New to the 400EX world

[mudchicken]

Well Im a new owner of an 01 440EX has a load of extras such as Roll Designs long travel A-arms with Elka shocks front and rear. Dura blue axle and a bunch of other goodies. Is there anything I need to check out or go over before I take it out and run it hard? besides the normal oil and such.

[PaRedneckRiders]

I would check all the wheel bearing to see if there is play in them
Check the Rear hubs to make sure they are tight and check the axle bearing they like to wear down sorta quick if your always doin wheelies which btw are really fun on a 400 haha

[mudchicken]

Originally posted by PaRedneckRiders
I would check all the wheel bearing to see if there is play in them
Check the Rear hubs to make sure they are tight and check the axle bearing they like to wear down sorta quick if your always doin wheelies which btw are really fun on a 400 haha
Cool, I did all of that and everything is good. The only thing I did notice was the upper A-arm bushing on the right side seemed to have a little play but nothing major. I guess I would have to go to Roll Designs for these bushings. What part of PA are you from? Im in Schuylkill county home of yuengling beer.

[PaRedneckRiders]

im in Southwestern pa

[quad2xtreme]

don't wait too long to take that swingarm bolt out and lube it up good. You should do this every 6 months or so. If not, they seize up and are difficult to remove.

[mudchicken]

Originally posted by quad2xtreme
don't wait too long to take that swingarm bolt out and lube it up good. You should do this every 6 months or so. If not, they seize up and are difficult to remove.

Really dumb question but is this the main bolt that attaches the swing arm to the frame? thanks!

[riotact]

X2 on that.Welcome to the site.To bad we cant get Yuengling Beer here in Ohio,that stuff is pretty good :cool:

[quad2xtreme]

Originally posted by mudchicken
Really dumb question but is this the main bolt that attaches the swing arm to the frame? thanks!

yes, that is the one.

[JOHNDOE83]

Since its a 440 and built by someone else, Id take the carb apart and check the jets, make sure they are the right size.

You dont wanna run to lean. once you find out post your elevation and jet sizes so we can figure out if your close enough or need more jetting.

[mudchicken]

Originally posted by JOHNDOE83
Since its a 440 and built by someone else, Id take the carb apart and check the jets, make sure they are the right size.

You dont wanna run to lean. once you find out post your elevation and jet sizes so we can figure out if your close enough or need more jetting.
It seems to run great, the PO tells me it was built by duncan racing no flat spots or anything like that but shouldnt be hard for me to pull the float bowl and check the jets. I will let ya know what I got when I get chance to pull it.

[honda400ex2003]

welcome to the site! sounds like a pretty nice machine! steve

[mudchicken]

Originally posted by honda400ex2003
welcome to the site! sounds like a pretty nice machine! steve
Thanks! yeah it could use some nicer plastics but who cares how it looks its fast as hell and handles like a dream.:devil:

[beags86]

lets get some pics!!

[PaRedneckRiders]

Originally posted by beags86
lets get some pics!!
X2 on that

[mudchicken]

Not the best pictures but you can get the idea from them. Have some new bars on the way along with a new Pro Circuit pipe to replace the super loud super trapp. Want to get a new bumper and get rid of all this red. (damn thats a lot of red). Also want to clean the plastics up a bit as well. Little bit of elbow grease :muscle: and some time and I will have it looking good.
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c316/mudchicken/IMG_2451.jpg
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c316/mudchicken/IMG_2450.jpg
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c316/mudchicken/IMG_2453.jpg

[beags86]

yeah thats alot of red, looks like an AWESOME starting pointing for a nice quad though. i'd look into some black plastics, that way you wouldn't have to change much frame and and parts wise to have a real sweet looking quad. i'd change a few things but thats just me. what did you give for it? if you don't me asking.

[mudchicken]

Originally posted by beags86
yeah thats alot of red, looks like an AWESOME starting pointing for a nice quad though. i'd look into some black plastics, that way you wouldn't have to change much frame and and parts wise to have a real sweet looking quad. i'd change a few things but thats just me. what did you give for it? if you don't me asking.

