The 400ex and MX. The truth now shines....

[trailrider894]

Hello all... I have been doing tons of re-search before posting this. Actually... about 4 years and 1854 posts of re-search.

So here is the question....

Is the 400ex MX worthy? Or should I get a 450r?

Well... Truth be told, of course you should get a 450r, or should you??? :scary:

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Let the truth be told!!!

The 450r is the definition of sleek design, ergonomics, power, handling, and a championship winning machine. When you take all these qualities and figure out that the 450r is one heck of a race winning machine, you will soon be convinced that you need one.

Ha ha ... gotcha... and to think you all thought I was here to break the news that the 400ex wasn't a qualified MX quad.... :p

Here is where the truth comes out..... lol

The 400ex was designed around competition!! So... this automatically tells me that it will have no problem running the MX track. Now although we have to spend twice the money that 450r owners do to get our quads ready to race, we only have to re-build once every 7yrs unlike the other guys who re-build like what.........???........ 12 times a season???........ or so it seems. Not only that, seems like all EX owners do there own work, you wanna know why?? Because we are actually smart enough to do so!! ha ha :devil:

Truth #2....

450r owners are FAT!! This is one other advantage of owning a 400ex, you will be working twice as hard for that first place trophy than anyone riding a 450r. This equates to more skilled riders and knowledge about racing!!!

Truth #3....

It takes BALLZ to race a 400ex. Think of the utter scrutiny that you will placed under when you show up with a piece of near ancient history. So... Yet another reason that 400ex's racers are better... We have the BALLZ to show up with a 400ex and the BALLZ to go out with the confidence and knowledge that we may not have the best, most expensive, or fastest bike, but that we are atleast out there trying our damndest to win!!

So... Let see what all this jibber jabber equates too....

It all comes down to the fact that the more skilled, fit, and confident racers that come from the 400ex background make better racers!!! let me emphasize that again....

the more skilled, fit, confident racers that come from the 400ex background make better racers!!!

YES!! Thats right folks!!! Look around.... 75% of the long time Pro's that ride for Honda rode a 400ex back in the day!! Watch the old Huevos Films, what do you see??? 400ex's...

So now lets all give the 400ex a round of applause for being the best sport quad ever and for making the best riders in history!!!

Victory Dance for all 400ex owners!!!





WE ARE AWESOME!!!


DISCLAIMER: This was intended to be funny and informative... If you own a 450r, pun intended. If you also own a 400ex, pun still intended. If you own a 450r and own a 400ex and plan on selling your 450r, pun intended until completion of sale.

[trailrider894]

FYI... I am not drunk nor high. :chinese:

[bullett]

I LOL'D at Truth #2. My friend is fat and owns a YFZ haha

[honda400ex2003]

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there it is. A well deserved one at that. we all knew it was true anyway though! why do you think we all ride these things in the first place? theres a reason theres no 450r in my arsenal yet. it could have replaced my rev or my zx sled but why? the sleds have 140+ ponies to pull them through the snow. what does a 450r have 38. my 400ex 34. whoa 4 hp not gonna make my trigger trip.


haha

thanks for the late night laughs man!

steve

[CJM]

lol...

[ish416]

YES!! Thats right folks!!! Look around.... 75% of the long time Pro's that ride for Honda rode a 400ex back in the day!! Watch the old Huevos Films, what do you see??? 400ex's... So now lets all give the 400ex a round of applause for being the best sport quad ever and for making the best riders in history!!!

I remember seeing mostly 250R's with the occasional EX.

[slightlybent47]

The reason most old pro’s road ex’s is that that was the state of the art back then.
Before that it was the 250’r so using that analogy doesn’t fly.

It’s all about the proper machine for the job at hand. Tight trails and technical tracks give me an ex. Open tracks with long straight away, drag racing, or dune riding then I’ll take a 450 any day.

It’s all about useable power; all the power in the world is useless if you can’t use it. Sorry I didn’t see any humor in your post.

