Can the 400ex?

[honda29325]

Can the 400ex still compete on the motocross track with all of the new 450s or is it out of date?

[Pipeless416]

Originally posted by honda29325
Can the 400ex still compete on the motocross track with all of the new 450s or is it out of date?

a 300ex can compete with 450s on the track with the right rider. say.. doug gust or john natalie was on the 300, and martha stewart was on the 450.. which will win? there are a ton of old threads on this and most will tell you that with the right engine and suspension mods combined with the right rider, they are still competitive at the local level.

[ohsobad_chevy]

Originally posted by Pipeless416
..... say.. doug gust or john natalie was on the 300, and martha stewart was on the 450.. which will win? .

I would pay money to see that. :p

[ingleful]

yeah a 400 will compete with the 450s...i did it all last year on mine and i won a bunch of times agianst 450s...its pretty much alll the rider

[dariusld]

A good question would be " how much better would my lap times be on a 450?"

[hendershot106]

- ITS ALL IN HOW MUCH U PRACTICE AND RIDE AND ARE USED TO YOUR BIKE WITH A DECENT AMOUNT OF POWER AND A WELL ADJUSTED SUSPENSION----- I WAS KEEPING UP WITH FULLY BUILT 450'S LAST WEEKEND ON MY 400EX !!!!!! (MY 450 is down of course)---- its stock and my laptimes were within a second of the guys on 450's---

[XtremelyCrazy]

The EX is a woods machine - I'd dare say that with a few mods its better than the 450's at XC..

On a big and wide open MX track with riders of equal talent, the 450's are gonna eat it up.

On a small, tight track, the EX can prolly compete.

[muddy400EX]

i would say it can but by the time you buy all the hop ups to get it there you could have bought a lightly modded 450

[ingleful]

i would be able to get around them on the turns and stuff but when we got on a straight away they would blow past me:(

[Barrymaxx]

Its all rider. When I went ot the track, I was on my old blaster. and I was keeping up with 450's in the tight sections.

The straitaways are a difrent story....

[moorhous]

if you are going to be racing why get a 400? when you can get a 450?

[ingleful]

true

[honda29325]

what if I were to put in a Stroker Kit with 460cc would that be worth it

[KingpinsEx]

Yes as mentioned above the 400 can compete, however it is much harder...The 450s have a ton of power and liquid cooling, it mainly is the rider that will make the difference. I have a buddy who has bought the newest thing out all the time, started with the 400, got a 450, now he has a raptor 700 and i have never had a problem keeping up with him.

Of course he is not a racer so i destroy him on the mx track, but we stay together good in the woods as well. With a few mods, mainly suspension and a little motor tuning the ex can be very competetive in a wide area of riding.

Why not buy a 450? Because it's a buyers market right now for ex, you can pick them up for like 2000-2500 and thats a decent one. So compared to like 6,500 (new 450) that is 4k you would be saving and you can make a 400 more than competitive with that kind of dough. Espically compared to a stock 450, however you can also pick up used 450s pretty reasonably now too...just somethig to consider.

[XtremelyCrazy]

Originally posted by KingpinsEx


Why not buy a 450? Because it's a buyers market right now for ex, you can pick them up for like 2000-2500 and thats a decent one. So compared to like 6,500 (new 450) that is 4k you would be saving and you can make a 400 more than competitive with that kind of dough.


This is a good point.

You can get a decent EX for $2500, and have FOUR GRAND left for serious suspension, and motor mods.

The same $6500 is gonna get you a stock 450R.