I traded my 72 Yamaha XS650 chopper project for it. He also threw in $400 in cash as well. I feel like I took a lil hit but I felt it was time for something new plus I was tired of sinking cash into the chopper and not having it ever be finished. Also, can I ask what you would change? and why? Thanks!
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c316/mudchicken/XS650/IMG_2375.jpg

[beags86]

front bumper - looks
strip the paint off the nerfs - to much red
black plastic - to much red, i think it would look awesome with red frame
clean/repaint front arms- overspray, stickers are wasted
hand guards - just don't like the way they look
exhaust - you got it already
black rims - i just dont care for black painted stock rims
tires - front ones need help
seat cover- needs to black, if you don't do the black plastic, will help with the redness...lol

and lastly i know most people don't like them but i would find a stock header heat shield for it, covers up the ugly welds on the stock header, or spend some time with a grinder and throw down some hi temp black. but there something about the stock heat shield i like. kind of makes a 400ex a 400ex in my opinion.

still though, nice find and pickup

honestly i don't care for metric choppers, but that is pretty damn cool

[mudchicken]

Originally posted by beags86
front bumper - looks
strip the paint off the nerfs - to much red
black plastic - to much red, i think it would look awesome with red frame
clean/repaint front arms- overspray, stickers are wasted
hand guards - just don't like the way they look
exhaust - you got it already
black rims - i just dont care for black painted stock rims
tires - front ones need help
seat cover- needs to black, if you don't do the black plastic, will help with the redness...lol

and lastly i know most people don't like them but i would find a stock header heat shield for it, covers up the ugly welds on the stock header, or spend some time with a grinder and throw down some hi temp black. but there something about the stock heat shield i like. kind of makes a 400ex a 400ex in my opinion.

still though, nice find and pickup

honestly i don't care for metric choppers, but that is pretty damn cool

From what you posted, sounds like we are on the same page. Got some work to do but I love a good project. Yeah the chopper was a last min project that started 2 years ago to get my mind off of things before my daughter went in for open heart surgery. It was a little tough to let it go but now my daughter wants her own quad now. I found her a nice lil old school suzuki 2stroke 50 im gonna snag up for her. Cant wait for us to get out together :D

[beags86]

yeah bikes are nice, but there is something bout' playing in the dirt...

[tri5ron]

Originally posted by mudchicken
From what you posted, sounds like we are on the same page. Got some work to do but I love a good project. Yeah the chopper was a last min project that started 2 years ago to get my mind off of things before my daughter went in for open heart surgery. It was a little tough to let it go but now my daughter wants her own quad now. I found her a nice lil old school suzuki 2stroke 50 im gonna snag up for her. Cant wait for us to get out together :D I'm glad to hear your little girl is fine. I hope the surgery/recovery was short and routine.
(been there done that on a similar note).

Riding with my little girl, (9 years old) is about the funnest thing I can think of.
She is riding for her second summer now,and is awesome.
we don't do any organized racing,.. just family camping/riding stuff.
Last Memorial Day weekend, she climbed her first hill. it was GREAT and I got it on video.

She has gone on a couple of rides with me that were over 20 miles long!, and she was ready for more!

Good luck with your daughter, your in for some GREAT times I promise.

so how old is your daughter?
they outgrow the little 50's real quick.

you might want to start watching for a trx90 or something similar.
alot more stable, and easy to control. auto clutch, and throttle limiter so she dosen't get too wild while learning.

Good luck, and great job !

[mudchicken]

She is 4 now but she will be 5 in November. The good thing about this is she can run this for a while and get the feel for it and when she is ready to move up her 5 week old brother should be ready to enter the ATV world and if not I will just keep it untill he is.:D I think we are going to have a blast, cant wait to pick it up for her. The problem I am having is the wife isnt crazy about this whole idea. She said my daughter rides like her dad :devil: Oh well apples dont fall far from the tree.

[beags86]

go ahead, get the 50, then buy a 300ex/250ex or warrior for the wife and go riding together, atving is a great way for a family to bond. once you can get you wife ridding it's alll downhill from there! and welcome to the atving world, your lucky you picked a atv with a HUGE fan base, and the poeple on this forum are great. the 400ex has one (of what i would say) the biggest followings of any atv ever made..

just rememeber one thing. when your ridding. if some bashes you for having a 400ex cuz they ride a z400, or any 450, 500 sport quad, just remind them that none of this would have happened if honda didn't step up and build the 400ex!

[mudchicken]

Originally posted by beags86
go ahead, get the 50, then buy a 300ex/250ex or warrior for the wife and go riding together, atving is a great way for a family to bond. once you can get you wife ridding it's alll downhill from there! and welcome to the atving world, your lucky you picked a atv with a HUGE fan base, and the poeple on this forum are great. the 400ex has one (of what i would say) the biggest followings of any atv ever made..

just rememeber one thing. when your ridding. if some bashes you for having a 400ex cuz they ride a z400, or any 450, 500 sport quad, just remind them that none of this would have happened if honda didn't step up and build the 400ex!

So true about Honda getting the whole thing rolling again. Its been a while since I have been offroad but only being back in the dirt a couple of days and I already feel good. I missed being able to BS with other riders who are doing it for the same reasons. Its a great sport.