[chronicsmoke]

Originally posted by trailrider894
FYI... I am not drunk nor high. :chinese:



Time to change that:bandit:

[trailrider894]

Originally posted by slightlybent47
The reason most old pro’s road ex’s is that that was the state of the art back then.
Before that it was the 250’r so using that analogy doesn’t fly.

It’s all about the proper machine for the job at hand. Tight trails and technical tracks give me an ex. Open tracks with long straight away, drag racing, or dune riding then I’ll take a 450 any day.

It’s all about useable power; all the power in the world is useless if you can’t use it. Sorry I didn’t see any humor in your post.

Thats the thing, you are missing the point. The 400ex set the bar for four stroke machines and what they are today. If you can't find the humor then lighten up a bit.

[chronicsmoke]

Originally posted by slightlybent47
[/B]

It’s all about useable power; all the power in the world is useless if you can’t use it. Sorry I didn’t see any humor in your post. [/B]

Whoa man, 'light'n up a little, you'll feel better I promise.

You're post made me laugh trailrider, compliments on the rebuild in process too

[trailrider894]

Originally posted by chronicsmoke
Whoa man, 'light'n up a little, you'll feel better I promise.

You're post made me laugh trailrider, compliments on the rebuild in process too

thanks man!! Glad you caught the sarcasm... lol Got the final parts in today, should be 99% complete by tommorow... but you guys know it... it'll never be finshed....

[98300exduner]

I love this ha

[finsteratv]

haha thats right
us 400 riders have BALLZ!

[trailrider894]

Thought i would lighten up the 400ex thread here!!!! lol heck yeah!! 400ex riders are sick people... All my friends laughed at me when i said what i was riding this season, until we practiced... then they had nothing to say....

[HondaPohl]

Bravo Bravo!!! Great sermon rev! Anybody who tries to pick that apart needs to relax. Take a pill or sumtin.

[greencow]

Ha this is funny and true!

[Ruby Soho]

Sure you can race a 400ex, why not? I could race a warrior if i wanted..

450r ftw when it comes to motocross.

[beastlywarrior]

Originally posted by Ruby Soho
Sure you can race a 400ex, why not? I could race a warrior if i wanted..

450r ftw when it comes to motocross.

many still do lol


lol at the fat people on 450s

[cheater13]

Amen! I love my 05 400ex!

[sheweezy]

Anybody that is trying to kill trailriders post with negativity should reflect back to his original ? Is the 400ex mx worthy, or does he need to get a 450r? I don't think anybody on this whole website could say that the 400ex is not mx worthy, especially if modded... but of course if our main objective was winnin a mx race we would get a 450. Just wanted to kinda throw that back into the thread and in my opinion for my ridin a 400ex is the most practical, IT IS MX WORTHY, regardless if something else makes more power, AND I don't have to rebuild every new moon, on top of that I could probably bust a hole in my oil reservoir 25 miles from the truck, house or whereever and make it back easily with an ex....

[trailrider894]

Originally posted by sheweezy
Anybody that is trying to kill trailriders post with negativity should reflect back to his original ? Is the 400ex mx worthy, or does he need to get a 450r? I don't think anybody on this whole website could say that the 400ex is not mx worthy, especially if modded... but of course if our main objective was winnin a mx race we would get a 450. Just wanted to kinda throw that back into the thread and in my opinion for my ridin a 400ex is the most practical, IT IS MX WORTHY, regardless if something else makes more power, AND I don't have to rebuild every new moon, on top of that I could probably bust a hole in my oil reservoir 25 miles from the truck, house or whereever and make it back easily with an ex....

This is logical. I chose the 400ex, because it covers all the bases and is all around good for everything!! My atv isn't designed around MX, i could race anything with it like it is.

[Ruby Soho]

If you really think about it though.. You can ride anything anywhere. If you gave me a week on a 450r, I could ride it just as comfortably in the woods as a 400ex. Or I could ride a 400ex on the track as well as I could a 450r.

