oil pump damage?

[exrider2001red]

some one told me the other day that the oil pump on a 400ex is located on the front of the motor and when you do wheelies you actually run the pump dry and it can lead to blowing your motor i just wanted to know if this is true and if youve ever heard of ne one blowing there motor this way

[troutman561]

Sounds interesting, I wheelie all the time, mine still runs...

[blown331]

I know this is absolutely true.

My father-in-law rides a severely modified XR650. He does wheelies for miles upon miles. The last time we pulled the motor apart you could clearly see the wear on the bearings from lack of oil during wheelies. When we sent the motor to XR's Only they asked how many hours of wheeling we did on that motor rather than just normal hours haha.

Needless to say, long wheelies over a long period of time will decrease engine life. However, it is not something that will ruin your engine in the short term. It will just give you a shortened overall lifespan

[clubert]

I thought the oil pump pulled from the oil tank, because it is a "dry sump" system.

["THE ShoP"]

the 400ex has one of the best oil systems for uphill travel(climbing hills wheelies etc.)i forget where i read it but if i find it i'll post it up..