. head, argh..) tho` I`m sure it`ll be a nice little scoot when done.. the 600 transplant is only worth considering if I can`t get parts for the 400..

That's a reasonable mind-set, but I'd be apt to look for a part-X instead, because the 400 is much rarer. Or just part-X it and get a 600 yourself.

that the early 400 motors have a bit of a reputation for lunching 2nd gear, hence the concern..

Same issue applies to all GSXF and GSF series -- it's down to the transmission basic design and bad-shifting habits of riders.

I heard that the biggest bike you can have in japan is a 500cc bike. Makes sense with the busy and TINY streets.

They do have unlimited sizes (I know of a Zen Budhist monk with a Busa), but the process to get the 3rd & 4th licenses is a huge bit of a PIA:
Tier 1 - up to 49.99cc, 30 km/h speed limit, no passengers, no expressways.
Tier 2 - 50cc - 124.99cc, 50 km/h speed limit, passenger permitted, no expressways.
Tier 3 - 125cc - 399.99cc, 80 km/h speed limit on expressways, 50 km/h limit everywhere else, passengers permitted everywhere except expressways; no passengers on expressways.
Tier 4 - 400 cc and larger, 80 km/h speed limit on expressways, 50 km/h limit everywhere else, passengers permitted everywhere except expressways; no passengers on expressways.

You can take two routes to getting the license -- riding schools (think German-style instruction consisting of weeks/months of evenings & weekends), or direct-test.

Direct Test
Each direct-test is harder than the one for the Tier before it. Statistically speaking, the odds of passing the direct-test for the 4th Tier are under 8% for a what in the US or Europe would qualify as a massively skilled rider; it's common for American & European riders to retake the test 8 to 12 times before passing (only once per day!). Oh, and you'll also be graded for genki ("riding attitude" -- accelerating & braking hard enough, aka opposite of listlessness).
On-site test:
The biggest killer of the 125+ cc direct-to-license tests: the balance beam (ipponbashi: beam is 15 meters long [50 feet] and 20 cm wide [just under 8" wide]). Ride up and come to a full-stop within 2 meters (6 feet) of the beam. Now ride across the beam, without touching down your feet nor falling nor deviating off the beam, AND taking more than seven seconds to cross the 15 meters. Good luck with that one!
The rest of the on-site/closed-course riding test:
Slalom: 5 cones spaced 3 meters apart. Slalom through them in under 8 seconds; touching one (not knocking it over, just touching it) fails you for the whole test.
Crank course: two sharp left turns followed by two sharp right turns. Again, touching a cone fails the whole test.
S-Curve: Left turn, right curve, left curve, left turn. Again, touching a cone fails the whole test.
Emergency Stop: from 50+ kph in a set distance.
Uphill Start: 10 degree uphill slope (20% grade) - get moving without any backwards motion, wheel spin or foot-assist.

The rest of the test is a real-world road test. You will fail, many times, grasshopper.

Schools
By comparison, the school is expensive and massively time consuming, with staged steps to get the learner's permit (requiring both written & riding tests on-site) and then the real-world practice, followed by real-world test and a 100 question written test (90 true-false, 5 prediction-of-danger questions). Even in the schools, the majority of the class fails the first written test several times (to the joy of the school, who recharges you for that phase of instruction again). But you don't have to do the balance beam, and as long as you stick with it, you'll pass sooner or later

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Note that by Japanese law, there is a 92 PS (90.7 HP) limit on all motorcycles (very much like the French in that sense), so many of the large-displacement bikes are re-imports.

KNOW THIS ABOUT JAPAN & MOTORCYCLE LICENSES:
You must have your motorcycle license for at least 3 months before going to Japan, or you can't transfer it to a Japanese license (you'll have to start from scratch).
International Licenses are only honored for one year in Japan; you'll need to return home each year to renew if you plan on continuing to ride on your US/Canadian/German/etc. license.

Cheers,
=-= The CyberPoet