[tri5ron]

Originally posted by beags86
go ahead, get the 50, then buy a 300ex/250ex or warrior for the wife and go riding together, atving is a great way for a family to bond. once you can get you wife ridding it's alll downhill from there! and welcome to the atving world, your lucky you picked a atv with a HUGE fan base, and the poeple on this forum are great. the 400ex has one (of what i would say) the biggest followings of any atv ever made..

just rememeber one thing. when your ridding. if some bashes you for having a 400ex cuz they ride a z400, or any 450, 500 sport quad, just remind them that none of this would have happened if honda didn't step up and build the 400ex! X2 on getting a 250/300ex for the wife.

I started out with a chinese 50 for the kids, then got a 250ex for the wife as a birthday present.

That paved the way for me to get my 400EX, then the 50 was too small for my daughter.

I picked up a 90ex for her last year, and she's "all pro" on it now.

This year I found a Kymco 90 for my boy, witch fits him nicely with it's fully auto tranny.
He's a special needs kid, (Down Syndrome),so he learns things a little more slowly, and not having to learn shifting made it much easier fo him to feel sucsessful, and quickly gain confidence.

he's got two camping trips under his belt now, and is basically riding the tires off of it.
The wife has a blast just putting around camp with the munchkins like a momma duck and her ducklings, then my daughter hits me up for a "Daddy, lets hit the trail, and go for a REAL ride".

You got it kiddo,.... Lets gas 'em up and RIDE!!!

I hope you and your family can enjoy it as much as we do.

here's a hint,...
get a easy to ride,... non-intimidating model for the wife.
make it nice and comfortable for her, and don't push her to be the next "supercross chic".

Next, give her a $200 gift certificate to you local cycle parts supplier that carries all the cool riding gear, in all the "Chic colors and styles".

Drop her off with the salesman there, Tell him to set her up with a full set of riding gear, then you take the kids to the local ice cream shop.

By the time you get back with the kids, the wife will be fully decked out in her new "outfit", and she'll be wanting to go ride and show off her cool new "Wardrobe".
(hey man,... she's a chic,... and even riding in the dirt is a fashion statement !) LOL!

Trust me,...
give 'em a quad, and they may turn their nose up at it.

BUT,...

give 'em NEW CLOTHES,... to go RIDING on that quad,..

and they are basically powerless to do otherwise !!
Hahaha!

ENJOY!
and post up some pics of you and the family.

[beags86]

ron, your right on the money. i want to get my ol' lady to ride with me, so i posted a bunch of posts asking people what to get, 250ex, 300ex, warrior, lt250, and so on and so on. well she said didn't want any of those so i ended up getting myself a 86 trx250r
so she could have my 400ex.

well she was to intimidated by the 400 after she popped out the clutch to fast and did a wheelie. so there we sat. or i should say the 4 wheelers sat. ended up finshing the summer rideing by myself. so fast foward to the winter. doing some shopping and i decided to buy myself a new fox racing hat. well i rememeber that pac sun (yeah the mall store that all the teenie boppers hang out at) carries fox stuff, so i go in there and they don't have any fox hats, but they have some female fox stuff, well low and behold she finds a shirt she likes and buys it.
now 6 months later she has more fox stuff then i have ever had!!
this was capped off buy her getting a new helmet at the honda dealer about 2 months ago.

since then i sold the 250r(that was tough) and picked up a 05 400ex for her(reverse was important to her) now she has all this ridding stuff, she wants to go. and she now has the patience to learn the 400 and she is doing real real good.

heres a pic of her helmet.

[tri5ron]

Originally posted by beags86
ron, your right on the money. i want to get my ol' lady to ride with me, so i posted a bunch of posts asking people what to get, 250ex, 300ex, warrior, lt250, and so on and so on. well she said didn't want any of those so i ended up getting myself a 86 trx250r
so she could have my 400ex.

well she was to intimidated by the 400 after she popped out the clutch to fast and did a wheelie. so there we sat. or i should say the 4 wheelers sat. ended up finshing the summer rideing by myself. so fast foward to the winter. doing some shopping and i decided to buy myself a new fox racing hat. well i rememeber that pac sun (yeah the mall store that all the teenie boppers hang out at) carries fox stuff, so i go in there and they don't have any fox hats, but they have some female fox stuff, well low and behold she finds a shirt she likes and buys it.
now 6 months later she has more fox stuff then i have ever had!!
this was capped off buy her getting a new helmet at the honda dealer about 2 months ago.

since then i sold the 250r(that was tough) and picked up a 05 400ex for her(reverse was important to her) now she has all this ridding stuff, she wants to go. and she now has the patience to learn the 400 and she is doing real real good.

heres a pic of her helmet.
HAHahaha! THERE Ya go,... That's what we're talkin' about!
Who say's, men don't know how women think !?!?! LOL!

