Competiton at the pits

[MAKO19]

Well I ran into my first sh*t talker at the pit yesturday. Apparently a lot of people have zero respect for the 400EXs. I didn't really get bothered by it but it sure would have been nice to put a hurtin on this dude if I had a little more done to my bike. He said he had a bone stock LTZ 400 but so does my buddy and all 3 of us raced and the dude beat me by 1.5 lengths and my buddy beat me by .5-1 length. I mean I didn't get smoked but apparently 1 length is getting smoked by this idiots standards. Anyway this guy definitely had some stuff done to it but still had the stock pipe on it I guess to give it that sleeper look. What do you guys think my next upgrade should be? I am actually thinking about going back to the 15 tooth front sprocket to give me a little more up top and maybe be able to catch these guys up top. Other than that I think I am going to guess that I gotta go engine internals now because all the bolt ons have been covered.

Any thoughts?

[drew416ex]

Is he beating you in a drag race or on the track. If its on the track I say get better suspension. If youre just wanting to drag, then I say 11:1 piston, stage 2 cam, and if you have the money a better carb. You would deff. beat him then.

[Hondamaster5505]

When I raced my first Z (In my other thread) I just had the mods in my sig (exhaust, filter) and the Z just had the baffle removed. Well, I would say we're probably even riders, and we were almost dead even. Maybe my bike was faster by hair. But also keep in mind, im pushin 220lbs and this kid was probably like 120 wet, lol.

So, if you have the mods in your sig and are still losing to them, I don't want to be mean but it's probably rider skill thats holding you back.

But, I also have a full exhaust designed for more mid-top end, that might be what gives me the edge.

[Hondamaster5505]

It's funny how us 400ex guys have like an ongoing battle against the z guys. Like whenever we see each other our dominance takes over and you just have to race them. lol.

[mooseracerX]

I say a 416 if you have the money and then get a 15/36 gearing you should whoop'em with that gearing.

[krt400ex]

Originally posted by Hondamaster5505
When I raced my first Z (In my other thread) I just had the mods in my sig (exhaust, filter) and the Z just had the baffle removed. Well, I would say we're probably even riders, and we were almost dead even. Maybe my bike was faster by hair. But also keep in mind, im pushin 220lbs and this kid was probably like 120 wet, lol.

So, if you have the mods in your sig and are still losing to them, I don't want to be mean but it's probably rider skill thats holding you back.

But, I also have a full exhaust designed for more mid-top end, that might be what gives me the edge.


im sorry, but rider skill had alot to do with your race too unless the baffle out was causing a loss in power...which it very well could have.

you lose on HP to every 7 lbs, and you are 100 lbs more than that kid...he has a serious advantage over you because of weight. a stock Z will keep up with a piped 400ex. a piped Z will beat a piped 400ex.

[Hondamaster5505]

Originally posted by krt400ex
im sorry, but rider skill had alot to do with your race too unless the baffle out was causing a loss in power...which it very well could have.

you lose on HP to every 7 lbs, and you are 100 lbs more than that kid...he has a serious advantage over you because of weight. a stock Z will keep up with a piped 400ex. a piped Z will beat a piped 400ex.

True. But this kid was a good rider also, he was doing bigger jumps then me and all that happy horse crap.

We would both nail on it and we would be about dead even.

Those z's do have a nice top-end.

[powermadd400ex]

i have a bone stock 400ex and my ridin buddy has a bonestock z400
he beats me by a bikes length on drags but on the track, i kill him(simply rider skill)
i dont drag race, i think its pointless. anyone can shift thru the gears. but its harder to ride the track
if ur a better rider than he is then it wont make a HUGE difference in a drag.

[MAKO19]

Thanks for all of the replies guys. No worries it could very well be rider skill, but everyone seems to agree the Z will always out perform the EX because it is water cooled. I am referring to drag racing here. I know the dude was getting a great holeshot. The 14 tooth is probably killing my traction. I would dump it and spin up to redline in first and then second is where I would have to start making up ground. I also could be over reving and shifting way off my power curve. My pressure in the rear tires is kinda high too (7 psi) which again is probably killing my traction. I will figure it out.

[boosted3g]

Start in second, rev it up some lean forward and ride the clutch a little. Start low and gradually get more aggressive until your launching like a pro. I use the clutch as traction control and wheelie prevention. When you do it enough times you will get the hang of it. It will launch way better in second, first is too short.

[MAKO19]

Cool thanks for the tip. I actually tried to launch in 2nd but it just seems very sluggish and takes a while to get moving. I put the 15 tooth front sprocket on last night so that should help with traction as well as giving me a little more up top to possibly run them guys down.