Choice of machine???

[TrickyMicky]

Greetings troops, am in a bit of a quandary.  I have happily been riding a Honda CB400F for the last 35 years, which means I am just about getting the hang of it. Just over a year ago I changed course completely and bought a GB250 Clubman. What a revelation, nimble, light, and compared with the 400 it went round corners a treat. It will be even better when the steering head bearings are renewed!. I rather liked the feel of the single pot, and got a hankering for something with a bigger "bang", so 3 months ago an XBR500 joined the stable. Have had a few ride outs on it, and I hate to say this, but I cannot feel comfortable with it.  The weight is slightly under that of the CB400, yet I find it awkward even to manhandle around the garage, so, I have a buyer for it. The main point of this diatribe being that I rather like the look of the GB400 Clubman, there are a few for sale in UK, but they are not cheap, and I was hoping that someone could advise as to whether the feel and handling is more akin to the GB250 or the XBR500. To look at, they give the appearance of being an enlarged GB250, certainly more elegant than the XBR. If anyone has experience of riding these models, I would love to hear your views.  Thanks in advance people. Mike.

[Steve Lake]

Hi Mick, welcome to the madhouse. i don't ride a GB400 TT/clubman, there are several guys on here who do, and think quite highly of them, and i believe spares are readily available, and plenty of expertise in the ThumperClub.
the only reason that i've not had a GB is that i stumbled across a yamaha srx6 many moons ago and stuck with that marque on a better the devil you know principle. here's a pic of the bike you are thinking about, taken last friday at a local bike meet. not standard, few are these days, but it's a pretty bike.
good luck with your search, whatever thumper you get you'll find plenty of help & info here at the TC.

[iansoady]

I quite fancied a GB / TT or indeed the SR400 but as you say they're not cheap. I ended up with an XBR which is essentially a sister under the skin but have extensively remodelled it with a CX tank, raised bars etc. I have created a thread on this forum detailing the work I did and you can see how it now looks here:



I don't think you'll find any of the bikes you're considering significantly lighter than the XBR but I think a lot of the perceived bulk of the XBR is that huge tank which from my point of view is a bit of a monster.

[Moto63]

Hi Mike, Yes the GB400/500 are both basically XBR’s with prettier clothes on (debatably 🤔) Still essentially the same bike though. The thing to remember is that when the xbr was released back in the 80’s it was pitched as “Brit bike” replacement. “More reliability etc, etc” What Honda did was to give it 18inch rims and nice a sensible rake and trail figures, the idea being that it would handle similar to a “Brit bike” Possibly that’s why you’re struggling to gel with it a bit. I would imagine that both your cb400 and your GB250 will have slightly more “sporty” rake and trail figures.
The xbr is a great handling bike, if a tad slow (handling by todays standards) so long as everything is set up correctly, head bearings, tyres and so on.  In my personal opinion (for what it’s worth 🤦) tyres make a big difference, I rate Avon road riders, I rode mine pretty briskly, most of the time. Hope this helps 👍
Cheers, Michael