Only difference is the 450 comes from the factory equal to a modified 400ex.

but then if you think about it again.. if your going to be racing a quad, you probably will replace every stock part on it, so either quad your going to have to dump way to much money into and end up with the same product.

I still vote 450r, but I still love 400exs

[CJM]

^ Exactly.

The bottom line for most is this:
The 400ex used is usually much cheaper than a 450r, its a simpler design and very rugged. Not saying the 450r is bad, but its a race machine and needs to be serviced like one. Forget to adjust the valves on your ex hey it should run forever, forget to do the 450r (which is a royal pain) and you might not be a happy camper.

How many have bought the EX beaten to hell, repaired and its and been utterly reliable?

[trailrider894]

Originally posted by CJM
^ Exactly.

The bottom line for most is this:
The 400ex used is usually much cheaper than a 450r, its a simpler design and very rugged. Not saying the 450r is bad, but its a race machine and needs to be serviced like one. Forget to adjust the valves on your ex hey it should run forever, forget to do the 450r (which is a royal pain) and you might not be a happy camper.

How many have bought the EX beaten to hell, repaired and its and been utterly reliable?

Lets see... 5 years and no valve adjustments... a stuck decompressor that whole time... and yeah guess what... it still runs like the day i bought it. Good luck with that 450r owners......

[tri5ron]

Originally posted by trailrider894
Lets see... 5 years and no valve adjustments... a stuck decompressor that whole time... and yeah guess what... it still runs like the day i bought it. Good luck with that 450r owners...... x2, and dont forget it makes a Damn nice trail machine too.
When I was deciding one which quad to buy, I wanted some features and abilities from BOTH, the "Sport" machines, AND the "Utility" machines.
I wanted a near bullet-proof bike, with a long, time proven, history. wanted a torquey low to mid power range, that required minimal maintenance, and provided a high reliability record.

I wanted to have a large variety of available aftermarket parts and choices, due to my terminal affliction of A.A.D.S., and my burning uncontrolable desire to hang out in the garage and kill a sixpac while tinkering on my machine.

I wanted a machine that would do a decent job at BOTH a technical trail ride, a fast XC ride with my buddies, and a slow enjoyable ride with my kids and wife.
I'm not looking to win the rights to carrying a checkered flag around the track in a victory lap.

I wanted to be able to alter it's configuration to fit any one of these riding styles, and be happy and comfortable at any one them.

I figured it was going to be easier to modify a Sport" quad to do some "utility" functions, much easier and better than, trying to get a "utility" quad to run like a "Sport" quad.

The 400EX was an obvious choice for me, And now with a few mods, and a few accesories,... it has "Morphed" into my TRX 400EX-U, sport/utili-trax.

works for me...

http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n148/tri5ron/pinnacles%20with%20cameron%208-10/IMG_2056.jpg

http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n148/tri5ron/pinnacles%20with%20cameron%208-10/IMG_2072.jpg

http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n148/tri5ron/Pinnacles%20ride%207-04-09/IMG_9926.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_1517.jpg

http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n148/tri5ron/memorial%20weekend%20camp%20trip%202010/IMG_1115.jpg

http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n148/tri5ron/Fathers%20Day%202009/IMG_9854.jpg

http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n148/tri5ron/Fathers%20Day%202009/IMG_9889.jpg

For me,.. what's alot more important, is the quality times and memory making trips, spent with my family and friends.
not a few fans in some grandstands, and empty wins for boosting my ego.
What makes me feel good, is hearing my daughter say,...
" That was a fun ride Dad, lets grab some lunch, and do another one!"
I get a much better charge out of that, than I do hearing over a loadspeaker, "Gentlemen, Start your engines".

A 450r is not the bike for me, but for those who have them, and enjoy them,.... that's Great !
I'll always be happy to tow them back to their camp, and drink one of their cold brews when we get there !

