buying new 400ex

[texasman20]

hello everyone. i am about to buy a new 07 400ex and wanted to say hello and also had a couple questions.in regards to my color choice i am thinking all black but i am afraid it will fade and scratch easy, what do yall think? i am also curios if there are any upgrades that are a must after i buy. maybe skid plates? bumper? i am new to sport quads so any help will be greatly appreciated!

[honda400ex2003]

If you want to do the frame and such black use powder it will last a lot longer than paint. Fenders look good black but you have to be careful when washing it so it does not scratch. Overall they look good though. steve

[texasman20]

Originally posted by hondarider11
A few must haves are nerf bars/ full body skid plate. If you are looking to spend more. Bars/pipe/ maybe a bumper.


In regards to Nerf bars and skid plates any good ones you recommend for trail riding on a budget?

[honda400ex2003]

dg is not bad as far as i am concerned. there are many good ones that people have on their machines. steve

[Snipe]

Moose and tusk makes wickedly great skids.

AC and DG make some awesome Nerf bars but its all pretty much what ya wanna use.

[texasman20]

awesome. thanks for all the help! i went and picked her up today and cant wait to take her out!

[BEAVER.989]

Be careful not to get the hop-up bug. I bought mine about a month ago and have already purchased a full chassis skid, swingarm skid, front bumper, oversized bars, clamp, grips, shock covers, jets, a Turner one way valve for the gas cap, an air filter maintenance kit, a parking brake block off kit, chain lube and a set of air scoops.

That's not to mention the nerfs I've already bought and sold and the number of things I'm looking at right now. It's an addiction!

[bigd's ex]

Welcome to the wonderful world of " A.A.D.S. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Congrats on your new ride. If your looking for nerfs, I just put on a set of Pro Armor Sports Series that I got from Dennis Kirks for $132.00 shipped.

[texasman20]

Originally posted by bigd's ex
Welcome to the wonderful world of " A.A.D.S. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Congrats on your new ride. If your looking for nerfs, I just put on a set of Pro Armor Sports Series that I got from Dennis Kirks for $132.00 shipped.

those are the ones that i am thinking about getting and that's about as good as a price as i have found.

and beaver i am sure i will be in the mod frenzy soon enough, but i plan on giving it a couple months so i can get used to the quad and figure out what i do and don't want personally. i am however for sure going to through nerf bars, skid plates, and a good air filter on there right now.

[bigd's ex]

If you can wait a few months before A.A.D.S sets in, then you

have more patience than all of us put together!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LOL.

D.k is definitely the cheapest place that I found, placed my order last Sat. & recieved them Wed. I thought that was pretty quick.
Do yourself a huge favor & read up on alot of the jetting thread on here. Your're going to want to rejet it. They come from the factory lean & that's a no, no.

[bigredisb]

Take a look at the Burgard Sport Nerfs. They are only 100 bucks and you can get them powder coated in many colors.

[RAPER]

Nerfs are a MUST HAVE for any riding. Right now you can get some Tusks off of ebay for around $110-120 shipped and they are really solid. I have a pair on mine and they are great.

Another great thing to get is some used 450r shocks. Suspension is the most important thing you can do for your quad.

[procircuit406ex]

I would not worry with nerf bars unless you just have to have them. I would look into suspension, a belly pan, swingarm skid plate, and a good bumper.

[BEAVER.989]

Originally posted by procircuit406ex
I would not worry with nerf bars unless you just have to have them. I would look into suspension, a belly pan, swingarm skid plate, and a good bumper.

Agreed. I sold my nerfs to put the money to better use elsewhere.

[Snipe]

If I did it over again I would def buy a nerf set that is nerf bars pegs and heal guards all in one. Think im gonna get a set of AC's for this as they have nets tall the way up the heal guards so I will be selling my AC nerfs when I find a decent set of full ones.

[texasman20]

ya i am thinking that a good set of skids would be a good idea to do first. get things that protect my investment over luxuries.

[BEAVER.989]

Originally posted by texasman20
ya i am thinking that a good set of skids would be a good idea to do first. get things that protect my investment over luxuries.

Good idea. The first things I bought were a chassis skid, swingarm skid and front bumper. I ordered them when I bought the quad and had them thrown right in with the loan... Didn't even take it for the first ride without them.

[mcwilly]

Welcome to the club. Might as well start getting used to your wallet being empty….once you start modding, there's no stopping! The bug WILL get you. :D
What part of North Texas are you in?
The first thing I bought for my '07 (black) was a set of nerf's and an aftermarket bumper. Then I went w/ a new filter, exhaust and re-jetted. Then I moved on to a steering stabilizer (there's a thread on here about a puck style stabilizer you can get off ebay that works great) and better front suspension.
I've always liked the black EX's which is why I got one. Fading hasn’t been an issue so far. I've had mine a little over a year and it's garage kept. It is a scratch magnet however. After my first week of riding, you would think I ran through nothing but briars and thorns with all the scratches I had on it.

