hey, performance with reliability

[DieselSmoke5000]

howdy, first post here, have been reading for a long time. thanks for all the help i've received just through the reading.

i purchased a stock 2000 400ex this past november, and as you can see in my signiture i've added a few things.

i'm trying to make my machine last as long as i can, i do all my own maintaince and am a bit particular who i let ride, and am still overkill on my maintence.

as u can see in my sig i dont have very much performance stuff. now comes my time.

i'm on kind of a budget as of now and have around 250 dollars worth the stuff to toy with. as previously stated i want my machine to last as long as i can being that i'm 17 and cant afford to break much. currently i have a k&n filter, which i bought from a friend as a makeshift performance filter.

i've heard naughty things about them and am asking for your opinion. i just have a T4 slip on for an exhaust setup and am looking at headers. i'd really like your guy's experiences/opinions on headers. also considering doing a different intake setup.

i have a friend who runs a K&n powerlid, w/prefilter and UNI filter.
while this is a good setup i'm in debate being that we ride all over michigan and with that comes water. it seems okey but i'm unsure of it, also have been looking at EHS airbox setup but not exactly how sure how it works, any help would be appreciated.

Being that i only have a few performance/flow orientated mods done i have checked into putting a 450R carb onto my machine but at this point in time i'm not sure if i'd see any performance gains, due to the fact that no internal work is done yet, or ever for that matter besides maybe a port and polish. not sure if i want to spend the money at this time on somthing that wouldn't give me much more performance.. thanks for all your help in advanced, sorry for the long post.

Ride on..

[rescue6]

I would get the 450 R shocks next. As far as the header goes you dont really need that until you up the compression or displacement. Just run no lid with your current airfilter set up and a lid on when it is really wet

[rescue6]

By the way Welcome to the forum

[underpowered]

well first off congrats on gettin the 400. they are great bikes, and if treated well will last you forever.

i run a K&N, and as long as it is properly maintained it will give you no problems. clean and oil it regularly and it will be fine. as for the intake, i ride in wet condition and run no lid on my airbox with only an outerwears airbox cover, but have thought about making my own EHS style lid, great idea as it used the outerwears material but is held on with more than just velcro.

as for a header, Pro ciruit makes their own header, but many prefer the FMF powerbomb as it gives good gains and also quietens it down some as well.


a carb would give you a gain, but with on a stock motor a 450R carb would be to big. i would do other mods fist like cam, piston, before i got a carb, but you would still see a gain from the carb but it would be emphasized by other mods. a port would be good, but is also complimented well by a cam and piston. you could get a stock bore 11;1 piston and a cam off ebay for under your budget. that would be my pick, then do the carb and port later.

[DieselSmoke5000]

thanks guys, i'm not planning on doing a cam or higher comp piston. the reason being that i want to leave as much internal stock as possible. i'm not actually racing this bike other than some XC and tiny MX stuff. the thing is, that we ride a ton around here, and thats why i got the 400ex. i hade a Warrior bored .40 over, oversized valves, port polish, Stage 2 hotcams, no lid, and intake etc etc. and it was quick but having to adjust the valves every other ride, baking the oil due to temp, ( god i went through the oil) so on so fourth. it ran on par with my 400ex lol. i just want to not have to adjust the valves when we go up north and put 8-10 hours a day on the quads. my main thing is reliability, and i'm more than willing to pay for smaller performance parts. but i just dont know what to do next. i'm sure you all understand where i'm coming from.

as far as an intake goes, i will have a lid for fear of water. water is everywhere here in michigan plus i like keeping the bigger clumps of mud a stuff outta there. currently i have five holes in my lid with a K&N plus prefilter. it does okey but i'd like a different lid. dunno yet, still doing my research.

i was afraid of the carb due to the fact that i figured i'td fall on its face. but if it would help out a little i'm for it.

Ne idea on EHS or KN Powerlid?? experiences..

also thinking about gearing it up a little bit for some of our road running. currently i gps'd my self at 65 mph i'd like to be around 68-70 to run with the Z's... lol

i appreciate all the help and am glad to be part of this board.

Trev.

[underpowered]

well IMO if the work is done well, the internals will not hurt reliability.

My 426 has been together for well over 3 years now, and the only problems i have had were a few head gaskets in the begining, but after i put in HD studs no more problems. i would still advise a high comp and cam, but i do understand your hesitation in doing so. as for the oil, my 426 does not run much hotter than stock, but still does not bake the oil. if it is jetted correctly, it should run at a resonable temp.

[DieselSmoke5000]

i agree that doing it right helps, but i had a shop do it, knowing what i know now i wouldn't hesitate in doing it myself to an extent atleast the intall, but i had the valves cut special for flow and so on. i went through atleast 6 different kinds of oil, and i found it liked spectro semi synthetic, currently im running royal purpal in the EX. i messed with all sorts of jetting, called companys checked online, heck i forget what i ended up running that worked the best. lol. But for the time being i'm not planning on doing any high comp or bore overs... just debating on intake exhaust and so on.

my over all plans for the machine is full exhaust, intake setup, carb and a port and polish. so i dunno what all i'm gonna do. the machine itself is virtually in destructable but at the same time i need to be smart. thanks in advance for the help.

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e17/DieselSmoke5000/001_01.jpg

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http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e17/DieselSmoke5000/100_0401.jpg

[400exridin121]

For your gearing use a 16 tooth front sprocket they're usually no more than $15 shipped on ebay. It would take you up to 70 but you'd lose some acceleration. By the way welcome to the forums

[Wheelie]

Just a thought: Rather than installing a 16-T front sprocket and eliminating the case saver. Drop a tooth or two in the back--either a 36 or 37 tooth rear sprocket.

FWIW--I'm running a 440 stroker in my 00' EX w/11.3: compression, stg 3 HC, P&P, w/o choke or airbox lid. Stock head studs. I've been running this thing hard for 11 months now--and it has been as reliable as it was when it was stock.