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View Full Version : shaving fenders on the 400ex



10-27-2001, 07:52 AM
Did anyone ever shave their front fenders on their 400? Is it a pain and whats the best tools to do the job. Or is it better to just go and buy the new nose?

barbwire44
10-27-2001, 08:02 AM
I shaved my front fenders and it was a pain the a#* i had to after i rolled it in a rocky creek bed, it slid through some rough stuff and the plastic had alot of stubbies sticking up ,and i knew my stickers wouldnt stick to it so i tried a regular bic razor and it just wouldnt do it so i figured i would put some edge shaving gel on and get out my new machIII razor and put it to the test, and I'ii have to say what a job it did now my 400ex has a baby face. Concerned that the bike would have a complex with the baby look i have now gave it a gotee. I could feel the difference the first time I opened the throttle WOW! Mean machine LOL!:D

Tommy 17
10-27-2001, 09:02 AM
haha we got a new jabber in the house.

I don't think cuttin ur plastic is hard the hardest part is getting both sides even. thats what everyone tells me.

JabberJaw
10-27-2001, 09:15 AM
I wonder if you can buy some pre-cut fenders. They should sell them in Dirtwheels magazine. That reminds me, I need to get a perscription for Dirtwheels.

beerock
10-27-2001, 02:51 PM
youll definately be riding a little different if you cut them. unless you dont mind getting soaked going through the puddles.

I cut my burton bindings with a knife that I kept heating on a oven. It cut it like butta


hey barbwire, did your crash down the rock bed look like this?
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v

trx400ex
10-27-2001, 10:25 PM
i shaved mine , its easy, used jigsaw, start out not taking much off then work n ward,,,,,get both sides even...they do sell precut plastic..........

crday98
10-27-2001, 10:50 PM
i used a dremel tool with a cutting disk to do a set of mine.the whole job only took 5 minutes.the best way to cut them is to get a marker or crayon,mark off where you would like to cut them,then cut them about 1/8 to 1/4 of an inch away from the outide of the line you marked off with the tool of your choice.i say to cut them away from the line because if you mess up and cut too deep in a spot,you will have that little bit to correct it.if you don't mess up,just wipe off the marker or crayon and i'm sure you will be happy with the way it looks then there would be no need to cut any more off.good luck!

beerock
10-28-2001, 10:24 AM
ahh a dremel!!! that sounds better than the hot knife trick,
hey 12 0clock, I have a dremel you can use!

RideRed04
10-28-2001, 10:56 AM
Hey crday, What i$ with the money thing? Does it make you feel like you have lot$ of money? lol, that is funny $tuff! ahhh, nevermind.

10-28-2001, 01:57 PM
Cutting your stock plastic really is a lot easier than it looks. As long as you follow directions, you'll be fine. Directions as follows:

Materials - Scotch tape
Jig saw
Marker
Hand Sander
Directions -
1) Take your tape and put it over the pattern in which you want to cut. Personally, i found it easiest to follow the seam from the rear of the front fender to the front, then angling down to where it goes into the hood.
2) Using your marker, trace the line which you want to cut, so you have something to go from. A lot of little strokes work best when marking.
3) Get your jigsaw all hooked up and whatnot. Start cutting the pattern which you traced over the tape. Cut on the outside part of the line, as to leave room for error.
4) Remove the tape. Now using your hand sander, sand out any imperfections the blade may have left. This includes rough edges, squigglies, and other hoo-ha.

If all goes well, you should have a smooth cut and professional looking quad, ready to do damage to the likes of Yamahas, Suzukis, and even it's own kin.

