It brings back memories of really fun bikes. I was in my mid 20's by then and old technology had gone about as far as it could go. Shortly thereafter the solid state ignition came along and it also spawned the ujm. The little Honda 4's were actually a lot more fun to ring out than the 750.. I always had a soft spot for the 400-4. It felt like a real race bike. All of the Yamaha RD's were great and so was the 500 thumper. Being in my 60's I feel like I saw the golden age of motorcycles. Today, all they can do is go faster and faster. Today's 600's will do more than 99% of the riders can use. Back then it was a lot ore fun. I would love to find any number of old bikes but the RD's and baby 4's would be at the top of my list.
Just got a rd250 today and this video got me all kinds of happy ....traded a change counter for it. It's all complete ...I can't wait to fire it up whoop hoooo
Happy days! When I was a student I had a 76 RD250 in the same colour! My mate had a red CB400F and we often raced. There was very little between the two bikes. My RD would accelerate faster but the 400F would usually pull out a higher top speed. My RD had expansion chambers and Piranha ignition. I only ever saw >100mph on the clock a few times but it had standard gearing and the speedo on the bike was fairly honest.
@@billybarr7443 Try actually riding a bike like this and try riding it downhill to see how fast it will go. That's what lots of riders do. I saw >100mph on the clock a few times when doing this. Maybe you were too scared to try this?
well if its a newer 125 it might actually be faster. this is a 1975 400cc 4cylinder 4 stroke were talking about. completely different beast compared to the 2 strokers. hence the reason I am getting beat by a 250! The 400 has an electronic ignition upgrade with hotter coils and a free flowing exhaust. It had an estimated top speed of 102mph and I have been about that. This video represents the 400 supersports performance pretty well if you ask me.
yep the newwer hondas 4 strokers were faster after 81,to the 250 but still got nailed by the rd 400 rd dx the2 strokes power and handleing with the 500s was crazy had to respect the bike and power or it wanted to kill you great fun as a 20 yr old ,went on a rebuilt 400 rd at 46yrs old and still gave me a challange,loverly ride
Reminds me of me and my mate racing one night . Him on a Kawasaki kh400 me on Honda 440/4 . Very even top end with a very slight advantage to my Honda . The kh models weren’t as hairy chested as the H models .
I rode a 1976 RD250C for 3 years in the 70's and had lots of races with other bikes.My bike used to eat Honda CB400's for breakfast and I even won races with CB750's along windy country lanes.And that was the place to ride them once you changed the high bars for ace bars and stiffened up the rear springs.Dancing up and down through the gears,oh what memories!
Ah, memories. I remember riding down the A127 towards sunny Sar’fend , on my old heap, taking the gentle bend just before Rayleigh Weir roundabout, at 115mph (with feet on the pillion footrests & chin on the tank to reduce drag). I was well-chuffed. At that very moment, and much to both my amusement AND my chagrin, a mahoosive 1100 serenely chugged past me without breaking a sweat.
nice! i have a few rd's and just got a 75 400F. good stuff. the 250's are fast... they have huge transfers and different primary drives from the 350 so they are actually pretty on par with the larger rd's. for a 1975 sohc 400 inline 4 to do that well against an rd250 its pretty impressive. Great vid.. thanks for posting.
Back in the late seventies I owned both of these bikes. My fave was the yam because it was nicer to look at. The Honda was ugly. Looking back I was ugly too. My point is, I wish I still owned both of them. My R1 is my best ride yet. My only problem is the R1 doesn't go down the woods like my old DT 175 used too. I also had a TDR 250, that was the biz. Inbetween the years I had a Moto Guzzie le mans, that was heavier than my car, not much fun. The best 2 wheeled machine I ever owned was a vespa 125 gti, 4 valve, fuel injected. 66 mph. No wet feet, great on fuel, not good a the tap in eastham, Wirral. Bike girls don't like vespas.
tbh i dont believe you.... moto guzzi le mans not much fun? you for sure no doubt have never ridden one. And the honda ugly over the yamaha? were you born blind?
