Need to beat my buddys z400

[extreme98tj]

Heres what I've got as far as performance mods on my 05 400ex:
uni filter
hmf slip on
sparks timing advance
standard bore wiseco 11.1 (only 30 minutes ride time)
stage 1 hotcam (only 30 minutes ride time)
13 tooth front sprocket
cbr1000 oil cooler
40 main
dj170
3rd notch on the needle
2.5 turns on air/fuel screw

My buddy has an 07 z400 with a yosh slip on and k&n filter and 1 tooth down on the front sprocket and his jetting is spot on. We were dragging and I am always pulling him on the line by atleast a bikes length but he just has stronger mid and top end which is giving him the win every damn time. My jetting seems to be good, I haven't looked at the new plug yet but there is no throttle hesitation, bogging, or backfiring. Do you guys have any suggestions on what I could do next? You think if I put my stock sprocket back on that it would help? What about the fmf powerbomb mid? Or do you think there may be something wrong with my current set up...some are telling me I should be smoking him with what I have compared to him? All input is appreciated

[miller821]

If your racing on a long enough course you could go up a sprocket, or two.

The stage 1 might be robbing you of some top end.. But is it really that important that you beat him in a drag?

[extreme98tj]

ITs not too important...just a pride thing...plus I'm so close to beating him that if it just takes a little tweaking of my bike to get me there than I'll do it.

Forgot to mention that I'm running with no airbox lid and with the choke removed.

[tar]

What stage cam do you have? Try putting your other sprocket on see what happens. You should be beating hime easily. I beat my buddies that have z's piped jetted filtered about 60% of the time. And mine is piped jetted and K&N.Maybe he can just ride better:eek2: :blah:

[Kaleigh]

after you get the whole shot.. wait for him to come up.. when he gets close enough.. just give him a swift kick.. that should help with the win.. :macho


since you have a stage 1.. you should be able to go to a 14tooth.. this should help with the mid-top..

[EX LONERIDER]

go up to a 15 on the counter... while he is busy short shifting you can pull a gear longer... might work better. that and mess wih your rear tire air pressure to get an even better wholeshot.

[j450rking]

man can you even use first gear!

i would definetly go with at least a 14 tooth front sprocket and a 450r carb would be a nice mod to do and then unless he is just that much better then you you should have no problum making him eat your dirt

[j450rking]

oh and i wouldn't be beating on that thing untill it is broken in b/c i think if you don't break it in corectly then you will lose power sombody correct me if i'm wrong

[EX LONERIDER]

yea.... dont be drag racing already if you only have 30 minutes on a rebuild. thats mega hard on it while its breaking in and a good way to ruin it.

take your time, do a minimal 10 hours before you get on it that hard.

now, it sounds like you can get the holeshot pretty well... go with what you have right now and try to get a bigger holeshot on him wich will give you a better chance for top end speed.

what kind of terrain are you gonna drag at?

[wis400x]

13 tooth is definately too small,go up one tooth & see what happens! 10 hrs. for a break in is crazy!!

[400exstud]

Just throwing this out there........Are you getting good traction? Find a safe pavement place to race him on that you both will get 100% traction. This should show who is faster, or at least eliminate the possibility that he is hooking up better than you. I have a faster 400ex than my friend but he weights 20lbs more than me (I am 125) and he beats me all the time on pea gravel. He just gets it to dig in better.

Good luck! You have plenty of motor to beat him.

[extreme98tj]

We have been racing on pavement and dirt and I am smoking him on the hole shot on both. Once I get into around 4th he starts to pull on me. I am switching back to the stock 14 tooth to see how that helps my top end. With the 13 tooth I am practically speed shifting into 4th gear to stay off the rev limiter, so hopefully the stock sprocket will help slow that down some.

And he is a better rider than me....I've only been riding for about a year and he has been a crotch rocket stunter for the past 5 or so years and he raced dirtbikes growing up...but when we switch bikes and race, it is the same outcome. My bike gets the holeshot but his bike pulls ahead about halfway down the track.

All in all it really isn't that big of a deal...I just wanted to make sure my set up shouldn't be beating his bike by multiple lengths or something..which we obviously tell me something is wrong with my bike. I appreciate the input guys

[miller821]

Originally posted by j450rking
oh and i wouldn't be beating on that thing untill it is broken in b/c i think if you don't break it in corectly then you will lose power sombody correct me if i'm wrong

It's arguable. Some say to give it all it has, other say take it easy. I've yet to draw any real conclusions on which is better.

[wis400x]

I'm no expert either. I've just bought a couple snowmobiles brand new,then mildly built them( pipes,heads,reeds,porting,& carb work) & put them rite on a dyno with zero miles(no break in). They been fine & were great runners.

just my 2 cents worth!