4punksdad
10-28-2001, 03:41 PM
I have never understood why fenders need to be cut. Mine are cracked & I may trim them someday, but I won't cut them off. Not flaming here......just trying to understand the logic. My buddy has a 250R with cut fenders, and he gets soaked going through the smallest puddle.

crday98
10-28-2001, 06:18 PM
Originally posted by RideRed04
Hey crday, What i$ with the money thing? Does it make you feel like you have lot$ of money? lol, that is funny $tuff! ahhh, nevermind.
i have enough for $omeone my age;) if you notice the ($) look$ like a letter with a line through it.that letter happen$ to be broken on my keyboard.i have to u$e the ($) until i get my new keyboard:grr damn computerz.

trx400ex
10-28-2001, 06:48 PM
Originally posted by 3punksdad
I have never understood why fenders need to be cut. Mine are cracked & I may trim them someday, but I won't cut them off. Not flaming here......just trying to understand the logic. My buddy has a 250R with cut fenders, and he gets soaked going through the smallest puddle.


once you ride without them, you cant go back, judge front end less air resistance, looks cool,,helps alot of other ways too

RideRed04
10-28-2001, 07:35 PM
Originally posted by crday98

i have enough for $omeone my age;) if you notice the ($) look$ like a letter with a line through it.that letter happen$ to be broken on my keyboard.i have to u$e the ($) until i get my new keyboard:grr damn computerz.

Boy, you are pretty recorcefull! Way to be on your toes! Hey, any of you heard "Chop Suey!" by System of a Down? That song rocks!

barbwire44
10-29-2001, 12:46 PM
I'm with you i never uderstood the whole cuttin the fenders thing, I bought an 88 250r a few years back and it had been pre- cut and shaved before i got it, and i'll say that was miserable to ride in wet conditions. As far as less air resistance, I doubt that to be highly noticeable unless riding head on into a tornado!!lol. And if airflow is a concern my suggestion would be get a hold of some old register vents retrofit them into your plastic, buy some uni filter foam sheets and fit them inside put a little a air filter oil on and whammo you got less air resistance and the filter paper keeps the dirt and mud off of ya and hell you might as well put some hepa filters on there to catch those airborne pathogens. lol:D

10-29-2001, 01:12 PM
Well shaved fenders are a MX/TT or racer thing. And riding in the mud does suck,,,I have shaved fenders so I know. I usually don't ride in the mud so it's not that big of a deal to me. Also another thing is when you have a race quad shaving your front fenders goes along with putting a wider axle on. My rear tires have about 2 inches of cover,,so my rear fenders might as well not be on there either,,so if I did have front fenders I'd still be a mess with having a wider rearend. Cut front fenders help you judge your front end better in cornering..judging how close your front tires are to the guy your getting ready to pass,,which his rear wheels are going in the opposite direction,,,and when they touch in a race....somebodies wrecking,,,that's a promise... .coming out of the gate with 20 other quads fitting into a spot made for 10 quads,,,there are advatages to it believe me,,but it's a racer thing not a weekend warrior that trail rides. I look at mudholes with a frown and sometimes a tear's in my eye's because of the fact I'm gonna be covered,,and it's gonna take me 1 hour just to spray it off,but all the times it's dry I love it..Plus I think it does look cool too....

Tommy 17
10-29-2001, 02:27 PM
did anyone ever ride in the snow wit them thats the reason i don;'t wanna cut mine i don't care about mud.

10-29-2001, 03:21 PM
Rico hit it right on the head. The only riding i do is on motocross tracks, where you need to see all of your surroundings, especially in the front. When i go to wash my quad after a hard day of riding, i can clearly see that only 1/4 of the mud from my tires end up on my fenders, somewhat rendering them useless. With the front fenders cut, it sounds a little weird but i gain a sense of control, seeing where my front tires are going to track. Every little bit counts. I completely agree 3punksdad, it'd be pointless to cut your fenders, seeing as how the majority of your riding is done on trails. You have every reason to think they're pointless, if indeed you're basing the procedure on the effects they'd have on your type of riding.

4punksdad
10-29-2001, 03:59 PM
I can almost understand now...........LOL.........but when I am hammer down, (as you would be when racing) I am looking WAY past my front tires......LOL

I know what you are trying to say though. :)

400exRacerX
10-29-2001, 07:25 PM
First off I cut my fenders because i liked the look it gave my quad, Second off it does add less air resistance, and third off and most importantly when coming off the hole shot and going into turns on a motocross track you need to see were your front tires are at so you dont hit into another quad. I also don't ride trails anymore and dont have to worry about getting wet from puddles unless the track was watered too much.........cough cough (jack frost). Here is a old pic of my shaved fenders, I don't get why all these people are saying you need all these tools to shaved your fenders, hell i used a 8 dollar hack saw and a sheet of sanding paper and got it done in less then 15 minutes. and looks great,

10-30-2001, 08:15 AM
Anyone read in the new ATVsport the article on the Desert rapturd that was built and they claimed when they shaved the back of the front fenders off it cut down enough wind resistance to give the bike 4 more MPH.....wow. BUt that's haulin butt in 5th gear on an open desert,,not an MX track.. but still impressive.