Among other smaller cc Yamaha's I have owned in the past, I have had three coffined tanked RD 250’s and a 350 LC, but the RD250 that was Stan Stephens tuned (and my, it was fast up to 65MPH) was the best. I have always been a fan of Yamaha's and have since owned a XJR 1300 and a 1999 R1, but my favorite Yamaha will always be my red and white, micron popping, Stan Stephens tuned RD 250, I possibly put it down to nostalgia as I was only 17 :) In reality my R1 was always statistically the best be it a little scary. I got the R1 up to 176 MPH one Sunday morning, then when I slowed down to a snail pace of 80MPH, the front sprocket detached. Lucky for me the new chain link had been fitted incorrectly and the pin just pinged out, leaving the chain in the road and me thinking my clutch had gone. There is a moral to this, when re-installing a front sprocket, always use a new locking tab, (and a little lock tight) the old one may look ok but believe me it is scrap (oh, and get a reputable mechanic to press the new chain in) Safe riding folks ;)
I was late teens back in the day and rode both while working for a couple of motorcycle dealers. The 400/4 was a revolution straight out of the crate. Only vice was the rear shocks were a little spongy. Performance wise and even allowing for having ridden mainly two strokes back then, the 400/4 would soon see the 250 yam as a blurr in the rear view mirrors ... they were quick and handled very well. They were not even in the same ball park.
Oh man, that's a great video, love the noise, the old-style dash and that thing can move for such a tiny engine and the fact that it's older then most of the viewers of this video :) Sometimes I wish I had a 250-400cc bike and not a 650.. so I can wring it's neck more often :)
that's just the way it was back in 1977 all my buds hated it they always at my smoke.Mine was an rd 250 with an rd350 head,milled ported polished.racing chrome coils,k&n filters, and very much torque,750's had a difficult time with my bike what fun.
It's a tough call though. The RD and rider weighs roughly 70lbs less than myself and the Honda. The RD stock was 32hp vs. the 400's 37hp. The RD also has expansion chambers and a super-tune....not to say my 400 wasn't super-tuned also. Knock 70lbs off the 400 and there might be a closer race.
@hawk7267 Cool. Mine is all original too and includes the oem exhaust... I just needed some more noise. :D To make it rev better do a points adjustment. I bet that's all it needs. I only ride this bike above 7000 rpms and it seems to love it!
I totally loved my pocket rocket Yamaha RD250, pretty sure around the time it (the RD 250) held the fastest quarter mile record. For some reason the RD350 I had just didn't feel the same so the 250 got a lot of mileage while the 350 stayed clean or lent out.
He's over-revving the 400/4. The power comes in at 8.5 and leaves at 9.5, it should have no problem against a 250 and he doesn't even get into 6th gear until the end when he flubs the shift. Both great bikes tho' :)
Perfect for riding on public roads 😉 I had one of these between 1977 and '79. Swapped it in for a new CB900F. Worst mistake I ever made. On UK twisty A roads is where you can play at being your favourite racer.. the 400F was perfect
No, look up Cagiva Mito videos. They ARE pretty sick little machines. I'd love to have one in the collection. And the RD250 wasn't a Cafe racer, that's just something some guys mod the bikes into. I've got one and it's quick, but not THAT fast.. Yes, I'd take it over the 4strokes of the day though. (I do have an RD350 and an RZ350YPVS also)
@hawk7267 Hey, I have a modified after market exhaust. It's a full 4-1 system thats lighter than stock but needed a little help to make it sound better.
Thanks for posting this, very nice, brings back sweet memories. Is yours stock? I couldn't hit 85 with mine, and mine had lowered handle bars, and rearset, full cafe, hurts my neck just thinking about it. haha
True as I note you didn't drop much if any speed, presume the speedo is in MPH so she only dipped by 2 mph. I also felt that I could do with another gear at times and often went looking for it..lmao ( oddly enough I never did find one.!)
makes me sad knowing I missed out on this stuff, my dad had one of these and said it was probably the best bike he's owned, all the modern 2Ts all seem slow and unreliable
I want a 400F let me know when you want to trade for a CB750. Looks like a fun bike can't believe red line is so high must really add to the fun factor. Can a CB350 four be comparable to a 400f?
i have almost all the cb from the 70s. 200, 350f, 400f, 550f and 750. a i love the all but if i had the sell the 350f will be the last one to do. and imo it way nicer than a 400.