[Rohr397]

Dont get me wrong I love my 400ex but my 450r was incredible. It was just as reliable as the 400 I have now. I put in 500 hours on the stock topend and never adjusted the valves. It probably could've used some tuning at that point but it went to hell and back and never skipped a beat. I flat landed 70ft, hammered whoops, ran it in 110 degree weather for 20 minutes with the drain bolt missing, crawled through knee high mud puddles, ran into trees, climbed impossible hills, jumped logs, did six dune trips and rode motocross tracks all in that time. It never broke down or failed on me once. Unfortunately I was stupid enough to think Id be better off on a Yfz...

[01boneless]

WOW :eek2: on the drain bolt lmao

[CJM]

Speaking of losing stuff kid I met riding one time LOST fill plug and had been riding for who knows how long before he realized it. We left it behind and he rode around a bit on someone elses, they drug it back home, changed the oil and it was fine.

[honda400ex2003]

speaking of bumping a year old thread...


still funny though!
steve

[CJM]

I will say that riding a 450 is a different animal. I was playing on a friends 05 with hi-comp piston and stage 2 cam and HOLY HELL it had some NICE torque. Im not sure if its b/c its an 05 with the hi-comp or what (sprockets are stock iirc) but it has very nice lowend power and screams too. You could easily get sideways at anytime you wanted.

Now Ive ridden newer 450s as well and they dont have that torque like his does, they got more speed than anything.

You cant compare a 400 to the power a 450 has. Yea you can make a 400 more powerfull but the fast revving nature and higher redline and power a 450 makes is not obtainable to EX unless you go stroker imho.

Im quite tempted one day to buy an 05 and do the hi-comp piston and a cam-but the crank bearing problems they have, shorter swingarm and different a-arms make them super undesirable in my eyes. Not to mention kicker only.

If the a-arms were the same size Id be tempted.. But who knows, my goals to fix the EX up, fix my truck and see what happens. Maybe this summer Ill make enough cash to put a down payment on a new 450 or buy a used one.

[CJM]

I wanted to add:
The EX is still a great machine, the simplicity and aftermarket is what makes them solid and worth it for many different people. I personally like how simple they are.

[trailrider894]

Originally posted by CJM
I wanted to add:
The EX is still a great machine, the simplicity and aftermarket is what makes them solid and worth it for many different people. I personally like how simple they are.

Glad you revived this!! Still reigning true now!!! ha ha still have my EX and have no plans on getting rid of it!! It'll be chilling in a storage unit till i get back from the desert, but so what!! It still loves me!!

[chronicsmoke]

Originally posted by CJM
Im quite tempted one day to buy an 05 and do the hi-comp piston and a cam-but the crank bearing problems they have, shorter swingarm and different a-arms make them super undesirable in my eyes. Not to mention kicker only.


Now you're cookin' with gas, Mark! :macho

06+ swinger/shock/link are cheap and easy to come by (I didn't really notice a difference though when I switched)
04/05s have the better front end (probably not noticable to the average trail rider anyway)
Kicker only? BONUS :D

A mild 450 (piston/HRC) has all of the power trail riders would ever need..

But the 400 is the (if not one of the) ultimate trail machines..

[Rohr397]

Yeah for sure, I do like my 400ex for everything else other than the motor, but I can still get just about everything I want out of it.

As much as I am a Honda person the only quad I would trade for is a KTM505SX or 525XC. Honestly they're an incredible ride and if I had the $6,000 I could buy one at the local shop and have an insane warranty that'd cover me for 2 years for just about everything.
:devil:

[CJM]

Originally posted by chronicsmoke
Now you're cookin' with gas, Mark! :macho

06+ swinger/shock/link are cheap and easy to come by (I didn't really notice a difference though when I switched)
04/05s have the better front end (probably not noticable to the average trail rider anyway)


Im not a fan of the 04-05 fronts, feel too twitchy to me. What makes them better in your eyes?