[texasman20]

Originally posted by mcwilly
Welcome to the club. Might as well start getting used to your wallet being empty….once you start modding, there's no stopping! The bug WILL get you. :D
What part of North Texas are you in?
The first thing I bought for my '07 (black) was a set of nerf's and an aftermarket bumper. Then I went w/ a new filter, exhaust and re-jetted. Then I moved on to a steering stabilizer (there's a thread on here about a puck style stabilizer you can get off ebay that works great) and better front suspension.
I've always liked the black EX's which is why I got one. Fading hasn’t been an issue so far. I've had mine a little over a year and it's garage kept. It is a scratch magnet however. After my first week of riding, you would think I ran through nothing but briars and thorns with all the scratches I had on it.

haha so i hear! i live in Plano at the moment. i see you are from Dallas, any recommendations on places to ride? ya i was afraid of that with all black, that's why i went with black and red.

[longboardnj]

i think a full chassis skidplate is a must for any quad..nerf bars are only good if you dont want to break a leg..i know a guy that broke his leg on a 250r cause he didnt have nerf bars and he still didnt put nerfs on!!!! i run all my quads with full chassis skid,a arm skids,nerf bars and shock wears on all shocks...stock front bumper and rear skid should hold up ok...

[BikeSwimLaugh]

Ahhh....my first post where I'm not asking questions and instead offering advice. :D

I just bought an '07 400EX about a month ago, fwiw, I got it out-the-door for just $4,500 over in Los Angeles, hope I got a good deal. The black is really great looking. I actually took the '07 over the '08....the '08 just looked too insane-insect-like :)

Anyways, let me HIGHLY suggest a steering stabilizer because it truly & honestly is for SAFETY. I haven't ridden in years and this is my first quad. The first thing I noticed (as compared to my XR350 dirtbike) was that you have 2 tires in front of you and if one tire encounters something that the other tire does not encounter, you get a bit of an attitude coming from that one tire! What I mean is that if you hit a nasty rock with the right tire, you can expect some serious steering feedback that can knock the handlebars out of your hand and definitely push you off your line.

I learned that the hard way 2 days ago. I had apparently gotten a sidewall gash in my front left tire and the tire, unbeknownst to me, had gone flat. I was coming down some trail and maybe hit a small rock...I don't know what happened, but SUDDENLY & VIOLENTLY I was eating major brush/tree and crashing! It was like an invisible hand came down and smacked my handlebars, so violent!!! And btw, yeah...the black plastic got scratched-up, it went from a new-looking quad to a used quad in an instant, but that's life. ANYWAYS, I've since met a lot of guys who say they won't even ride a quad that doesn't have a steering stabilizer. The one I have on order has a 7-position adjustment and I'm assured I'll really enjoy riding MUCH more, it won't wear you out and if it can help stop you from crashing, THAT makes it worth it.

Beyond that, a belly-skid and swing-arm skid are priceless protection. Nerf bars are for safety and they really make the quad look complete. I got a pair of IMS hand-guards just to spice the look up too. Front bumper is on order, I passed on the A-arm skids, I'm not rock-crawling and I think the flavor of that decision was more along the lines of excess.

Hmmm....also got an HMF carbon-fiber exhaust pipe, K&N air-filter (the place included a new jet) and I plan to mod the airbox lid myself.

Oh...I went with some Elka shocks for the front. The 450R shocks need to be slightly modified and are longer so they'll change the geometry a bit. By the time you get them worked-on and tuned for your weight & riding style, you may as well throw a few bones and just buy some Elka's. The rear shock is plenty cush, I'm leaving it alone for now.

I'm replacing all the tires too. 21" Maxxis Razr2's up front and 20" Maxxis I-Razr's on the rear.

Don't go all Darth Vader on the quad. I ran with brushed aluminum on the nerf's & front bumper, it ties-in nicely with the wheels & frame and breaks-up the excessively black look. Can't wait for the HMR carbon-fiber exhaust to arrive, it should be bad-***. Sheesh, a c-note just for a carbon-fiber finish....how dumb is that.

From what I gather, I too am just scratching the surface of A.A.D.S. But it's so much healthier then a meth habit ;)

[texasman20]

finally picked her up! got to start the break in and oh man is she sweet!

[texasman20]

another

[texasman20]

Also picked up another little 250 to get around the ranch.

[Snipe]

The a arm guards with the kick up fins are a huge plus. As think of it when riding through brush rocks or even Grass! it will wear off the paint over time and cause your a arms to rust out who wants rust on there bike?

Keep them covered and no worries plus many times riding I have seen ppl catch there a arm on something and almost come off the quad it hit so hard. I would rather bend the guard then the actual a arms lmao.

Nerfs yeah some ppl like them some ppl wont if you ever ride with them on you will NEVER ride a quad without it. You have so much more control over the bike with nerfs on it.

Steering stabilizor I have been looking at them but right now I dont have one and I get buy just fine.

Hand gaurds if your riding in the woods you will love these I got tired of busting my knuckles and digging thorns out of the back of my hands.

Bumper yeah been there glad I had it dont think I need to say more about that lol.

But honestly your first upgrade out of anything other is full skids to protect your quad and nerf bars to protect you!

[mcwilly]

Looks nice! Yesterday was a great day for riding!
Forgot to answer your question......I'm in Wylie, so we're not far at all.
There are several places to ride in the D/FW area....
"Brushy Creek" in Royce city
"Boondoxxx" in Farmersville (though it's not very quad friendly)
"Badlands" in Celeste (quads can practice on Wednesdays)
There's a track/trails in Irving that's alright. I forget the name though.
"Village Creek" in FW. They have quad practice, but forget what nights.
"North Forty" in Sherman allows quads as well. (about 45 minutes from Plano)