I call bullshit! I *owned* a 1975 CB400F, bone-stock, with 8,000 gennie miles, and believe me, these bikes were peaky as hell, wouldn't pull under 5,000 revs, but over that would scream like hell! A ported and chambered RD might have pulled it, but judging by the speedo in the clip, this bike was *absolutely* holding back, and *then* some. I have no axe to grind here, I learned to ride on a DS7!
i see :) yes im talking about a 2008 cagiva mito, that pushes around 110mph, yes i guess older 4strokes arnt the fastest thing around! haha yes i was just wondering still nice video! sounds awesome!
i had a Yahama RD 250 in 1978, but white 32 PS, real fast. it was the fastest of all 250er, but this one hade 27 PS and was littl slower. This Honda 400 normaly hade no Change to my Yahama.
I LOVE my RD250, but the RD would loose unless RD was modded and Mito was not. The Mito actually has a 4hp advantage, and the RD has a 70+lb disadvantage too.... 2-Stroke technology HAS come a long way in the last 30 years...
Fungus Exterminator That's extremely hard to believe that a RD125 would be faster than a 400/4. I've a friend with one that has the works and it still won't do 90mph. I've seen 105mph on the 4.
I know it sounds like internet warrior rubbish, but I had a 400/4 f2 1976 30 yrs ago now..It would do the clock , the biggest difference was it had a handle bar fairing, it was amazing how much difference it made, I had to remove it once and the difference was drastic. Didn't seem to get troubled by RD's that for sure. Did have an alpha 4 pipe
neon922 their canister style but I have modified the baffle to accept a strait through louvered style and added some packing. Their stock baffles sound terrible.
Good observation. The Yamaha twins of this era were all designed and really meant to be 250's. It was easy and cost effective for Yamaha to throw on bigger pistons and create a 350 class bike, but internal balancing became fundamentally off which explains why the 350's had a different feel than a 250's. Build up a 250 and enjoy !
shows how technology has gone with lighter components higher rpms compression more accurate fuelling etc because the modern day 4 stroke 250s would probably be on par with that 400.
The Honda CB 400F is a classic, and classics are not about racing. It has style instead of speed and a sound from heaven. Just enjoy The Honda instead of racing.
***** my 250 doesnt smoke most of the time either, especially once its warmed up. modern oils like yamalube dont smoke as much as the cheaper oils used in smaller engines.
Great bit of video, that 12yrs on, was just served up to me today on Facebook ! Interesting though as I currently have a 400/4 and also a slightly older 250 Yamaha (DS6) and I've done a lot of miles on both of them recently (London to Morocco and back on the Yamaha for example). Both are absolutely std spec. The Yamaha is a nicer bike to ride but nothing like as quick as the Honda - I notice the RD in the clip had a set of pipes that may have given it a few more bhp. You really have to rev the 'nuts' off the Honda to get anywhere on it though. Ride it to mid range / mid throttle and it feels more like a 125 than a 400.
Sprocket Specialists makes a 520 chain and sprocket conversion kit and 1 tooth smaller in the front really makes these 400's move better. Best performance upgrade for the money
@@itsWOAR Have to look up sprocket specialists, but agree 520 is the best chain size for these bikes. Hard (= close to impossible) to find that size for the Yamaha in the UK though. No O rings on the chain as well. Lot of drag from those.
Yes, a straight rate chain is absolutely necessary. No need to slow these bikes down any with an o-ring chain. The 520 conversion allowed me to pull the ton almost any time I'm on it.
Yammies Kawas suzies 2 strokers left those Honda slugs for dead in a cloud of blue smoke !! - used to wave my mate goodbye on his 400 4 on my kh250 - fast as fuck
Gotta 1977 cb 4004 Cafe. When she's good'she's good but when she's bad she's bad. Got 120 mph out of her ONCE and other days top you'll get 105 mph. The thing is it has to be a cold day, with little or no wind. Don't be over 5 ft 10 incs and be around 12 and a half stone in weight, or less..... you got all off the above and a good tuned bike....You won't be driving the bike the bike be driving you. Warm her up for about 14 miles at 70 mph and then wined her back slowly, then hold on because its scary as fuck especially with the old shocks but she wants too go. Happened once 6 years ago. Shitty thing about it was i literally ran out of motorway.
oh and by the way my 400 was probably the best handling bike I rode and would cruise quite happily at 90 2 up and loaded with all my camping gear and was good on juice you can't say that about the rattling two stroke which by the way fucked there little ends all the time
The guy on the 400 didn't get into top gear...running in fourth or fifth, check the tacho...what's wrong with him? I had a '76 400four supersport, and it would scream along in top gear...