As for kicker, excellent should you want to save weight, but kinda sucks. Lights dont matter really b/c iirc all 450s have 120 watts period.

[chronicsmoke]

Originally posted by CJM
Im not a fan of the 04-05 fronts, feel too twitchy to me. What makes them better in your eyes?

As for kicker, excellent should you want to save weight, but kinda sucks. Lights dont matter really b/c iirc all 450s have 120 watts period.

The spindles are different between years.. tons of people use 04/05 front ends on 06+ models. But I dont think the average rider would feel the difference.

I have had nothing but trouble with the electric system on m,y 400.. since then I've bought my 250/450 and I'll never go back.

Keep in mind I dont trail whatsoever.. I start it before I hit the track, and turn it off after lol.

[CJM]

Ah I see, better inclination and steering angle.

I havent had issues with the 400 electrical system but I switched to the busa battery a LONG time ago.

[trailrider894]

I still dislike the 450r's handling/suspension, its horribly twitchy and poorly designed..

[CJM]

Originally posted by trailrider894
I still dislike the 450r's handling/suspension, its horribly twitchy and poorly designed..

Riding a few of them I find the newer ones handle better, the older ones do feel way twitchy. I also think its the raw power. I can get sideways on my EX but nowhere near as easy as the 450s.

Also after some research I learned a few things about different years 450:
1. The 04-05 of course is a different motor. It is more torquey than the 06+, it also has better internals despite the crank bearing problems.
2. The 06+ due to the engine and FCR carb have highend power, this is ok if you want to race and need to fly-but if you dont and want to lug a bit its no good.
3. All stators are the same, so battery or kicker lights will work the same. Battery might give you a bit better if you run tons of lights tho.
4. Frontend of the 04-05 is different of course and better.
5. After riding both around I like the 04-05, meh kickers ok least the battery wont go bad imho. 04-05 has better lowend period than 06+.

With the right shocks and arms, even +1 arms the 450r feels much better from what I gather. A 04-05 450r is in my future.

[01boneless]

^ let me add to that if u dont mind. the 06+ had tranny problems but easy fix like the 05 cranks. the 06 had 12:0 compression and 96mm bore compared to the 05 10:1 and 94mm. 06 also had a better intake. the 05 can be a monster with higher comp new honda revised crank,dasa intake (or fci) good portings and a drop in cam. as the 06 can benifit from it also.

[powerbomb400]

The battery on the 06 and up are too small on the 450r. The battery on the 400 would suit it better. The 450 has massive power but for tight woods and climbing in the mountainsI its not usable power. Not having reverse is also a downfall. Getting halfway thru a mudhole then realizing its the wrong line and having to get off and push it back sucks. I love having reverse and the dependability of the 400.

[CJM]

I myself prefer the power and engine of the 04-05 450r. I feel the 06+ is overly complicated. Add your hi-comp piston, a cam and your good to go on the 05. I forgot how nice a kicker can be too, pull the hotstart and she turns right over. All of my friends 06+ 450s are a real pain to start.

Meh back to the EX. Besides a stroker Im about at its limit really. Lets see what the 450r carb yields when Im done, but like I said before theres a 450r in my future.

[Rohr397]

I really wish the Trx450r used the same frontend that the Kfx450r uses. The lower a-arm mounts give it some awesome handling!

[powerbomb400]

When you buy one keep your 400ex for a backup. My wife has a 02 250ex that we built then she broke the frame. So while we repaired it we bought her a 08 250ex. Then we got it back and keep the 02 as a backup. Since we ride every weekend there have been times that I've had to ride it andI it and she has too ride it
too. I figure heck its paid for and as long as crank it up every couple weeks its good to go when we need it.

[CJM]

Sorry i edited as you posted.

I want 2 quads myself for the very same reason. Should something break or whatever you got a back up. Im running out of places to store stuff tho so that maybe another issue unto itself.

