440 kit user survey!

[joeroadking]

All right there has been so much talk about the 440 kits breaking the rod . I am trying to get the opionions of people who have had 440 piston kits for a least 1 season, please reply is it running fine no problems ? bottom end blew up?studs pulled? now I know most guys on here prefer running the 416 or 425 overbores,no need to lecture me on the benifits, but I am just interesrested in hearing from guys who have actually have run the 440 for aleast 1 year or who have had it and removed it due to troubles. so I can see what the rel deal is? please post comp rato as well.

[oynot400]

I had an IMS 440 kit in mine for nearly 2 years, with zero problems. :D Granted I was running the low compression piston. If memory servers me well, when I had it on the dyno it was running 36-38 hp. I was happy with it.
What happens to these ones with the broken rods is they are running high compression with a stock rod. If you compair a stock rod to an aftermarket rod, you will see a difference.
Don't let these stories scare you. A properly built 440 is just as reliable as anything else.
What were you going to do with it? Race, trail ride or hill climb? If you were going to race it, I would go with the 416 or 426. They are a little faster, a smaller bore will rev faster.
If trail riding or hill climbing is your thing, then in my opinion the 440 is the way to go! The low end power is unreal.
If you want to really get serious go with a stroker. A stroker 440 will be way more powerful compaired to a bored 440.
Good luck....:D

[joeroadking]

just trail ride, already insatlled it is the wiseco top end only kit I decked the cylinder .030 so I am running true 11/1 compression.

[RIDER11X]

Thanks for the great info OYNOT400! Much appreciated!:)

[Chef]

I seized a piston in my 440, because of bad race fuel. Had some water and rust and other junk in it...Plastic, all kinds of stuff. I had a 12:1 440 kit for about 4 months. Now I've been racing TT with a 14:1 440 for about 2 months, and its been fine. We have the bike geared to hit the rev limiter (10,200) right as I let off of the throttle into the corner, so its been working fine.

[redrider ex]

just by adding a cam and 440 kit and you all ready had a pipe and jet kit what is the hp increas 5 to 10 hp or what?

[type3tom]

Chef440ex,you said that you're running 14/1 just wanted to find since Im raising mine from 11/1 to 13/1 what type or mixture of fuel your using.

[Steven]

I've had mine in now for 4 months. I runs so strong, I run with my friends piped DS650 in the straights and crush him on the track.

I took it apart to get the compression ratio right and noticed I scuffed the sleeve. I must have done this in the first week I had it when I was getting the jetting adjusted. I think I did it with the 170 or 175 main... it was too lean and got too hot. Cool thing is it ran so good all that time even with the scuffed sleeve.

Rockers are another story. Understand though that my rockers were three years of hard-riding-old when I instaleld the WB cam and that WB recomends new rockers when instaling thier cam. Well like a fool I never changed the rockers with the build up like I should have and paid the price. I ruined my new WB track cam.

Had I taken a little more care and started jetting richer at the beginning, I believe I would have gotten years out of the kit before a rebuild. There was so little wear after I took it apart that can still feel the cross thatch in my sleeve everywhere except where the skuff is.

I am confident that if done right, thay are quite reliable. I don't think my problems were inherited from being a 440, they are a result of cutting corners and a jetting learning error. But thats my 440 story anyhow.

I'm redoing it CORRECT now!

Get One!

[Chef]

Originally posted by type3tom
Chef440ex,you said that you're running 14/1 just wanted to find since Im raising mine from 11/1 to 13/1 what type or mixture of fuel your using.

I use trick 116, I believe it is. Just straight, and it seems to work well.

[hondaracer31]

I ran a 440 big bore for one season. It ran good but it pulled the studs, I had 11:1 comp. and ran a 50/50 mix of premium and VP C12. I also had an unrelated problem of the air cleaner falling! off:grr of course it always happened when I was second or third in a VERY dusty race :mad: I have since gone with the 440 stroker, AWESOME POWER:macho :macho I also have the Pro Design Pro Flow kit....air cleaner CAN'T fall off now!
Oh yeah..I also have the oversized studs.

[joeroadking]

any one else? starting to see a trend here .? for the guys with pulled studds because I did not claify this in the poll did they pull out from the cylinder or did the studds streach. and who is selling the heavy duty studd kits as this is clearly a weak point.

[hondaracer31]

On mine the studs pulled out of the cylinder. TC Racing sells the oversized studs. I think he is the only one who makes them, I paid $90 for all 4.

[joeroadking]

how did you fix it did you tap it larger for the new studds or just deeper ?

[hondaracer31]

I drilled and tapped it larger, not deeper. The stods are 10mm on the bottom (in the cylinder) and 8mm on top (same as stock) so you don't have to do anything to the head.

[Chef]

Originally posted by joeroadking
any one else? starting to see a trend here .? for the guys with pulled studds because I did not claify this in the poll did they pull out from the cylinder or did the studds streach. and who is selling the heavy duty studd kits as this is clearly a weak point.

They stretched, then pulled out.

A friend of mine that has basically the same motor as I do made the studs for my motor and for his. Made them at his Machine shop. He has a Steel company and builds things for bridges and such. I paid 160 for the 4 of mine.

[joeroadking]

when I bought my 400ex it was hammered by some hacker I have completly restored it now (all bearings brakepads rotors plastic chain sprockets seat chain valve seals topend tires rims spindle) before you guys laugh I paid $2800 for the pair a 99 400ex and a complete 1986 250r with a split case was just as bad) see sig. best deal I ever got I rebuilt the R first best quad I ever owned,now the 440 is almost finshed 6 months and about 2K in parts to complete bikes>anyways my point is one of the major problems where the hacker had over torqued the studds and stripped them all, So i bought a good used cylinder off ebay and had it decked .030 and the wiseco 440 sleeve put in, my machine shop told me I was better off getting the new cylinder that my old one was junk. so I let them keep it wish I still had now I knew I should have asked for it back it was aclean bore with agood piston would have been great as a spare.:huh

[bighig]

Had my whole top end blow up. I trail ride it about 6-8 times a year and take great care of it. Me and my engine builder think the timing chain jumped and genaded the engine. Took about $2,000 to get it back together. Runs strong again. Hey, its only money, Rite???!