They are sick... but again.. its a 125 and people go abit over-the-top with the speed of them.. "OMG they will do 184MPH up a hill into a headwind"... I would say... A Mito would lose to a RD250.
It brings back memories of really fun bikes. I was in my mid 20's by then and old technology had gone about as far as it could go. Shortly thereafter the solid state ignition came along and it also spawned the ujm. The little Honda 4's were actually a lot more fun to ring out than the 750.. I always had a soft spot for the 400-4. It felt like a real race bike. All of the Yamaha RD's were great and so was the 500 thumper. Being in my 60's I feel like I saw the golden age of motorcycles. Today, all they can do is go faster and faster. Today's 600's will do more than 99% of the riders can use. Back then it was a lot ore fun. I would love to find any number of old bikes but the RD's and baby 4's would be at the top of my list.
C moore I agree! Nothing wrong with the old CB450SS DOHC either.
You are dam right, my friend. You are so f#ckin right...
Just got a rd250 today and this video got me all kinds of happy ....traded a change counter for it. It's all complete ...I can't wait to fire it up whoop hoooo
Cool I just picked up a 1975 RD250 myself... I've had a few of them but this one's going to get the full tilt build! 😉👍
Both bikes are awesome, the yamaha RD's are hard to beat!
Great, just Great !!! Today, I am 64. Those were the glory days ! Trinidad & Tobago.
Nice to see old classics been ttrashed rather than been treated like museum pieces!
Happy days! When I was a student I had a 76 RD250 in the same colour! My mate had a red CB400F and we often raced. There was very little between the two bikes. My RD would accelerate faster but the 400F would usually pull out a higher top speed. My RD had expansion chambers and Piranha ignition. I only ever saw >100mph on the clock a few times but it had standard gearing and the speedo on the bike was fairly honest.
Stop telling lies lad
@@billybarr7443 Try actually riding a bike like this and try riding it downhill to see how fast it will go. That's what lots of riders do. I saw >100mph on the clock a few times when doing this. Maybe you were too scared to try this?
@@G0HZU you had a superdream 400 lad
@@billybarr7443 Billy, whatever medication you are taking, it clearly has some side effects...
@@G0HZU all medication have side effects lad as you no lad
well if its a newer 125 it might actually be faster. this is a 1975 400cc 4cylinder 4 stroke were talking about. completely different beast compared to the 2 strokers. hence the reason I am getting beat by a 250! The 400 has an electronic ignition upgrade with hotter coils and a free flowing exhaust. It had an estimated top speed of 102mph and I have been about that. This video represents the 400 supersports performance pretty well if you ask me.
yep the newwer hondas 4 strokers were faster after 81,to the 250 but still got nailed by the rd 400 rd dx the2 strokes power and handleing with the 500s was crazy had to respect the bike and power or it wanted to kill you great fun as a 20 yr old ,went on a rebuilt 400 rd at 46yrs old and still gave me a challange,loverly ride
Reminds me of me and my mate racing one night . Him on a Kawasaki kh400 me on Honda 440/4 . Very even top end with a very slight advantage to my Honda . The kh models weren’t as hairy chested as the H models .
I love that 250!! I love my 400 four too..but daym..hard for me to keep up with my bud there. Thanks! You too!
Hard to beat a 2 stroke for speed and power,built with roller bearings. Same for 2 stroke outboards
power to weight makes a massive difference! both are fantastic bikes, thanks for posting the vid!!!!
I rode a 1976 RD250C for 3 years in the 70's and had lots of races with other bikes.My bike used to eat Honda CB400's for breakfast and I even won races with CB750's along windy country lanes.And that was the place to ride them once you changed the high bars for ace bars and stiffened up the rear springs.Dancing up and down through the gears,oh what memories!