[Kaleigh]

Originally posted by ride hard man
It's arguable. Some say to give it all it has, other say take it easy. I've yet to draw any real conclusions on which is better.

ive never heard of anyone saying to ride it hard when breaking in a cam.. :confused:

[extreme98tj]

I chose to ride it hard to break in the piston properly...I read a couple articles about that and they all said there wont be any problems and it will allow the rings to seat properly. The breakin on the cam says simply dont let it idle, stay below 3000rpms, or stay at any particular rpm for too long. She seems to be running good now but we'll see how it holds upin the future.

[miller821]

Originally posted by Kaleigh
ive never heard of anyone saying to ride it hard when breaking in a cam.. :confused:

The cam could be different.. I thought we were talking more about the piston/cylinder though.

[j450rking]

i was talking about anything new in the engine.

oh and are you using synthetic oil? if you are take it out and put in reg oil b/c the synthetic won't let the engine break in properly.

[cnl83]

So did you figure out how to beat him?

I got a stage 1 cam
.040 bore,
Choke removed
HMF slip on

I have not had the opportunity to run against a Z400 yet.

[Hondamaster5505]

Originally posted by extreme98tj
We have been racing on pavement and dirt and I am smoking him on the hole shot on both. Once I get into around 4th he starts to pull on me. I am switching back to the stock 14 tooth to see how that helps my top end. With the 13 tooth I am practically speed shifting into 4th gear to stay off the rev limiter, so hopefully the stock sprocket will help slow that down some.

And he is a better rider than me....I've only been riding for about a year and he has been a crotch rocket stunter for the past 5 or so years and he raced dirtbikes growing up...but when we switch bikes and race, it is the same outcome. My bike gets the holeshot but his bike pulls ahead about halfway down the track.

All in all it really isn't that big of a deal...I just wanted to make sure my set up shouldn't be beating his bike by multiple lengths or something..which we obviously tell me something is wrong with my bike. I appreciate the input guys

stock on an 05 is 15 teeth...

[Ruby Soho]

bump up the teeth on the front sprocket

and put on some 22in rear tires

that should make you come out infront at the end:p

[bearair]

Quick note on break in. One of the things that helps the rings seat quickest is being on and off the throttle. Avoid steady speeds. Acceleration loads the rings one way and deceleration loads them the other. This helps seat things quickly.

As far as the cam goes, keep it moving for the first 30 minutes after install. Don't let the RPM stay below 2000-2500 for any length of time. Once you are through the initial 30 minutes, you can ride however you want to ride. After the initial break in of the cam there shouldn't be any issues. If you screw up the break in it can lead to very short cam life. If it's broken in properly, then there's not much that can happen with it unless you have a bad rocker or bearing. The cam lobes take their initial pattern quickly. You'll know if you didn't do it correctly or the cam is soft by the valve clearances opening up quickly.

[hornetgod13]

Originally posted by Hondamaster5505
stock on an 05 is 15 teeth...

You're a little mixed up there.

Stock Sprockets
1999-2004 15F/38R
2005-2008 14F/39R

A larger front sprocket and or larger tires will get you more top end speed but, will hurt low end acceleration.

Here's a link to a sprocket calculator for a 400EX. Just plug in different sprocket and tire sizes and it will calculate the top speed in each gear.
http://home.earthlink.net/~gellett/400ex.htm

[chayes627]

i'm not sure but if you have a high compression piston your not supposed to have the timing advance key. im not sure about this though if somebody knows more about this

[Brauap]

Originally posted by hornetgod13
Here's a link to a sprocket calculator for a 400EX. Just plug in different sprocket and tire sizes and it will calculate the top speed in each gear.
http://home.earthlink.net/~gellett/400ex.htm


Thanks. Thats really awsome! I was just having fun..

If you put a 16 tooth sproket on the counter..
40 in the rear
23 rear tires
and 9150RPMS
you can go 88mph!! SWEET! LOL but, you would have like to bottom end..

Is that calc for 99-04 or 05+?

[hornetgod13]

Originally posted by Brauap
Is that calc for 99-04 or 05+?

It's set up for the internal gearing of a 1999-2004.

[hornetgod13]

Originally posted by chayes627
i'm not sure but if you have a high compression piston your not supposed to have the timing advance key. im not sure about this though if somebody knows more about this

You're correct. Curtis Sparks does not recommend it's advanced timing key to be used on high compression or big bore pistons. It generates too much heat in those situations. I had to remove mine when I jumped up to a 11:1 416cc piston.

[Hondamaster5505]

Originally posted by Brauap
Thanks. Thats really awsome! I was just having fun..

If you put a 16 tooth sproket on the counter..
40 in the rear
23 rear tires
and 9150RPMS
you can go 88mph!! SWEET! LOL but, you would have like to bottom end..

Is that calc for 99-04 or 05+?

lol. i dont think the stock engine can pull 88mph. Its geared too high and i highly doubt it will pull it.

I mean, you barely if ever hit the limiter in 5th as it is.