Doing the ton on an XS400R Seca.

Since I work from home, I think I'm the only guy out at 7:30am on a Thursday morning in Houston for a pleasure ride. I'm on the HOV just for the fun of it.

Anyway, I'm riding outbound on 290 this morning, and I get behind a construction truck dropping baseball sized mud balls at 65 MPH, which is a lot of not good. I try to fall back and change lanes, but this guy is spewing mud and rocks all over.

Screw it.

I drop down to 5th gear, and gun it. Run to the redline, and grab sixth, pretty much laying flat on the tank. I pass the truck, and there's a quarter mile of highway between me and the next cars, everyone is piled up behind this truck. I keep the hammer down and roll with it. In a few moments, I glance down at the speedo - which is buried beyond the 85MPH marking. I glance at the tach, and I'm pushing past 9500 RPM, and in a few moments, I hit 10k. I let off the gas, and sit up to let the wind slow me down.

Mathematically, 10k in 6th on the XS400R Seca is right about 102 MPH. Not bad for a 28 year old 400CC bike with 185lbs of me on it!

 

What's cool is the 28 year old bike that can still pull redline in top gear.

(My 550s will too.)

 

If you can stand it These twins make a horrible sound past about 8500


I want a 6th gear...... maybe if that guy with the no papers seca 400 keeps dropping his price ................. swap the engine over and whatever else looks good