Ah, memories. I remember riding down the A127 towards sunny Sar’fend , on my old heap, taking the gentle bend just before Rayleigh Weir roundabout, at 115mph (with feet on the pillion footrests & chin on the tank to reduce drag). I was well-chuffed.
At that very moment, and much to both my amusement AND my chagrin, a mahoosive 1100 serenely chugged past me without breaking a sweat.
The Honda sounds like a Formula One car. I love it.
***** actually, sounds better
nice! i have a few rd's and just got a 75 400F. good stuff. the 250's are fast... they have huge transfers and different primary drives from the 350 so they are actually pretty on par with the larger rd's. for a 1975 sohc 400 inline 4 to do that well against an rd250 its pretty impressive. Great vid.. thanks for posting.
Then there was rhe RD400........happy days.
I've had both of those model bikes and they were both so much fun.
Back in the late seventies I owned both of these bikes. My fave was the yam because it was nicer to look at. The Honda was ugly. Looking back I was ugly too. My point is, I wish I still owned both of them. My R1 is my best ride yet. My only problem is the R1 doesn't go down the woods like my old DT 175 used too. I also had a TDR 250, that was the biz. Inbetween the years I had a Moto Guzzie le mans, that was heavier than my car, not much fun. The best 2 wheeled machine I ever owned was a vespa 125 gti, 4 valve, fuel injected. 66 mph. No wet feet, great on fuel, not good a the tap in eastham, Wirral. Bike girls don't like vespas.
+Tim Jones Eghhh. except one or two models... the only reason why I don't buy a Honda is because they never fail to be ugly as fuck
They did like the snake bites thoe that the pub served and then a lift up the hill
tbh i dont believe you.... moto guzzi le mans not much fun? you for sure no doubt have never ridden one. And the honda ugly over the yamaha? were you born blind?
Among other smaller cc Yamaha's I have owned in the past, I have had three coffined tanked RD 250’s and a 350 LC, but the RD250 that was Stan Stephens tuned (and my, it was fast up to 65MPH) was the best. I have always been a fan of Yamaha's and have since owned a XJR 1300 and a 1999 R1, but my favorite Yamaha will always be my red and white, micron popping, Stan Stephens tuned RD 250, I possibly put it down to nostalgia as I was only 17 :) In reality my R1 was always statistically the best be it a little scary. I got the R1 up to 176 MPH one Sunday morning, then when I slowed down to a snail pace of 80MPH, the front sprocket detached. Lucky for me the new chain link had been fitted incorrectly and the pin just pinged out, leaving the chain in the road and me thinking my clutch had gone. There is a moral to this, when re-installing a front sprocket, always use a new locking tab, (and a little lock tight) the old one may look ok but believe me it is scrap (oh, and get a reputable mechanic to press the new chain in) Safe riding folks ;)
I was late teens back in the day and rode both while working for a couple of motorcycle dealers. The 400/4 was a revolution straight out of the crate. Only vice was the rear shocks were a little spongy. Performance wise and even allowing for having ridden mainly two strokes back then, the 400/4 would soon see the 250 yam as a blurr in the rear view mirrors ... they were quick and handled very well. They were not even in the same ball park.
Oh man, that's a great video, love the noise, the old-style dash and that thing can move for such a tiny engine and the fact that it's older then most of the viewers of this video :)
Sometimes I wish I had a 250-400cc bike and not a 650.. so I can wring it's neck more often :)
what i say, RD rules !!!
The rd 250 was a monster, used to duck telephone poles going around corners due to 6th gear. Always end up on the sidewalk!
that's just the way it was back in 1977 all my buds hated it they always at my smoke.Mine was an rd 250 with an rd350 head,milled ported polished.racing chrome coils,k&n filters, and very much torque,750's had a difficult time with my bike what fun.
Nice vintage bikes hauling the mail!!
Lovely sound
It's a tough call though. The RD and rider weighs roughly 70lbs less than myself and the Honda. The RD stock was 32hp vs. the 400's 37hp. The RD also has expansion chambers and a super-tune....not to say my 400 wasn't super-tuned also. Knock 70lbs off the 400 and there might be a closer race.
