01 400ex complete overhaul

[Budweiserebel07]

Hi all, just picked up a 01 400 ex for 900 in New Martinsville Wv. It was in BAD shape. Piston was tore up, needed a whole top end rebuild. Rear axle bearings were shot. Frame looked like small animals gnawed on it for a few years, nerf bar brackets snapped, steering stem bent, oh and the plastic looks like hell. SO, im completely overhauling this thing and here are some pics of the before and what i have done so far. On the re assembly side now. Enjoy and tell me what you think ! :devil:

[Budweiserebel07]

doesnt look too bad at a distance but dont let it fool you lol. it looked like hell, anyway next pic

[Budweiserebel07]

motor before rebuild

[Budweiserebel07]

motor after rebuild.

[Budweiserebel07]

Frame primed with intoxicated Dad,lol. yes I know painted instead of powdercoating isnt the best way to go but i have skid plates for the bottom and frankly I dont have the money lol

[Budweiserebel07]

frame finished with the motor mounted. By this time (yesterday) the rear axle bearings are changed which was hell and I'm going to wet sand and attempt to make the plastic look decent. All parts were either polished or painted. More pics to come tomorrow.

[nelzar13]

looking alot better.... bring her back to life and ride the hell out of her!

[Budweiserebel07]

haha thanks ! I'll do just that. I'm tryin to get it done and get my grips, seat cover gas switch, and hand guards in for a poker run next week.

[trx250xtim]

WOW man great job! Looks like it'll be a blast.

[Budweiserebel07]

Thanks man, I'm really hoping it will be with the new piston and hot cam. When I got it you could see the smoke trail for a 1/4 mile lol and the valve cover was loose and two bolts stripped out. The carbon build up was so bad I couldn't see the valves. oh and I loosened the exhaust by hand.... i rode it for a day not knowing all that the day i got it and i thought it ran pretty quick. So I can only imagine. Sighh suspense is a b****.

[Budweiserebel07]

Update. Almost there. After work I'm putting on the oil cooler and can and polishing the wheels and plastic should be running tonight !

[JOHNDOE83]

That thing looks good!!! I like the motor!!!

I painted my frame with spray and I never had a big chiping issue, I think youll be happy.

Try to polish up that header to, mine used to be all rust corroded, I sanded it polished it a lil and it looks like a new header and has lasted years!!!

[Budweiserebel07]

Thanks !. I may try to polish it more. It had large coating of thick rust on it before and i took a brass wire brush on a drill to it. It does need polished more cause right now its taking away from the looks. I hope the paint lasts. my shop is cool and a lil dark inside so I think once its out in the sun it will cure and be pretty tough..i hope... lol.

[Budweiserebel07]

Everything is ready to start, but I think the needle is stuck in the carb cause im not getting any fuel. Rolls over fine but I dont smell any gas when i roll it over for a while. so After work I'll try dickin with the carb.

[Budweiserebel07]

used to be red and the end cap was dented.

[chronicsmoke]

looks pretty good for not taking everything off/stripping it right down!

Paint the motor mounts orange too?:bandit:

I'm pulling the motor in the 4hundy soon, now you've ispired me to paint my frame.. I want to 'rockerguard' the frame/subframe black. I did the swinger during the winter and it looks good still. Pretty durable too.

Chronic

[Budweiserebel07]

Thanks man ! Actually I did strip everything off the bike, I just didnt have my phone to take pics of it. It looks good, but I havent had a chance to test the durability. Thats what worries me. Oh by the way... when you do yours, I hope you don't have to change rear axle bearings. Damn dirty bearings took longer than rebuilding the motor.:grr:

[chronicsmoke]

Originally posted by Budweiserebel07
Thanks man ! Actually I did strip everything off the bike, I just didnt have my phone to take pics of it. It looks good, but I havent had a chance to test the durability. Thats what worries me. Oh by the way... when you do yours, I hope you don't have to change rear axle bearings. Damn dirty bearings took longer than rebuilding the motor.:grr:

Haha I put the 05 450r rear end on my ex so i didnt have to deal with the neglected bearings.