[powerbomb400]

A friend of mine owns a shop. We took her 250ex and put a Powroll 10.8 comp. .80 over piston, Webb Cam Race cam,high lift rocker on the intake, 26mm Honda XR200 dirtbike carb and a Yoshi exhaust. Runs thru the woods like souped up go-cart.
Only thing that sucks is since its shaft drive there is no way of changing the gearing for faster top speed.

[CJM]

that does suck :( Downside to the 250s and why a 300 imho is a better quad to start with sometimes.

[01boneless]

the 04-05's are said to be better to build up. add a cam 12:5 piston (pump gas safe),ferrea valves (stock intakes wear very quick in the trx450r) i got over size exhaust but it dosent matter stock size is fine, ported head,get a good flowing intake that takes a 4.5in filter,update the crank and have good sb st power on pump gas :)

[chronicsmoke]

Originally posted by Rohr397
I really wish the Trx450r used the same frontend that the Kfx450r uses. The lower a-arm mounts give it some awesome handling!

I really wsh they would have used the same measurements as the 400ex/250r for the A-arms.. think of how many swaps you could do..

If you setup the suspension, it's also alot easier to fly over rough terrain (through the bush) ect.. pick a line and thumb to the bars

[Scro]

Originally posted by CJM
Riding a few of them I find the newer ones handle better, the older ones do feel way twitchy. I also think its the raw power. I can get sideways on my EX but nowhere near as easy as the 450s.



The 06+ spindles are similar in geometry to the 400ex spindles. This is probably why you like that handling better than the 04/05.

[powerbomb400]

Originally posted by CJM
that does suck :( Downside to the 250s and why a 300 imho is a better quad to start with sometimes. Wife can't use a clutch. I tried to teach her but that wasn't going to happen. They have been very dependable quads. Have power than yo would think. The shaft drive you don't have to worry about a chain. Easy to maintain.

[CJM]

Originally posted by Scro
The 06+ spindles are similar in geometry to the 400ex spindles. This is probably why you like that handling better than the 04/05.

I guess i should clarify: It felt twitchy yes, but more or less it felt to light almost, like the front needed to go back with the a-arms-not forward.

Could just have been the bike tho, but to me the frontend was to light.

[buck440]

more like "this is how i convince myself a 400ex is better than a 450r" thread lol.

[trailrider894]

Originally posted by buck440
more like "this is how i convince myself a 400ex is better than a 450r" thread lol.

Nope, I have built several 450r's and just had my old man pick up one for myself back in Missouri. I still prefer the EX over the R anyday of the week.

[01boneless]

Originally posted by trailrider894
Nope, I have built several 450r's

cmon... :devil:
joking man lol

[trailrider894]

Originally posted by 01boneless
cmon... :devil:
joking man lol

ha ha A.K.A i'm the man with the shop and all the tools to build MX bikes... ha ha I help them piece them together then slap together for a fee.

[01boneless]

nice i guess:ermm:

anyhow this is my first 450 build and for anyone wondering the 450 is no harder to work on than the ex but rejetting a kick start is a PITA.maintenance isent that bad either oil change ever 2 hours,check coolant clean filter tranny fluid every 5 hours and your good. personaly i got my 450r all stock other than pipe and filter and it had way more power than my mild ex. i can only imagine it after the motor build.

[duneslider]

I have owned a lot of atv's. I would have to say the ex is a great all around quad. I liked the 04 450r I had but it lacked something. I still spend most of my time thinking I should have kept my 86 250r or my 89 Suzuki 250r and everytime I hit the dunes I miss my banshee. Then, those raptor 700's are pretty impressive. I really think if push came to shove I would take any of the Honda 250r's with a 310 and porting as my number 1 pick. Simple, fast, fun.

[Ruby Soho]

i had a 400ex for years. loved it, but if i was ever going to consider getting another quad it would be a 450 hands down.