@hawk7267 Cool. Mine is all original too and includes the oem exhaust... I just needed some more noise. :D To make it rev better do a points adjustment. I bet that's all it needs. I only ride this bike above 7000 rpms and it seems to love it!
Thats why I love old two stroke bikes than 4 cylinders four stroke motorcycles. More power!
I totally loved my pocket rocket Yamaha RD250, pretty sure around the time it (the RD 250) held the fastest quarter mile record. For some reason the RD350 I had just didn't feel the same so the 250 got a lot of mileage while the 350 stayed clean or lent out.
The RD is very fast!!! Good video!!
The Yam maybe ahead on the road but the 400/4 wins on the exhaust note
Snapper Dapper The Yamaha has the camera mounted to it and the nice 2 stroke exhaust note.
It’s the Honda 400/4 which has the camera attached, not the Yamaha rd.
He's over-revving the 400/4. The power comes in at 8.5 and leaves at 9.5, it should have no problem against a 250 and he doesn't even get into 6th gear until the end when he flubs the shift. Both great bikes tho' :)
Hah. No it doesn't. Yams rule.
250cc stink wheel twin beats 400cc 4 stroke 4 cyl.
Lovely !
The Kawasaki 250 triple would walk away from the RD250...and the 400F...
@@jamesbottger5894 the 750 triple would laugh🤣
exactly what i was looking for
Sounds like your going 200 when you're going 70, nice!
Perfect for riding on public roads 😉 I had one of these between 1977 and '79. Swapped it in for a new CB900F. Worst mistake I ever made. On UK twisty A roads is where you can play at being your favourite racer.. the 400F was perfect
No, look up Cagiva Mito videos. They ARE pretty sick little machines. I'd love to have one in the collection. And the RD250 wasn't a Cafe racer, that's just something some guys mod the bikes into. I've got one and it's quick, but not THAT fast.. Yes, I'd take it over the 4strokes of the day though. (I do have an RD350 and an RZ350YPVS also)
Back in the day few cars would catch either of em!
h rd εινε μπροστα αλλα ποση βενζινα εκαψε και ποσο η cb ? η rd πρεπει να εχει 80% μεγαλητερη καταναλωση
Pretty nice, what kind of exhaust does it have?
oh and i also had custom built expansion chambers.
nope. had my shift into sixth gear slip back out on me...I was quick to put it back into sixth right?
very well made video makes me want to go fire up the old RD.camera bike sounds great.....i might get me an old 4 cyl. job this year
Just got a CB400F as my first bike. Yours sounds awesome! Do you have any tips on upgrades?
RD250 was mega fast, but scary to ride
@hawk7267 Hey, I have a modified after market exhaust. It's a full 4-1 system thats lighter than stock but needed a little help to make it sound better.
Awsome and exciting vid pal =) Who the bleep are those two crazy guys riding old bikes in that manner anyway ??
Thanks for posting this, very nice, brings back sweet memories. Is yours stock? I couldn't hit 85 with mine, and mine had lowered handle bars, and rearset, full cafe, hurts my neck just thinking about it. haha
True as I note you didn't drop much if any speed, presume the speedo is in MPH so she only dipped by 2 mph. I also felt that I could do with another gear at times and often went looking for it..lmao ( oddly enough I never did find one.!)
makes me sad knowing I missed out on this stuff, my dad had one of these and said it was probably the best bike he's owned, all the modern 2Ts all seem slow and unreliable
swear my 2stroke 125 seems faster than that 400, is it restricted by any chance?
I want a 400F let me know when you want to trade for a CB750. Looks like a fun bike can't believe red line is so high must really add to the fun factor. Can a CB350 four be comparable to a 400f?
i have almost all the cb from the 70s. 200, 350f, 400f, 550f and 750. a i love the all but if i had the sell the 350f will be the last one to do. and imo it way nicer than a 400.
Looks like the Honda kept holding back. It was clearly the faster of the two and definitely the most ear-friendly
Sweet. 400f sounds awesome!