400exRacerX
10-30-2001, 02:13 PM
Yea. I just read that today. I got the new atvsport yesterday, and today i got to that article and read that it gained 4mph when they cut the back of the front fenders off. Thats a big gain just for cutting some plastic off, and i think that Alba Raptor looks pretty cool with the fenders like that too.

10-30-2001, 03:51 PM
Yeah,,, I own a honda but I ain't to proud to admit when another bike looks really sweet like that rapturd did,,,I'd own it and ride the wheels off it...YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE HAAAAAAWWWWWWW.

JabberJaw
10-30-2001, 04:03 PM
One good thing about shaving off the fenders is...at least the part you shaved off will stay clean!

Tommy 17
10-30-2001, 04:22 PM
ya i see the point of cuttin them for the racing only part but i trail ride alot to. i may just buy another cheap used set to chop and that will be used for when i go to the races i got 2 seats already. just gotta find a really cheap set now. i hated the holeshots in races i will never forget my good crash in one all bc it was so dusty and a rider went down in front of me cost me a brokin leg. its so hard to see exspecally if ur middle pack. rico or anyone did u ever get so nervous u jump the gate and get ur tire caught in it when it drops i did that one time it sucked. i was so far behind.

trueblue450
10-31-2001, 04:51 PM
Hey how bad would a 300 look with the fenders cut off. I noticed at least 50% of my tire is already out past the fenders and I was wanting to do this. How bad does it throw up dust and dirt? What line should I follow??? Cut straight off or give it a roundness to it. Does anyone know of a site I can look this off of or someone with a 300 that already has this done to it. I think itd be cool and be less of the quad to wash atleast on the underside.

11-01-2001, 09:44 AM
Originally posted by 400ex21
rico or anyone did u ever get so nervous u jump the gate and get ur tire caught in it when it drops i did that one time it sucked. i was so far behind.

I didn't get nervous and jump my bike rolled forward and I didn't know it and yeah the dang gate fell on my front wheels. Got out dead last but rode hard and smart and ended up passin 9 guys and finished 5th..I remember my buddies at the race said the gate dropped and they were following all the bikes up the hill lookin for me then one of them looks back at the gate and yells,,,there he is,,he's just now gettin out of the gate,,laughin at me,,but I still had a good race,,funny now that I look back on it.

oynot400
11-01-2001, 08:25 PM
I cut mine after I cracked them during a race. I don't stay any cleaner with them on or off. Then again if we are mudd'n it doesn't matter how much fender we have! :p

Evan
11-05-2001, 04:25 PM
I just cut the fenders on my 400 today, it was pretty easy. Easier than I thought. I used a jig saw with a fine blade. First I sketched the look I wanted with a permanent marker then went to cutting. Next I looked at them from the front to make sure they were even then took a razor blade and used the edge(not cutting) to take the burrs off and trim any ugly corners. Took the headlights out, a quadtech nosepeice will be next.

out4sand
11-08-2001, 04:49 PM
Yeah but if you ride in the dunes cut fenders are the only way to go. It's much easier to see the front wheels! I thought it was really easy to cut the fenders but like the other said make sure you cut them even or they keep getting smaller and smaller! A hacksaw blade works really well for cutting and a cheese grader looking deal (used in body work or for sanding/shaping wood) works really well to shape the cut fenders. Of course I found that trick out after I mine.

Warrioreater400ex
11-10-2001, 12:47 AM
i like the way the DS's fenders are.... the best of both worlds.... it is kinda weird lookin.. but i always thought a 400 with those kinda fenders would look pretty cool.... plus you can take em on/off fairly easy for mud or mx..... but yeah taht would be pretty impossible to do something like that.