XC racing questions

[Foxhound013]

Next year i'll finnally be old enough to race the 400. That is if I'm ready by then. What all should I be doing to get ready. I'm working out to get my endurance up and I ride every chance I get. What mods should I be looking at to help me as much as possible. All my current mods are in my sig. I plan on trying to get flexx bars and I am working on getting all of my gear. The gear has to come first.
So just to recap my questions are what all should I do to get ready, what mods should I look at to help me out as much as possible? I'm on a pretty limited budget, lol, being 15 and only able to get little odd jobs here and there dosn't make it easy lol.
Thanks for any help you guys can give me.

[2005honda400ex]

you have a lot of mods for looks but you should be looking at stuff for performance. you should be looking for an aftermarket exhaust system, hot cams, and wiseco piston

[416racer]

ride,ride,ride! That's the best thing you can do.
It looks like your bike is set up pretty well.You've got good shocks,stabilizer and protection.Now you just need beadlocks with some type of tire balls.They can be expensive but finishing a xc race is very important!

[honda98]

i would say exhaust is the next big thing you will want to buy. i would suggest hmf or fmf. i have an fmf pipe on mine but it was on it when i bought it. if i had the choice i would of proably gone with hmf. they seem expensive but if you can afford it its well worth it

[Foxhound013]

Most of my mods are for handling and protection now, I want to do flexx bars so I won't get wore out too quickly. About the cams, what will work well with stock compression? I thought a stg 1 cam would be good but i don't know. My pipe should be just fine, its the stock one, yes, but we cut the baffle out and made a core for it and packed the pipe. So it is about the same as an aftermarket.

[beags86]

Originally posted by Foxhound013
About the cams, what will work well with stock compression? I thought a stg 1 cam would be good but i don't know.

My pipe should be just fine, its the stock one, yes, but we cut the baffle out and made a core for it and packed the pipe. So it is about the same as an aftermarket.

stage 1 would be a good upgrade, and maybe look into a sparks key.

and no your homemade pipe is not as good as an aftermarket pipe, pipe manufacturers spend alot of time and money trying to build the best product they can build for the price range that pipe is marketed for. just because your "straight thru" pipe seams like it would as good dosn't mean it is. right now i can't think how to explain this better, so i'll tell you a short story.
when i was about your age i had a polaris snowmoblie i thought was hot ****. it wasn't.. i didn't have money for big 2 stroke expansion pipes so i thought i would hollow out my stock muffer like you did. sounded cool (kind of) and i thought i was making more power, until i was able to save for some real pipes.
once i did i could feel the difference right away. and yes i know there is a difference with 2 stroke expansion pipes and a stock pipe, but trust me you will make more power with an aftermarket. will you feel the difference? prob not by itself. but once you get into the engine you will.
you can pick up a used pipe on ebay or on here for a decent price.

[Foxhound013]

Oh yeah I forgot all about the sparks key lol, What your sayin about the pipe makes total sense, It should be fine though until i have the spare money right? Or should a new pipe be of top priority?

[416racer]

get a pipe when the time and money's right, when it comes to xc racing that stock pipe isnt goin to make you lose a race;) there was a kid I raced with here that laid some serious smack down with a 300ex!

[jmarkel]

Take care of your handling/suspension first. Get a stablelizer and shocks. I have a CCP stablelizer and I did the GT thunder XC link and had the rear shock revalved. I have 450r shocks converted by GT.

This will allow you to rider at a faster pace. Then do engine mods once you tap out your stock power!

[Foxhound013]

I've got a ccp stabilizer and kfx 450 shocks already, any tips for the tougher hills and woods riding in general?

[416racer]

have you raced xc before?

[Foxhound013]

No, next year i'll be 16, just old enough to race the 400.

[416racer]

dont go out and try to win your first race...just finishing one is quite the accomplishment! being steady and consistent is more important than just being fast. just ride your race and keep your momentum up them rough hills. the speed will come with time.

[supertrooper90]

you dont need bead locks. they are nice to have, but you dont need them. i did 7 harescrambles last year on my 400ex with no bead locks. best thing i can say is suspension I have 450r shocks and gt thunder xc link. Have fun!

[Foxhound013]

Ok, thanks guys. That was my plan to just go out and try to finish, I'll just try to get a little better each race. So just to recap the best mods I have left are flexx bars, stg 1 cam, and sparks key. Sending the shocks off would prolly be good too but I won't have the money for that before next year anyway even if I didn't try to get the mods listed above. Now that i'm thinking about mods steel braided brake lines are prolly a good Idea too lol.

[Foxhound013]

Also would the Sparks x-1 cam be better for woods or should I stick with the stg 1 hotcam, I'm worried the x-1 wouldn't work well with stock bore. I've read the x-1 gets more speed than a stg 1 cam but more torque than a stg 2 cam. Its kinda in between if I understood what I read right. Any suggestions on that?

[Foxhound013]

Does anyone have experience with both the stg 1 hotcam and the sparks x-1 cam?

[HondaRacing83]

keep in mind its more the rider than the quad =)

[TRXRacer1]

I went through 3 rear wheels before I installed the ITP Baja reinforced set. Never had a problem after that. Depends how hard you ride and were as to if you will eventually need better wheels. Never did need beadlocks.

[Foxhound013]

Originally posted by HondaRacing83
keep in mind its more the rider than the quad =)

Very true lol, my dad races my 400 now as it sits, i've just been building it for when i start racing, He's second in overall score right now, so yeah your right, i prolly shouldn't worry so much about the quad and more about me lol, I just figure any help i can get from the quad would be nice lol

[slightlybent47]

Since you have a bunch of mods already, I’d say it time to jump in and get your feet wet.
Once you get started and can get a good look at what everyone else is doing then you can do more mods if you like.
Your only 15 so there’s plenty of time to get it right, though there’s nothing wrong with doing as much as you can.

I have a statement in my sig that pretty much sums it up. http://www.clicksmilies.com/s1106/aktion/action-smiley-083.gif

[Foxhound013]

I've seen that before when i'd read other posts that you'd commented on, thats pretty funny, lol