Sanglas 400 Y 1982 — Specifications

In 1982, as the European market was flooded with high-performing and reliable Japanese motorcycles, Sanglas still offered its 400 Y twin. One must imagine the context: a post-Franco Spain where the local motorcycle industry was trying to resist, with means from another age. This 400 cm3 machine was something of a last bastion of a Barcelona manufacturer that would close its doors three years later. It had nothing of a sharp sportbike, but carried within it the DNA of a bygone era, that of solid and simple roadsters.

Its air-cooled twin engine of 392 cm3 summarizes this philosophy. With a generous bore of 69 mm for a short stroke of 52.4 mm, it aimed more for suppleness than stratospheric revs. The 27 horsepower at 7100 rpm is not misleading: it is an engine that prefers to purr between 3000 and 5000 rpm. A compression ratio of 9.2:1 allowed it to digest the poorest quality gasoline without complaint, a significant argument at the time. The six-speed gearbox, quite rare on this type of machine, was its only real concession to modernity, offering an appreciable lever length to exploit this modest power.

With its advertised 177 kg fully fueled and its tires in 3.25 and 3.50-18 sizes, the 400 Y displayed a classic touring profile. The braking system, a mix of front disc and rear drum, was sufficient to control very restrained performance, with a top speed peaking around 140 km/h. Its 18-liter tank, on the other hand, betrayed ambitions of old-fashioned grand touring, promising comfortable autonomy for entire days of riding. It was far from the nervousness of a Honda CB 400 Super Dream, lighter and more agile, and even more so a BMW R 45 which already displayed a different level of finish.

Today, this Sanglas 400 Y is no longer judged by its technical shortcomings. It interests the industrial history enthusiast, the collector of disappeared brands, or those seeking a motorcycle with a calm and predictable character. It is an honest, unassuming machine that almost closed nearly sixty years of motorcycle construction in Catalonia. Riding it is to understand a certain idea of quiet resistance, against the Japanese juggernaut. A rolling testimony, more than a war machine.