Modern Buddy

Royal Enfield has the G400c BEAT.

Dooglas wrote:Royal Enfield North America launches the Enfield Twin.

https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/ ... ZYFKJEfg==

Yes! $5799 and you're in! Time to start saving those pennies...

That's a great price. I looked at 2 prototypes or models at a motorcycle show last winter & they're very classy looking. Motorcycle Consumer News magazine bashed them for not being cutting edge sport bikes. They weren't meant to be & they're not $13K bikes. Torquey, nimble, low-maintenance bikes that look way more expensive than they are. The rated 47 HP is what British twins made for decades & no one called them slow.

My dream bike, a 2017\18 Triumph Scrambler makes only 54 HP from 900cc and I'm perfectly fine with that.

babblefish wrote:My dream bike, a 2017\18 Triumph Scrambler makes only 54 HP from 900cc and I'm perfectly fine with that.

Amen. I'm definitely getting to the age where I'm thinking, "Gee, if I only had 30 more HP, I could run up on that decreasing-radius curve faster than my reflexes could respond to keep me from killing myself!" A few HP less and Valentino Rossi will overtake me on the outside in the same curve and I'll lift my hand from the bar to give him the thumbs up and a grin as he flashes past. Such is life in the survival lane...

Just to make it official on Modern Buddy, I'm pleased to say that EPA have published the October update to the On-Highway Motorcycle Certification database and the G400C is, in fact, on the list. Thank dog! There's a lot of very technical data in that database, but I've created a little synopsis for the G400C below:

Model Year - 2019
Engine Family -KGSCC.397GFH
Manufacturer Name - Genuine Scooters, LLC
Engine OEM Manufacturer - Chongqing Shineray Motorcycle Co., Ltd.
Engine OEM Country - China
Vehicle OEM Manufacturer - Chongqing Shineray Motorcycle Co., Ltd
Vehicle OEM Country - China
Application Type - COR
Sales Area - 50S+49S
Combustion Cycle - 4
No. of Cylinders - 1
Valve per Cylinder - 4
Fuel Type - GAS
Engine Displacment(s) - 397
Fuel System Type - TBI
Air/Fuel Feedback Sensor? - Y
Catalyst Type - Three Way Catalyst (TWC), single-bed, closed-loop warm up
Models Certified - G400C, G400CR, G400R, G400S, XY400-C
EDV Type - NEW
EDV Model - G400C
EDV VIN - LXYS3PDE3H0266220
EDV Engine Code - 185YMQ
EDV Engine Displacement - cc - 397
EDV Rated Power - 19.5
Power Units - kW
EDV EIM - 260
EDV Rated RPM - 7000
EDV Road Load Force (N) - 127.
EDV Transmission Type - M
EDV Transmission - No. Speeds - 5
EDV N/V Ratio - 53.8

Jawa is preparing to launch a new 293cc engine.
It is a 4 stroke single, but it is styled on the outside to look like a vintage 2 stroke twin. Pretty cool. Pics and story at the link.
http://www.motorcycle.com/mini-features ... ollow.html

wheelbender6 wrote:Jawa is preparing to launch a new 293cc engine.
It is a 4 stroke single, but it is styled on the outside to look like a vintage 2 stroke twin. Pretty cool. Pics and story at the link.
http://www.motorcycle.com/mini-features ... ollow.html

i'll be interested to see what they put it in...my buddy had a jawa moped back when we were in high school...his ran the best out of our riding group...i had an indian which was a hunk of garbage and sounded like a loud lawnmower

https://www.facebook.com/genuinescooter ... 585423540/

Thoughts?

I'm so happy to see the bikes finally land. Something that's worrying me is whether the tariffs on Chinese products will apply to these vehicles. Does anybody actually know anything definitive about this? There's no doubt that these are Chinese-made. The tariffs could drive the price of these bikes through the roof.

(I worry about stuff like this a lot, its true...)

Stanza wrote:https://www.facebook.com/genuinescooter ... 585423540/

Thoughts?

My thought is that they should have cut the first few seconds and the last few seconds of the video and run it at double speed, but what do I know?