OK Mudchicken,... here's your game plan,....
(or at least how it worked for me)...

First you talk to the local Cycle Parts/Accessories Store's, Owner...
you tell him that you want to surprise your wife, with a quad for her birthday. You tell him you would like to put the quad in his store ahead of time, and you are going to use some sort of ruse to get her to come into the store.
Then after you pop the surprize on her, ....
http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n148/tri5ron/Honda%20trx250ex%20quad/IMG_73171.jpg

She is going to be doing a Shopping Spree in his store, and you want her to be fully outfitted (in his store), Helmet, Boots, Riding Pants, Jersey's, Gloves, Goggles, Chest Protector, THE WORKS !!!

He'll love the idea, and He'll love the business. Also tell him that you'll be outfitting your little girl too.
(and lets face it,... Mommy likes to dress up her "baby", just like she dressed up her dolls when SHE was a little girl)
Then BAMM !!! your in,... and she cant turn back !!!

Momma comes out looking something like this.....

http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n148/tri5ron/Honda%20trx250ex%20quad/IMG_7323.jpg


And "Baby-girl" comes out looking something like this....

http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n148/tri5ron/2006%20TRX90%20Quad/IMG_9237.jpg


Then you get to start taking pictures something like this....

http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n148/tri5ron/Mothers%20day%20camping%202010/IMG_1500.jpg

http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n148/tri5ron/Mothers%20day%20camping%202010/IMG_1511.jpg

And NEXT Fathers Day, you get things like THIS !!!....

http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n148/tri5ron/Fathers%20Day%202009/IMG_9909.jpg

http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n148/tri5ron/Fathers%20Day%202009/IMG_9899.jpg

http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n148/tri5ron/Fathers%20Day%202009/IMG_9895.jpg

http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n148/tri5ron/Mothers%20day%20camping%202010/P1020216.jpg

http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n148/tri5ron/Mothers%20day%20camping%202010/IMG_1482.jpg

http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n148/tri5ron/Mothers%20day%20camping%202010/IMG_1513.jpg


So now you are on a mission Man !!!
It all starts with getting the wife some new clothes !!! hahaha!!!
trust me,... It WORKS !
and,....
hope your next Fathers Day is as fun as mine are now !!!

We want a full report on your progress,
your assignment is clear...

happy trails,
Ron

[mudchicken]

Nice family you have there Ron! I think next year if everything goes well I will get her a quad next year. Cant wait to pick up the lil LT50 for the daughter, she has not stopped asking about it since she took it for a ride. She has totaly blown my mind though. I could never get her near my quad in the past and now all she does is pests me to take her for rides. I got som new parts for the 440 so its starting to look and run MUCH better. New bumper, new front tires, new bars, and new full exhaust. Let me know what ya's think.
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c316/mudchicken/440EX/IMG_2467.jpg
I love this pic. the daughter trying to put some of my gear on. Love the face.
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c316/mudchicken/440EX/IMG_2469.jpg

[tri5ron]

Originally posted by mudchicken
Nice family you have there Ron! I think next year if everything goes well I will get her a quad next year.

Thanks, Yeah, I've decided to keep them around for a while longer, LOL!
For your wife, if shes not the wild and fast type of rider, you might be surprised to find that she would probably enjoy a UTV styled atv just as much as a "Sport" atv. If she's not interested in doing jumps and shooting roost's in the corners, don't sweat it.
Maybe something like a Rancher would better suit the purpose.
It comes with a front and rear rack, that come in quite useful.

The point is, for her to have fun, and not be intimidated by the machine.

My wife has no intrest in doing a wheelie, skipping across the tops of the whoops in 4th or 5th,, or catching any sort of "Air".
But on the same note, she DOES love to ride her quad, and THAT is what makes for a happy time. She crusies, carries her camera, packs some munchies, and just loves to go exploring.

There are some good advantages to this also,...
Since she is not going to ever be battleing for the lead, or trying to pass you,...
guess who gets to carry all the drinks, munchies, pack-lunch, extra fuel, etc. !!!
Which means that YOU get to rip around all over the place and not have to lug all the extra "trail-comforts". YEA !!!
I've gotta go now, but will come back and edit this in a little while...

[mudchicken]

Originally posted by tri5ron
Thanks, Yeah, I've decided to keep them around for a while longer, LOL!
For your wife, if shes not the wild and fast type of rider, you might be surprised to find that she would probably enjoy a UTV styled atv just as much as a "Sport" atv. If she's not interested in doing jumps and shooting roost's in the corners, don't sweat it.
Maybe something like a Rancher would better suit the purpose.
It comes with a front and rear rack, that come in quite useful.

