HONDA BROS 400 (1988 - 1992) Review

The ride is a strange position but loveable. you have the same sit up and beg style you’d find on a 70s retro classic or commuter yet your leg position is well crooked to push your bottom towards the rear of the seat that gives the impression your sat on something much much more sportier. All on a bike that I find to have very similar frame characteristics of an nsr125 which takes me back to my teenage self and having the fastest learner bike on the block. The handling is a tad lazy but very frugal and will put a smile on your face with a good set of tyres, even though it’s completely unadjustable and does feel very cheap and soft on low speed manoeuvres.

This little 400 will fool you into thinking it’s something much more, it has torque and it loves to show it off. It’s very much like the bike equivalent to todays highly desired German diesel hatchbacks. It will run out of puff higher up and no, your not going to break any land speed records with it, it’s not a fire breathing race machine either but for the occasional blip off a roundabout or b-road thrashing it is more than enough to make you smile and think “this is the little bike that can”. As much as the little engine is charismatic and punchy, the gearbox is clunky and lumpy, it has a considerable number or neutrals that both appear about as often as fuel going below £1.40 per litre. And it does sound like a cruiser if the baffles are pulled, I preferred it personally with the baffles in because it had almost a baby Ducati tone when strangled. thoes two items are my only complaints. Which is impressive for what one of these lovely capable machines cost.

Please see the previous write up before making any judgement on this. Yes it’s left me stranded in the past. Every single time it’s been carb issues, mainly the main jet getting blocked with fuel tank crud. I don’t blame it conking out and it has always gotten me home eventually. Other than that it’s been incredible, utterly faultless. It feels sturdy and well made. The elf single swing arm is maybe not so light and refined as it’s racing inspiration would suggest. But it is really and exceptional bit of kit.

There’s a hidden curse with these motorcycles, it really is exceptionally good on fuel, around town or on the motorway. But that is a double edged sword because it doesn’t hold a great deal of fuel whilst not having a fuel gauge and will have you reaching for the reserve normally before 100 miles and if it’s anything like mine you do not want to go anywhere near the reserve or the next thing that’ll happen is suddenly stopping once you do get fuel and the bowls of the carb looking like they wouldn’t be out of place at a mudlarking convention, So what helps keep the bike very light, is also the greatest hinderance. The plugs are a nightmare to change, your knuckles will beg for mercy oh and did I mention there’s FOUR across TWO cylinders? The air box is rubbish made from the same grade of plastic that your ub-40 cd came in, the choke cables like to ruin your life too so I used some keihin Harley Davidson blanks, starts fine at all temps, the set screws arnt the worst to get too either. Most other jobs can be tackled by a competent DIY mechanic just please please please do not adjust the swing arm chain adjuster with a chisel. Just buy a fairly generic coil over adjusting spanner and turn it to the required tension with the rider sat on the bike. Iv seen full grown men reduced to tears due to chiselled off teeth on the adjuster.

Okay for equipment I’m going to say bare minimum is praise here, this bike has nothing, the clocks show you speed and rpm which the rpm is generally at least 200 out, it has a red light that comes on when you exceed 65mph and you have your standard array of colourful yet informative dash lights, that is it. By god I really wish I had a fuel tank but I also wish it had adjustable suspension, both can be added with relative ease.

Slightly unusual seating - with a narrow fuel tank your knees are almost touching and for anyone over 6ft might be a bit too cramped. Can carry a pillion but it's not ideal for one. Brakes and suspension are okay but nothing special. Can do long distance but it is very lightweight and can swing around in the strong winds. More suitable for smaller journeys - especially A and B roads.

For a 400cc, this V-twin engine does its job well. It can accelerate quick enough to beat most cars but struggles with top-end speed. You'll really have to get it revving to get past 80 mph. For what you pay for, it's extremely worthwhile.

As expected from Honda, cannot fault the engine even with its age taken into account. Find one that's been cared for and kept dry and you shouldn't have any major problems with it.

Not much you can add to the bike. With its small street-fighter style handlebars there's no room to add anything and has only basic clocks with no fuel gauge. Would highly recommend adding a windscreen. Can be customised/modified with some time and effort.

it was what I was used to, so seemed good, until I upgraded to a Honda Varadero 1000xl tourer. So no comparison after that. great bike for short nippy journeys, I don't recommend it as a tourer, though it managed it fine if a little uncomfortable. great bike for around town.

seemed good to me

Exceptional quality, achieved far more than could honestly be expected from it. Having passed my test, no one told me it wasn't intended for covering miles on. So I got on it and rode, often on camping trips fully loaded but one up. I was on the third lap of the clock 273000k before anyone mentioned it was high mileage for a bike. At this point it was still running fine however the leather on the saddle was wearing through. I would go from Coventry to Aberdeen and back in a weekend ride out, or pop into London from Coventry for a night with friends.

200 miles from a tank approximately

minimal equipment. I did get a pannier frame for it from Givi and had a top box mounted. it has a nose fairing that is tiny. and provides minimal protection from the weather.

Low running cost, reliable

Styling

Ideally suited to just the rider. Pillion seat and handlebars are quite badly designed and uncomfortable to hold onto. I rarely take pillions so It doesn't affect me If serviced properly, the brakes are good and pretty reliable. General ride quality is good. The bike can adapt to most roads without issue. Fat rear tire increases grip.

V-Twin, Good torque, flexibility, and sounds nice. Has twin spark plugs for each cylinder. Very strong, unstressed and reliable engine. Not a super powerful engine by any means but the engine is one of the key things that makes the Honda Bros a reliable and dependable bike if you maintain it well.

Negatives are that the Bros has fuel pump failures for some of them. you can clean the points or replace this part (depending on the fault) with most genuine pumps from other bikes. My current fuel pump is off a Kawasaki ZXR400 and the pump works with no issues. Positive points are that the bike does not rust very easily as it is mostly aluminium and steel. Any corrosion I encountered was purely cosmetic. Aluminium can corrode lightly but no rot.

I spend about £60 on servicing it each year, £20 for 4 spark plugs, £40 for oils and coolants and other fluids. Fuel economy is about 51mpg which is ok for an old bike with carburettors. It consistently achieves this average fuel economy though. About 190km (118 miles) before reserve. Not wonderful, but I've seen worse.

For the 1990 model onward, the rear tyre size is not being produced anymore so my choice was limited to a set of bridge-stone BT45 tyres where the rear tyre was very slightly wider by about 5 or 10mm. It doesn't affect the speedometer as the speedo drive is on the front wheel of this bike. Not great for luggage. However, Ventura make a kit so a top box or panniers could be attached if necessary.

I can pull stoppies on it. A bit hard on a pillion but I re-foamed the seat to make a slightly thicker and wider perch and with a GIVI top box behind it's quite good. Has to have a good rear replacement shock.

A 650 would be nicer but for its size it is adequate in power. The sound is very nice

Quality is fantastic. However it's pushing 30 years old now so parts do wear out

If you do your own wrenching it doesn't take much to keep it going

It's a simple naked bike. I don't want more equipment! It looks so good