Seriously, I'm just happy to see any video of the bike, even a badly-edited drone shot.

jrsjr wrote:I'm so happy to see the bikes finally land. Something that's worrying me is whether the tariffs on Chinese products will apply to these vehicles. Does anybody actually know anything definitive about this? There's no doubt that these are Chinese-made. The tariffs could drive the price of these bikes through the roof.

(I worry about stuff like this a lot, its true...)

A tariff would only apply to ones that aren't imported yet - not any current inventory in the US. This is good so the dealers don't get screwed.

I just talked to Barry at SF Scooter Center and he's expecting his first delivery of the G400C in the middle of November. He confirmed that there will be four versions but he'll be only getting the basic one in the beginning. He says there are hop up parts available but he won't be stocking them because of California's draconian emissions laws. Pictures and information should be up on their website in the next few days.

I queried Genuine on their Facebook page about the MSRP and got this response:

Stanza wrote:https://www.facebook.com/genuinescooter ... 585423540/

Thoughts?

I like that green and white color combo! And who wouldn't like that MSRP.

Home page!

http://www.genuinescooters.com/

Stanza wrote:Home page!

http://www.genuinescooters.com/

Yay!

this bike seems to have it's classic styled competition beat on paper...can't wait to hear what it rides like...i feel like these small cc bikes are great choices for fun around town and short highway rides being light and maneuverable...they are a small step up from a <150cc scooter in the case that they can handle some highway...but a step down from a do it all motorcycle...i had a few motorcycles in that former category...a 00 yamaha tw200 fun and light for local roads and light trails...a 08 husqvarna sm510r also fun and light for local roads and light trails...these bikes put an ear to ear smile on my face every time i got on them...my 10 triumph bonneville se was a good all around bike that could do highway but it wasn't really enjoyable on the highway and around town it was almost too much engine to be fun even though it handled great, its center of gravity was low and it could move...i considered it a mediocre do it all bike since it could do it but it didn't do any of it well...like the vanilla ice cream of motorcycles...it's more fun to ride a slow bike fast than a fast bike slow...the 400c seems like it will be a good bike for people just looking to have a little fun around town or a first bike for a beginner rider...an intermediate step between a scooter and a real highway capable motorcycle...but i feel that if you only ride around town the 400c would be redundant to a >100cc scooter since they can both get the job done

Okay point37 has a point, so here is a bike that I propose is the answer to all those objections. Meet the Kawasaki W800 Cafe. Coming to USA dealers soon.

jrsjr wrote:Okay point37 has a point, so here is a bike that I propose is the answer to all those objections. Meet the Kawasaki W800 Cafe. Coming to USA dealers soon.

def a nice looking motorcycle...i am guessing that is going to be in the same category as the bonneville i had as far as purpose...will be able to do local roads and some light highway riding but i feel it will be a boring ride and not particularly comfortable for longer highway rides especially with those handlebars...the thing about motorcycles is there isn't one that is a swiss army knife of motorcycles...that's why people have multiples, just like some people have multiple scooters on here...you need to find the bike that will suit your needs best...i'd like a bike that is light, powerful, fun and nimble with full handlebars (not clip ons) and an upright seating position for comfort but i want it to be able to cruise on the highway comfortably at 70-80 mph and have some extra get up and go as well as not get tossed around by the wind for a 43 mile one way commute...that bike doesn't exist for me right now i don't think...that description pertains to 2 bikes not one...at some point i will return to my quest to find that perfect motorcycle for my needs that is fun/exciting to ride around town that will be able to handle the highway and be comfortable...i have a feeling that quest will never end but who knows with the introduction of electric motorcycles...instant power is very appealing but range and recharging isn't

That Kawi is beautiful. Any idea of how much it's going to be?

$9,799. Surprised they brought that back. Didn't sell first time around but retro is popular now. The first W800 didn't have the fairing & low bars.

New2Scoots wrote:$9,799. Surprised they brought that back. Didn't sell first time around but retro is popular now. The first W800 didn't have the fairing & low bars.