The point is, for her to have fun, and not be intimidated by the machine.

My wife has no intrest in doing a wheelie, skipping across the tops of the whoops in 4th or 5th,, or catching any sort of "Air".
But on the same note, she DOES love to ride her quad, and THAT is what makes for a happy time. She crusies, carries her camera, packs some munchies, and just loves to go exploring.

There are some good advantages to this also,...
Since she is not going to ever be battleing for the lead, or trying to pass you,...
guess who gets to carry all the drinks, munchies, pack-lunch, extra fuel, etc. !!!
Which means that YOU get to rip around all over the place and not have to lug all the extra "trail-comforts". YEA !!!
I've gotta go now, but will come back and edit this in a little while...

That sounds like a perfect idea! I like the way you think.:devil:

[beags86]

i like the front bumper, my 02 had one of those on it when i got it but it was old and bent. and i wanted something different so i ended picking up the prm baja. but i really like those ac, when they are new

[tri5ron]

Originally posted by mudchicken
I got som new parts for the 440 so its starting to look and run MUCH better. New bumper, new front tires, new bars, and new full exhaust. Let me know what ya's think.




Lookin' pretty good there, It's startin' to clean up nicely. get rid of that overspray on the a-arms and that will help to clean it up some more.
I would HIGHLY suggest getting a Swingarm skid plate.
te ONLY time I would EVER ride without one would be on a racetrack.
Why ??? you ask,.....
Because there are no grapefruit or soccerball sized rocks on a racetrack.

But anywhere else you ride, there will be rocks, ruts, logs, etc., that are fully intent on cracking/breaking your rear sprocket, or bending your rear rotor.
Either one of which will ruin your day of riding, and worse yet, could leave you stranded many miles from camp.
I smack my swinger skid all the time, and that means I'm NOT hitting those rocks with the sprocket or rotor.

as a matter of fact,... I'm on my second swinger skid, due to my first one looks like a freakin' train wreck,... but I still have my original sprocket, and rotor.



Originally posted by mudchicken

I love this pic. the daughter trying to put some of my gear on. Love the face.
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c316/mudchicken/440EX/IMG_2469.jpg

Haha,
Cool shot of the little munchkin there, Here's a similar shot of my little buddy trying on my shorty helmet that I use when I take my vintage Honda CT90 out for a spin.....
(He was 6yo in this shot, and lil sis was 4yo)

http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n148/tri5ron/vacation%2006/IMG_2130.jpg


I don't know if you've seen any of my pics with the rear racks on mine or my wifes quads. mine is rarely mounted, but hers stays on about 90% of the time.
If I'd have put a little more thought into it before I bought hers, I'd have realized that she would have been just as happy with a UTV style.
This would also provide an advantage for the group family rides, because they have both a Front AND Rear rack.

Add a couple of nice cargo bags to those racks and a winch to the front,... and momma is basically a rolling support crew, that can carry all the previously listed goodies, as well as some tools, fuel, or use your imagination.

Here's a few pics of our rigs when we are in full trail cruising mode, with the rear racks and bags...

http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n148/tri5ron/Fathers%20Day%202009/IMG_9855.jpg

http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n148/tri5ron/Fathers%20Day%202009/IMG_9886.jpg

In this shot, The wife and I did a "no kids" camp trip on the quads. We passed off the kids to G'ma & G'pa for the weekend, and headed for the hills.
This was last 4th of July, (which is her birthday).
We are about 10-15 miles from the truck, and Everything you see in the pic, was carried in on our quads.
Including tent, air matress, sleeping bags, chairs, table, stove, lantern, cooking pans, food, drink, music, etc..
We had a blast.

http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n148/tri5ron/Pinnacles%20ride%207-04-09/IMG_9926.jpg


So do whatever you think works best for you, but THE KEY to making this a sucessful Family Activity is to make sure that MOMMA is comfortable and happy on her ride, and don't push her to do any more than she is comfortable with.
My wife is a NOVICE rider at best, and she will probably NEVER graduate beyond the performance capacities of her TRX250.
but she is happy on it, it rides quietly and smoothly, and serves her very well.
And that is just fine by me, because when I sugest a family camp/riding trip, she is all for it, and is included in the fun, so that means EVERYONE is happy.

( it ALSO means that I don't have to mount my rear rack, to enjoy a couple of nice cold brews out on the trail )
:D :D :D

Ride Hard, Ride Safe, and Keep the Rubber side Down !