Had RD250c 1976 I think ..used to out accelerate gt250s and ate gt380s narrow power band great fun sold it to a guy who crashed it and was killed
I call bullshit! I *owned* a 1975 CB400F, bone-stock, with 8,000 gennie miles, and believe me, these bikes were peaky as hell, wouldn't pull under 5,000 revs, but over that would scream like hell! A ported and chambered RD might have pulled it, but judging by the speedo in the clip, this bike was *absolutely* holding back, and *then* some. I have no axe to grind here, I learned to ride on a DS7!
Jeffery Gravitt They didn't call them giant killers for nothing. The RD is a quick bike.
No way an RD250 would beat a 400four on top end. I had both bikes .. after 80mph its Sianara RD250 (standard tune)
That RD as it was in this video would do 108 on the speedo without an issue. The small Honda 4's won't do that...I happen to know this for fact.
this is insane to be going this fast on two bikes this old, with the suspension and brakes
I had an RD250 and a CB400four would have left it for dead.
Damn my RD 350 was fast too but that 250 is doing a great job! Honda good also. Speed safely guys.
what does itsWOAR stand for?
nice vid! keep on guys!
I have a 1978 RD 250 typ 1A2 wonderfull "Moped"
Yds7 :) better :):)
@@borisbeckerson4220 my second Bike K1300s is better 😁 but i like the old bikes and Cars...
O tempo todo a RD250 andou na frente da CB400,Agora,tem que saber se AMBOS estavam dando tudo o que podiam.LAGUNA SC BRASIL 22-04-2017
i see :) yes im talking about a 2008 cagiva mito, that pushes around 110mph, yes i guess older 4strokes arnt the fastest thing around! haha yes i was just wondering still nice video! sounds awesome!
Those were the days of the seventys bringing back the past
i didn't expect that!!!!
i had a Yahama RD 250 in 1978, but white 32 PS, real fast. it was the fastest of all 250er, but this one hade 27 PS and was littl slower. This Honda 400 normaly hade no Change to my Yahama.
nice sound
very very nice!
I LOVE my RD250, but the RD would loose unless RD was modded and Mito was not. The Mito actually has a 4hp advantage, and the RD has a 70+lb disadvantage too.... 2-Stroke technology HAS come a long way in the last 30 years...
I have done a little work on my RD 125..., some port work, expansion chambers and rejetting carbs. It will smoke a Honda CB400F big time!
+Fungus Exterminator
If you work over 400 Four engine, new bore and pistons, carbs, ports, and others....bye bye rd125/250/350/400....Z1...
Fungus Exterminator That's extremely hard to believe that a RD125 would be faster than a 400/4. I've a friend with one that has the works and it still won't do 90mph. I've seen 105mph on the 4.
I know it sounds like internet warrior rubbish, but I had a 400/4 f2 1976 30 yrs ago now..It would do the clock , the biggest difference was it had a handle bar fairing, it was amazing how much difference it made, I had to remove it once and the difference was drastic. Didn't seem to get troubled by RD's that for sure. Did have an alpha 4 pipe
What exhaust is on the cb400f?
neon922 it's a Mac
itsWOAR thanks man!
Megaphone, Reverse, or Canister system?
neon922 their canister style but I have modified the baffle to accept a strait through louvered style and added some packing. Their stock baffles sound terrible.
I actually owned both of these bikes.
Hahaa.....just be glad it isnt an RD-350 .He would have left you about a mile back
My Wotan Honda 400-4 could kill an RD350
MY 400F SS ALWAYS WON AN RD -400 ________ CHOKE ON IT DUDE !
@@rustypeterson5920
The RD must have been half melted down. Period.
I BUILT MY TO WIN
@@scottgibson7534 your ass. My LC350 would make quick work of your 4-stroker.
Good observation. The Yamaha twins of this era were all designed and really meant to be 250's. It was easy and cost effective for Yamaha to throw on bigger pistons and create a 350 class bike, but internal balancing became fundamentally off which explains why the 350's had a different feel than a 250's. Build up a 250 and enjoy !
the 250 was a 2-stroke?
Must get my Harry Barlow tuned 250 back on road
Is that an Imperial or Metric speedometer?
KingKiavash , it's MPH. I've seen around 105 for a top speed.... bike is basically stock
itsWOAR
Bought one over the weekend. I just need to rebuild the carbs. Cannot wait.
I hope you enjoy it! Where are you located?
