I must admit I was a bit nervous at the start of our 8-day adventure around Atlas mountains and deserts of Morocco. I hadn't been off-road for several years and even then it had been on undemanding trails, on a smaller and lighter 2-stroke trailbike (MTX200). How would the brand new XR400 handle the next 8 days of riding over terrain which varied from tarmac road, through rocky mountain passes and onto the sand dunes of the Moroccan desert?

Our group of six riders were riding XR400s and we varied in experience from the relatively cautious through to the skilled motocross rider. A guide on a Honda XR650 and a driver in a Landrover back-up vehicle supported us throughout the 1500km trip. We were using european XR400s with desert tyres, large sump guards and lever guards. The baffles had also been removed which releases a few more horsepower. The additional noise this causes isn't excessive and didn't seem to bother the local police in the slightest.

The engine which powers the XR400 is Honda's familiar RFVC air-cooled motor, which has been around in various guises for about 20 years powering bikes from the early XL250 to the more recent NX650 Dominator. Due to the weight requirements of an enduro bike, the XR400 is kick-start only. Once you have mastered the full choke / no throttle starting procedure the XR400 will start most times after a couple of kicks. I was surprised at how easy it was to kick the engine over and only resorted to the decompression lever if the engine was flooded. The seat height on the XR400 is tall by any standard so some riders resorted to bump starting, using their left leg and even kicking the bike over whilst it was still on the side stand.

We spent the first morning of our trip familiarising ourselves with the bikes on twisty, well- surfaced mountain roads. Unlike a more road-orientated trailbike, the XR400 isn't ideal for this sort of road, the combination of off-road tyres and soft suspension resulted in vague handling through the corners. The engine isn't suited to road use either, displaying an unpleasant roughness at higher revs. However the brakes and controls were well up to the task along with the seat, which was still comfortable after 100kms.

It wasn't until we turned off-road, into the mountain passes of the High Atlas, that the XR400 showed it's true colours. With masses of low down grunt, quick steering and forgiving suspension the bike inspired confidence on steep rock strewn tracks and won't stall even on the steepest slope. There were a few tight situations where a lighter and smaller bike would have been better, but you can't expect a bike to do everything! The power delivery allowed you to make poor gear selections. A 2-stroke would have been less forgiving, probably bogging down or stalling, the last thing you need with 100 metre drop-offs. Unfortunately overconfidence, misjudgement and a poor headlight combined to allow me test another aspect of the XR400 - it's strength in a crash. Riding at night down one of Morocco's most spectacular attractions, the Todra Gorge near Tinerhir, I misread the track and crashed the XR, going over the handlebars as the bike plunged off-road. I was fortunate to only sprained my wrist and get a dead leg and to my amazement the XR only smashed its front headlight - these are very tough bikes. Others weren't so lucky and there were two more serious crashes during the tour, one requiring hospital treatment. I won't go into details but this sort of tour shouldn't be considered by novices or without the backup of a skilled guide and a support vehicle - Morocco simply doesn't have the emergency services that we take for granted in Europe.

I spent the next couple of days in the Landrover, taking in the spectacular views at a more leisurely pace, whilst we headed from Tinerhir to Erfoud and the desert and sand dunes near the Algerian border. I got back on the bike once we reached the desert and once again the XR400 performed brilliantly, it's power ideally suited to both the hard packed surface of the desert and the heavier going sand dunes. Our guide made short work of the sand dunes on his XR650 which appeared to be an ideal desert bike where it's extra weight wasn't so important (it's noticeably heavier than the 400 despite Honda's claims). The desert (between Erfoud and Zagora) was undoubtedly the highlight of the holiday and a line XRs racing, flat-out (120kph) across the desert for about 30kms was fantastic fun. From Zagora we headed through the palmeries of the Draa Valley and back over the Atlas mountains with amazing views all the way. Morocco is a fantastic destination with stunning scenery and friendly people. Well worth a visit even if it's not from the seat of an XR400.

XR400 - how good is it?

The XR400s proved reliable throughout the holiday, without a single breakdown and were easy to maintain. Surprisingly we only had a couple of punctures on the whole trip and each bike wore out at least one set of tyres.

Pros - Tough, reliable, punchy low down power, build quality, good for open and steep trails.

Cons - Starting, seat height, handling on-road or on tight trails, weight, rough top end power.

Would I buy one? No, I'd probably go for a DR400 or a WR400 if I was looking for a dirt bike, or an XT225 serow for general trial riding. But if you're after a robust enduro bike that spends most of its time off-road then the XR400 may be worth considering.

Morocco

There are several European based companies, which can arrange on road or off-road tours of Morocco (I used Motoaventures of Andorra). It's also quite common for Europeans to also take they're own bikes down to Morocco via the Tangier ferry, we saw several big BMWs en-route. I visited Marrakech and Casablanca on the way back and would suggest you avoid Casablanca, it's not worth a visit. If you take your own bike make sure you've at least got some basic spares and can change a tyre - there aren't many bike shops in the Atlas and any local bikes tend to be mopeds. There are some superb hotels even in some out of the way places (3 stars cost about £20-£30, 4 stars about £40, more in Marrakech). I flew Sabena from Edinburgh to Casablanca via Brussels for under £300. The Lonely Planet guide for Morocco was a useful guide. Alcohol is available in most big hotels, although there isn't much western style nightlife.

Thanks to Les, Mike, Brent, Russ, Neil, John, Sue, John and Stuart for a memorable holiday.