I appreciate your effort to be helpful, but what you said is factually incorrect. The bike that Kawasaki brought in to the USA in 2000-2001 was a 650, the W650. This is an 800, the W800.

Also, the USA motorcycle market has changed significantly since 2000/2001. Kawasaki had some success with the retro-styled Z900RS last year and it makes sense, given the current interest in retro motorcycles, that they would try the W800 as a follow-up. Further bolstering the business case, Kawa did not incur significant development cost on this product because they had been selling this bike in other markets for years.

Genuine added the G400C accessories to the bottom of the Accessories page. they also posted a pic on the G400C page that shows a fully-accessorized G400C with a price of $5134.92.

About 2 grand less than a Yami SR400 and you don't have to kick start it.

wheelbender6 wrote:About 2 grand less than a Yami SR400 and you don't have to kick start it.

I know, right? I still can't imagine what the bosses at Yamaha were thinking when they made that decision...

I thought they offered an "optional" electric starter for the SR400? I remember kick starting my Buddy 125 when the battery was dead and I hated that! A 125cc kicking my foots butt!

sc00ter wrote:I thought they offered an "optional" electric starter for the SR400?

Nope. Not to my knowledge. Yamaha actually promotes the kick start as a "feature".

Yesterday the G400C started looking even better to me. It's about 130 pounds lighter than my motorcycle which fell off the stand yesterday. I was installing lowering links because the center of gravity is so high. I can't flat foot with the wider gel seat which is WAY more comfortable. I fought it maybe 2 hours & had to pay for help getting it upright on the stand again. So, I'm now looking at 3 bikes: Genuine G400C, Honda CB300 & Kawasaki Z400. All between $4,599 & $4,799. I find the Genuine the most interesting. The most fun bike I ever owned was an air-cooled, 400cc single. 1981 Suzuki GN400. If I drop a 360 pound bike hundreds of miles from home I'm not stranded. A 490 pound bike, stranded.

New2Scoots wrote:Yesterday the G400C started looking even better to me. It's about 130 pounds lighter than my motorcycle which fell off the stand yesterday. I was installing lowering links because the center of gravity is so high. I can't flat foot with the wider gel seat which is WAY more comfortable. I fought it maybe 2 hours & had to pay for help getting it upright on the stand again. So, I'm now looking at 3 bikes: Genuine G400C, Honda CB300 & Kawasaki Z400. All between $4,599 & $4,799. I find the Genuine the most interesting. The most fun bike I ever owned was an air-cooled, 400cc single. 1981 Suzuki GN400. If I drop a 360 pound bike hundreds of miles from home I'm not stranded. A 490 pound bike, stranded.

It definitely sounds like the right bike for you. I'm weighing the whole thing in my mind right now. G400C. RE INT 650. Kawasaki W800. Options! Who knew?

jrsjr wrote:I'm weighing the whole thing in my mind right now. G400C. RE INT 650. Kawasaki W800. Options! Who knew?

I'm just sticking with the CTX and Buddy until it's Goldwing time

skully93 wrote:I'm just sticking with the CTX and Buddy until it's Goldwing time

Hahaha! I know, right? The thing is, I've been through the whole cycle. I had a Valkyrie, which is essentially a Goldwing, in the 1990s and then I did a giant reset with a Vespa P200e and now I'm going through the cycle again moving up to a mid-range bike...

Genuine just posted on Facebook that the MSRP has been lowered to $3999.

That helps. We will see how much in the sales figures.

Here is the Rat Patrol version from Mash.
https://advrider.com/mash-desert-force- ... mechanics/

Here is the Cleveland Cycleworks Ace 400. Looks familiar. I can't find pricing or specs yet. Its a looker.
https://clevelandcyclewerks.com/ace-400

Wow! The Ace 400 looks amazing. Looks just like a Triumph Truxton. I'd like some of that!

Kawasaki has introduced the W400 in Japan.
It is said to be a W650 with a smaller bore, so power to weight ratio may not be so good. It sure looks good to me.

https://japan.webike.net/KAWASAKI/W400/973/m-spec/