Bad vibration w/my 400ex

[Dusty_Bay]

I know this has been posted before, but I did a search and couldnt find anyone w/the same problem I have that included the noise.

I have only taken my quad out a few times since I got it, and noticed the vibrating my 2nd trip out.
The trip was in Pismo. I noticed that the quad would vibrate really bad in 2nd gear, so much so that it hurt my hands. Along w/the vibration it sounded (to me) like the quad wasnt going into gear all the way? My boyfriend suggested it was just my imagination or the sand tires (I only have them in the rear) after riding it around for a little bit. The vibration is the worst when I am just cruising in 2nd, not full throttle.

On the last trip we went on (to Azusa Rincon Shortcut) the vibration seemed to be worse. Again, the vibration is the worst cruising in 2nd gear. This trip however, I noticed it would be vibrating and making this weird noise like the gear wasnt ingaged all the way in 1st and 3rd as well. The noise is hard to explain and I wish I could because I just want to figure out what is wrong here. I had my boyfriend ride it again, and he thinks we should check all the engine bolts to make sure they are tight, but he isnt sure.

Has anyone had this problem, if not, what would you suggest we look at?


Thanks in advance for all suggestions!

And Im glad to be here!

Check the bolts on the motor. If their loose thats why its viberating bad. If their not loose then you can add rubber cushins between the motor and motor mounts. Put some rubber between the pegs and the frame. Thats all you can do. My 400ex viberates bad too. If I ride at a steady speed specialy in the low gears it viberates so bad I have to put my feet in the nerf bars. I cant go a steady speed people are always asking why i speed up and the nslow down and its because thats how i stop the viberation. The lower rpm you are the less viberation you have. If you ride a gear high that helps stop the viberation but the motor might feel boggy then. Theirs inserts for your handle bars that will stop alot of the viberation in your hands. I think its normal.

[Dusty_Bay]

Thanks for the reply.

Most of the time I stayed in 3rd instead of 2nd when I could.

The only thing that worries me is that the vibration seems to have gotten worse from the Pismo trip to the Azusa trip.

We will have to look at the engine some time soon and see if we cant find any loose bolts.

Thanks again for the suggestion!!

Bailey

Originally posted by Dusty_Bay
Thanks for the reply.

Most of the time I stayed in 3rd instead of 2nd when I could.

The only thing that worries me is that the vibration seems to have gotten worse from the Pismo trip to the Azusa trip.

We will have to look at the engine some time soon and see if we cant find any loose bolts.

Thanks again for the suggestion!!

Bailey

Could be the sand. The harder the sand the more viberation you will get when using paddle tires.

[j450rking]

try riding on hard ground with normal tires and if it still dose it then it's the wheeler if it dosen;'t then you need less agressive sand tires

[F-16Guy]

You may have a crank or counter-balancer bearing going out, or maybe even a bearing in the tranny. If it's getting worse, don't ride it. If you shell out a bearing while you're ripping through the dunes, it's probably going to get expensive. Take it to someone who knows quads (preferably the 400ex) well and see what they think.

[Dusty_Bay]

Originally posted by j450rking
try riding on hard ground with normal tires and if it still dose it then it's the wheeler if it dosen;'t then you need less agressive sand tires

We went to Azusa after Pismo, and it was worse. Azusa is a hard dirt road. Hopefully we will take a look at it today.

Thanks for the help!

[Sparky_20]

i would throw a set of regular tires on there and see if that changes any thing. Also check for a bent rear axle. Does it stay the same all the way thru 2nd gear?