longest life motor of any atv??

[400man]

does anyone else think that the 400ex has one of the longest "lifespans" of any similar atv in production? and by lifespan I mean running in good mechanical condition with out any major internal maintance that requires spliting the cases. I was just thinking about it, my ex is a 2000 model........10 yrs old, ive owned it about a year, have no idea how hard its been rode before me or how many owners its had. when I got it, it was smoking fairly bad. I rode it for a month or two untill the cam chain tensioner went out and thats when I opened up the topend.....and what I believe was for the first time ever on this motor cause it had all original brown paper "honda" gaskets, even the original thread lock on all the 8mm bolts in the side cover and valve cover. and the bolts didnt even have any type of socket wear on the heads. all I did was hone the cylinder, new tensioner and 450 timing chain, and put new honda rings on the piston and new valve seals and thats how its been till now. what im wondering is how long could this motor hold up with regular maintance (oil, valves, eventually another set of rings, seals) on the original crank/transmission/piston?

[IRISH-RACER-14]

we had a 250x(used on the farm) that lasted 15 years. bought new in 1990. it was used everyday of its life. never hit the rev limiter. used at slow pace. was serviced mabey twice a year?

[trailrider894]

Originally posted by 400man
does anyone else think that the 400ex has one of the longest "lifespans" of any similar atv in production? and by lifespan I mean running in good mechanical condition with out any major internal maintance that requires spliting the cases. I was just thinking about it, my ex is a 2000 model........10 yrs old, ive owned it about a year, have no idea how hard its been rode before me or how many owners its had. when I got it, it was smoking fairly bad. I rode it for a month or two untill the cam chain tensioner went out and thats when I opened up the topend.....and what I believe was for the first time ever on this motor cause it had all original brown paper "honda" gaskets, even the original thread lock on all the 8mm bolts in the side cover and valve cover. and the bolts didnt even have any type of socket wear on the heads. all I did was hone the cylinder, new tensioner and 450 timing chain, and put new honda rings on the piston and new valve seals and thats how its been till now. what im wondering is how long could this motor hold up with regular maintance (oil, valves, eventually another set of rings, seals) on the original crank/transmission/piston?

I got my ex back in '06 and i bought it from a guy who bought it brand new from the dealer. He gave me receipts for it and it only had oil changes and carb work done to it and i rode the heck out of it including some races and stuff and never opened up the case until last summer for some precautionary mods like the CRF timing chain. I know that all of my other friends can't ride half the time because they have theres torn apart. The ability to upgrade is easier because we aren't pouring money into repairs. lol So yep, 10yrs and 100's of hours of riding i finally replaced the clutch. lol

[bkelley]

My dad bought his '85 350X brand new off the showroom floor. I could even try to estimate the hours on it but he's never done anything major to it. Only the basics, tires, chains, sprockets, oil, plugs. Still has the stock piston, rings, cylinder, everything. He even jokes that it runs better than it ever has and it's hard for me to disagree. Thing is an absolutely blast to ride.

[IRISH-RACER-14]

Originally posted by bkelley
My dad bought his '85 350X brand new off the showroom floor. I could even try to estimate the hours on it but he's never done anything major to it. Only the basics, tires, chains, sprockets, oil, plugs. Still has the stock piston, rings, cylinder, everything. He even jokes that it runs better than it ever has and it's hard for me to disagree. Thing is an absolutely blast to ride.

i remember seeing a pic of that trike. its a sweet bike

[jensenracing77]

Originally posted by bkelley
My dad bought his '85 350X brand new off the showroom floor. I could even try to estimate the hours on it but he's never done anything major to it. Only the basics, tires, chains, sprockets, oil, plugs. Still has the stock piston, rings, cylinder, everything. He even jokes that it runs better than it ever has and it's hard for me to disagree. Thing is an absolutely blast to ride.

i have to agree. the 350X engine will outlast most any engine. the 400EX is close but the 350X is King in this department. the 300EX and 250X are from the same engine family but still won't last as long as the 350X. this is all based on proper oil changes and air filters being cleaned.

