2015 Yamaha SR400 Confirmed for US Market

Looking around at the new motorcycles that have been introduced since- oh, let’s say 2012- 2012, you could be forgiven for thinking you’d woken up in the latter half of Jimmy Carter’s malaise era. There’s been a renaissance of “small” displacement bikes returning to prominence, from the high mileage Suzuki TU250X to a new Honda CB500and more sporting GoldWing power cruiser. If you’re a two wheeled enthusiast coming out of a coma that started in the early days of the Reagan Revolution, you’d be forgiven for thinking you hadn’t missed much- and that’ll be especially true at Yamaha dealers next year, when the company’s classic, 400 cc UJM returns.

Offered in the US between 1975 and 1981, Yamaha sold an SR500 model that was so similar to the new for 2015 Yamaha SR400 model that I thought, at first glance, that it was the same bike. This is, I think, a solid move. Today, as then, the economy sucks. Young people can’t find good jobs, they’re not buying homes in the suburbs like their parents did, etc. They need reliable, inexpensive transportation that gets great mileage.

Also, they’d like said transportation to not suck.

So, here we are. The 2015 Yamaha SR400 promises to be reliable. At $5990, it’ll be inexpensive enough that its payment should be on par with a mobile data plan. It gets 66 MPG, and shouldn’t require much in the way of maintenance. Finally, with a relatively low 383 lb. weight and torquey, single-cylinder engine …

2015 Yamaha SR400 Specs.

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Engine Type	399cc, air-cooled SOHC, 2-valve
Bore x Stroke	97.0mm x 62.7mm
Compression Ratio	8.5:1
Fuel Delivery	Fuel Injection
Ignition	Transistor Controlled Ignition
Transmission	5 speed; multiplate wet clutch
Final Drive	Chain
Suspension/Front	Telescopic; 5.9-in travel
Suspension/Rear	Swingarm; 4.1-in travel
Brake/Front	Hydraulic disc; 268mm
Brake/Rear	150mm drum
Tire/Front	90/100-18M/C 54S
Tire/Rear	110/90-18M/C 61S
L x W x H	82.1 x 29.5 x 43.1 in
Seat Height	30.9 in
Wheelbase	55.5 in
Rake (Caster Angle)	27º
Trail	4.4 in
Fuel Capacity	3.2 gal
*Est. Fuel Economy	66.2 MPG
**Wet Weight	384 lb

… the little Yamaha should have no problem not sucking. The fact that it looks like a classic bike already, and packs a full Yamaha warranty is just icing on a very attractive cake as far as I’m concerned.

What do you think of the bike? You can check out a few more pictures of the upcoming 2015 Yamaha SR400, here, and let us know what you think of the bike in the comments section at the bottom of the page. Enjoy!

Source | Photos: Yamaha, via CycleNews and SwipeLife.