mx wheels and tires

[heebs12]

If this is a stupid idea bare with me!

I really like the look of the 400ex with the 8" rear wheels and smaller MX style tires. I don't race, I most field ride. My back tires ( and front tires) are stock and the backs are pretty worn out.

My question is, will MX tires work well for a recreational rider? Can I still get the smaller MX tires without swapping out my wheels? and lastly, will it look stupid with stock front rims and tires. My stock wheels will be getting powder coated black very soon.

If anyone has a picture of their 400ex with a similar setup please don't hesitate to post!

p.s. I tried to search for this with no luck.

Thanks a lot in advance

Colin

[Pipeless416]

this is my brothers with 18 inch knarly's on the back and 22 inch klaws on the front. he just got the knarly's because they were cheap and i'll probably buy the rims off of him when they're done. mx tires wear out really quickly. its the silver one.

[heebs12]

edited. I appalogise.

[Pipeless416]

thanks, mine too. as far as the tires go, it's still stock width front and back, but it feels like it's on rails compared to before. if you do a lot of field riding, i'd imagine there's a lot of high speed whipping around and cornering.. you'd probably like 18's or 19's.. just be ready to replace them all the time and gear up.

[heebs12]

whipping the back end out is always good! The increased handling would be nice for are small track/trail areas!

When you say gear up are you talking about front or back sprockets? About how many teeth?

I'm still very new to the 4 wheeler game!

[Pipeless416]

Originally posted by heebs12
whipping the back end out is always good! The increased handling would be nice for are small track/trail areas!

When you say gear up are you talking about front or back sprockets? About how many teeth?

I'm still very new to the 4 wheeler game!

if i were to do it, i'd probably drop the back down to a 35 or 36 tooth, or the front up to a 16. i've heard you need a different case saver if you go this route though. this is assuming you have a 99-04 EX. 1 tooth in the front is equal to roughly 3 in the rear. remember, going up in front will raise top speed, while going up in back will increase acceleration.

[heebs12]

ok thanks a lot for the info pipeless. It almost seems like a PITA for mostly "looks" on a field bike. Maybe ill just go 20" and be done with it! I gotta ask you though. ( I have a 2003 400ex) It appears that you have stock plastics race cut ( so do I) but you added the maire hood. Does it just bolt on and replace the headlights on the stock front plastics?

[Pipeless416]

Originally posted by heebs12
ok thanks a lot for the info pipeless. It almost seems like a PITA for mostly "looks" on a field bike. Maybe ill just go 20" and be done with it! I gotta ask you though. ( I have a 2003 400ex) It appears that you have stock plastics race cut ( so do I) but you added the maire hood. Does it just bolt on and replace the headlights on the stock front plastics?

20's still make the most sense to me.. usually last a lot longer and there's still not much sidewall flex. as far as the plastics, yes they're stock race cuts with a Quadtech carbon fiber hood. you need to remove the head lights, cut off the mounting portion/housing and then the hood just bolts on. i used bolts for the 2 upper mounts by the gas tank and the honda style plastic fasteners for the front.

[heebs12]

Ok Cool. I have been debating a new hood but didn't want to lose my headlights. I like what you have done with yours!

New white plastics are in order before I do anything though.

I appreciate all your help, I think i will go with the 20" Tires!

P.s. your twin pipe set up is killer! Id love to do a centre mount like the LTR has, but I don't know how to go about doing that!


Colin