[jake"08"400]

I know its not a quad but my grand dad bought 2000 rancher es 4x4 350 brand new we had it till last year had over 4000 miles on it an countless hours cos I can't rember what the meter said before we sold it an it was still running fine and that was 9 years off hard riding. The guy we sold it to still rides its ever other day around where I live. Point being if you take care of it change the oil regualur itl last forever.

[smorris1]

My dads 1988 Honda 300 utility quad is still running on stock everything. He doesnt do anything to that bike hahaha. Not even brakes and they still work fine.

[finsteratv]

i know how to find a bike with a reliable engine.
the one with HONDA stamped on the side:p

[jcs003]

honda is synonimus with reliability. people have rode their hondas for years on original engine with only normal maintainance. another very reliable machine is the yamaha warrior. thats the only reliable yamaha in my experience.

[dns1764]

i forget who i was talking to but this guy from maine had a rancher 400 (not 100% positive) but he rode the thing every day for years. the thing had over 100000 miles on it

[Nac's22]

We have one of the old 1985 Fourtrax 250 utility quads. My father bought it in fall of 1984 for hunting season. I have no idea how many hours are on it or anything its absolutley amazing. It didn't get its first oil change until 2 years ago.... my father just never did it and I don't know why. When I pulled the cover off the oil filter housing there was mold and stuff growing in there. It had the original air filter until then but its replaced now because it just pretty much fell apart. It is all original and kinda beat looking. But it starts every time you want to ride it, it is the most reliable quad we own. I know of 5 others that are the same way so this one gets my vote.

[ish416]

I purchased my 400EX new in February 1999 and have owned it since. It was my primary mode of transportation for three years, back when nobody cared if you rode on county roads. I would take road trips to friends houses and nearby riding spots. It wasn't unusual to run through 2 or 3 tanks of gas in a day or go on a 100 mile round trip on the back roads for about 10 months out of the year.

It took 4 years for my EX to start smoking and lose power. I rebuilt it in it's current form 6 years ago and have not had any major mechanical issues since.

My EX I would say has been incredibly reliable as far as the engine goes but, no more so than several of the Yamaha Warriors, Kawasaki Mojaves and Suzuki Quadsports I know that have had much much harder lives than my EX.

[ridgeracer]

Originally posted by smorris1
My dads 1988 Honda 300 utility quad is still running on stock everything. He doesnt do anything to that bike hahaha. Not even brakes and they still work fine.
Ya we have 2 completely stock '88 300s we used for hunting. Bought brand new and honestly, as bad as it sounds, was running factory air filter and as far as I know original oil. >.<We went through and cleaned/rebuilt the carb and replaced the filters and oil about 2 years ago.

20 years of factory everything and they still run like champs. Granted we only really put miles on them during hunting seasons every year but still..pretty impressive.

[jcs003]

Originally posted by ridgeracer
Ya we have 2 completely stock '88 300s we used for hunting. Bought brand new and honestly, as bad as it sounds, was running factory air filter and as far as I know original oil. >.<We went through and cleaned/rebuilt the carb and replaced the filters and oil about 2 years ago.

20 years of factory everything and they still run like champs. Granted we only really put miles on them during hunting seasons every year but still..pretty impressive.

agreed. just a machine sitting isnt good for them.

[rcatvrider]

Basically any honda engine is good for years. We have a 87 sportrax200 beat to heck but runs like a champ.

[f419sr1]

I have a 1991 Suzuki 230 Quad sport that was given to me by a friend. He bought it new then his son rode it. My son rode it until he grew out of it now my youngest son is riding it. The motor has never been touched. usually starts on the second or third pull. Need a new battery then the electric start will work again. The only things I have had to replace are bushings and bearings on the chaise