Up in Canada. Not much left in the riding season for us, but it will be a blast next year.
same here living in upstate NY... the seasons almost over. have a blast with the 400...I like them so much I have two.
shows how technology has gone with lighter components higher rpms compression more accurate fuelling etc because the modern day 4 stroke 250s would probably be on par with that 400.
Forget the 400.
The RD's were shaming the 750's in the twisties back in the day.
beautiful must sell my BSA to restore my kawi samurai and rd 250
The Honda CB 400F is a classic, and classics are not about racing. It has style instead of speed and a sound from heaven. Just enjoy The Honda instead of racing.
Ya your right but I got 120 mph out of mine and it was a buzz. I wasn't driving the bike, the bike was driving me. Cafe.
that two stroke is not smoking whatsoever. how is that possible?
*****
my 250 doesnt smoke most of the time either, especially once its warmed up. modern oils like yamalube dont smoke as much as the cheaper oils used in smaller engines.
I'm sure you scared the crap of the driver in the Miata... lol
Great bit of video, that 12yrs on, was just served up to me today on Facebook ! Interesting though as I currently have a 400/4 and also a slightly older 250 Yamaha (DS6) and I've done a lot of miles on both of them recently (London to Morocco and back on the Yamaha for example). Both are absolutely std spec. The Yamaha is a nicer bike to ride but nothing like as quick as the Honda - I notice the RD in the clip had a set of pipes that may have given it a few more bhp. You really have to rev the 'nuts' off the Honda to get anywhere on it though. Ride it to mid range / mid throttle and it feels more like a 125 than a 400.
Sprocket Specialists makes a 520 chain and sprocket conversion kit and 1 tooth smaller in the front really makes these 400's move better. Best performance upgrade for the money
@@itsWOAR Have to look up sprocket specialists, but agree 520 is the best chain size for these bikes. Hard (= close to impossible) to find that size for the Yamaha in the UK though. No O rings on the chain as well. Lot of drag from those.
Yes, a straight rate chain is absolutely necessary. No need to slow these bikes down any with an o-ring chain. The 520 conversion allowed me to pull the ton almost any time I'm on it.
... And I've seen an indicated 108 mph. once.
:)
Yammies Kawas suzies 2 strokers left those Honda slugs for dead in a cloud of blue smoke !! - used to wave my mate goodbye on his 400 4 on my kh250 - fast as fuck
Gotta 1977 cb 4004 Cafe. When she's good'she's good but when she's bad she's bad. Got 120 mph out of her ONCE and other days top you'll get 105 mph. The thing is it has to be a cold day, with little or no wind. Don't be over 5 ft 10 incs and be around 12 and a half stone in weight, or less..... you got all off the above and a good tuned bike....You won't be driving the bike the bike be driving you. Warm her up for about 14 miles at 70 mph and then wined her back slowly, then hold on because its scary as fuck especially with the old shocks but she wants too go. Happened once 6 years ago. Shitty thing about it was i literally ran out of motorway.
I want an oldschool CB400F just for its sound!! I have a '78 CB400 (2 cyl) NOTHING like this....
Yam 2 strokes kicked Honda's ass every time!!!!
oh and by the way my 400 was probably the best handling bike I rode and would cruise quite happily at 90 2 up and loaded with all my camping gear and was good on juice you can't say that about the rattling two stroke which by the way fucked there little ends all the time
The guy on the 400 didn't get into top gear...running in fourth or fifth, check the tacho...what's wrong with him? I had a '76 400four supersport, and it would scream along in top gear...
Look at 2.38 changes to 6th
I’m going to ride a 400 four across America ;)
Stock? I'd add an oil cooler at the least.
I watched the mileage because I can't watch it when I'm riding.
Respond to this video... ...oh and thanks for the compliments.
RD400E, Rocket ship!
Wide Open Asphalt Racing
Misread... Swear you said you had a 350.. Sorry.. But still would be a good race to see... Statistics on paper don't always show on a track ;)
They are sick... but again.. its a 125 and people go abit over-the-top with the speed of them.. "OMG they will do 184MPH up a hill into a headwind"... I would say... A Mito would lose to a RD250.
If nothing else, it sounds fast lol..
2:35 mine does this
2:38 - 2:39 run out of gears???? lol