400ex vs 450r

[thumpinex]

i have a 03 400ex atm and i was wondering if i should get the 450r. i ride alot of woods and race a lil. i was wondering about the gearing being to high for trial riding(powerlines and stuff like that. all kinda lumpy). i wish there was a way for me to keep both but ima have to trade the 400 in for the 450 if its worth it. just making sure im not going to be disapointed. sorry if this was posted bf but i couldnt find one. THANX

i was in the same spot as you, except i had to sell my wifes 300ex and give her my 400ex to upgrade. i debated for a while..finally made the leap and bought the r and at first, i was a little disappointed. it takes a little different riding style than the 400ex, but it is ultimately better in the situations you described...that is the exact type of terrain i am riding in most of the time...enjoy the r...for the first week or so, you will think you made a mistake...then you will realize you made a good decision

[thumpinex]

hehe. thanx. i would be able to keep the 400 too but my gf cant shift at all :ermm: im think the same as u. was wondering what u thought of the kick start. i just dont want the dumb battery to go dead on me and have to pop start it. ive heard rumers that they have this problem lol.

the er is a little harder to start...there have been time that i wished i had gotten a kicker, but i am happy with the er. i upped the pilot to a 45 and it made it harder to start when hot...went back down to the stock 42 and put in much smaller leak jet. it seems to be easier to start...trach her to ride the clutch...it took me 5 minutes to get my wife going on the 300ex years ago. she can do it...just show her you have faith in her a that she can do it and be supportive...

[thumpinex]

ya the only thing is that she dosent understand that u have to listen to it get loud then shift lol......ill have to try again i hope she listens this time.....the first time wasnt even on a manual clutch lmao....she wont be able to ride for awhile tho bc im expecting my first child :D ...cant wait to have him/her out on the own lil quad and wanting to ride through every thing lol......ima def get it....im gonna tell her its up to her if we keep the 400 or if she wants to get a 300 later or maybe an automatic lol gonna leave it up to her..makes me feel better tho knowing that its a better quad even tho it will take time to ride perfect :)

i understand that...congrats on the little one coming...you will love being a daddy...i know i do...

[thumpinex]

hehe thanx. oh ya, is it a massive power difference over the 400 and why dose the kick start only come in one color lmao

wheni first got the r..i didn't think there was a massive difference in power...not like the difference between the 400ex and 300ex...but the more i ride the r, the stronger it gets. that is one of the reasons i thought i made a mistake at first. now i am loving the power as it seems to "grow"
not sure why honda went to only red for the kickers in the 07's...the white is awesome...i wish i would ahve waited and gottena white...oh well, i can have the good vs evil thing going between my two bikes witha white 400ex and a black 450r:D

[thumpinex]

hehe nice. i can always change it later if i want the red is ok tho. hehe just hoping that i love the bike. im told the shocks soak up soooooooooooo much more of the trail bumps an stuff :) that will make the bike worth it right there lol and i hear that there is a major top speed difference

there is a mjor top speed difference...i thought the shocks were a little stiff...they came into me though...i had to change a few settings...i had elka rec fronts on the ex and the gt-thunder rear link/revalve on the back of it...the r is clsoe to that now that the shocks have worked in a little and i have adjusted them...


my friend had a 250 r with worn out tcs shocks that were valved for a lighter rider than him(he wighs about 235 and the shocks were valved for someone around 285 or so) he loved that and when he got the 450r, he thought the suspension was way too stiff...he never got it where it didn't beat the crap out of him so he sent his shocks to derisi racing and they are 100x better...but i thought that was odd since mine don't feel stiff anymore and his atayed stiff...i weigh about 150...oh well, derisi will get my shocks eventually also

[thumpinex]

the 2 main ppl i ride with have a crf250f and a kxf 700 so top end will help me out some.......how did u break urs in i here stuff like ride for 15 min then let it cool off and others just say to ride it lite for bout 2 tanks thenu can hammer a lil bit on 1 tank then ur good to go