Ive long since learned my lesson on preventative maintenance, but i barley use the EX, so there are still some childhood errors that I come across often enough.. Kind of the reason why I just want to rebuild it and give it a fresh look/feel. And of course for less headaches down the road ;)

Keep up the good work! :cool:

[Budweiserebel07]

well bad news. we timed it. realized the timing was off 3 teeth and we just like 5 minutes ago re timed it to the T mark and the marks on the cam are lined up with the head. Still wont start just sits there and rolls over. I can smell gas out the exhaust but no fire. Pretty dissapointed right now. Any help would be cool


edit: scratch that. i was 180 out firing on the exhaust stroke, Ill put my dumbass hat on now and sit in the corner !

[chronicsmoke]

Originally posted by Budweiserebel07

edit: scratch that. i was 180 out firing on the exhaust stroke, Ill put my dumbass hat on now and sit in the corner !

So I assume you've got it running now? lol

[Budweiserebel07]

'yes sir. I also didnt have the valves adjusted right. So my brother in law came over and adjusted em for me. He races so I thought it best to let the man work his magic. I didnt realize how much of a dog that bike was until I rode it last night with the new piston and hot cam. Its got way more power. Especially nice without the smoke cloud following me ! will have pics up this evening !:D

[Budweiserebel07]

her big debut !! Runs like a raped ape.everything but the bumper is on. got 5 pics.. Enjoy and please give me some feedback. This is my first complete restore on a bike so I'm pretty curious to see how people view my work. Thanks !

[Budweiserebel07]

next

[Budweiserebel07]

and again

[Budweiserebel07]

annnnd again

[Budweiserebel07]

and finally

[evan402]

looks pretty decent, i would have taped off the tires before spraying the rims but otherwise looks good and go have some fun!

[400man]

Originally posted by evan402
looks pretty decent, i would have taped off the tires before spraying the rims but otherwise looks good and go have some fun!

meh....that paint on the tires will wear off after a good trail ride ;)

[Budweiserebel07]

lol after i took the pics we went riding, then i washed it and took a Brillo pad to it and the nerf bars. Not much point in taping off tires. Paint doesn't stick to rubber for ****. Running perfectly tho. All I need now is a bumper that doesn't suck. I cant stand the one that was on it from the first pic in this thread.

[honda400ex2003]

looks killer with the orange! congrats on finishing the rebuild!

steve

[Budweiserebel07]

Thanks man, its a blast. I have to keep my helmet on constantly tho.... Otherwise Id be swallowing bugs from the constant smile on my face. Not bad for payin 900 bucks. And i dont think i even have 200 dollars in restoring it all. Simply cause the kid already had the piston and top end kit and just gave it to me !

[honda400ex2003]

what did you end up putting in it? I just see 10:1 comp and nothing in the thread about any displacement.

steve

[Budweiserebel07]

oops. I just put in what he gave me.. 87mm seemed good enough for me. All the mods are:

Wiseco 10:1 87mm

stage 1 hotcam

hmf slip on... thats it.

i have no intention of racing. So that in my opinion is a good reliable build.

[honda400ex2003]

that was my last build. I just finished up the 440 today.

i ran a stage 1 10:1 6 degree key for quite a while. It was probably my favorite trail setup to date.

the stage 2 450r carb is a bit higher powerband than the stage 1 setup and likes to rev alot more.

good call on running that. it will keep you smiling for years. I had mine for 3 and was sad to see it come out of there earlier this week.

steve

[Budweiserebel07]

Congrats on the 440 ! I'm assuming with your obvious knowledge you went safe and used the hd studs and what not. Great power build when done correctly. The only reason I know is because my brother in law hounded me about going with that build. NO says I, haha. Funny thing tho, in my pics the plastic looks waayyy better than how it really is. I'm actually as we speak wet sanding it and buffing it out whilst drinking some beer ! Im going to do a new thread on wet sanding plastic. Kind of my thing. I build guitars on the side and buffing is most of the work. If it can be sanded, it can be buffed to brand new.

[honda400ex2003]

lol i didnt do the hd studs but have all of the rest from my 416 build. I just tore it down, got the sleeve pressed in, dropped the new piston in and put it back together. it was getting some major time on it and was starting to lose a bit of comp and starting to smell of oil a bit. I had all of the parts from when i bought them for myself for xmas, i just never had any time to get the stuff done.

cant wait to see your fenders all polished up. :D

steve

[Budweiserebel07]

Well last night i tore the holy hell out of my elbow. Couldn't straighten my arm last night but I got it loosened up so I'm getting out the 10 in. buffer after work and finishing it. So I will post a pic of the final project on here as well as start a thread on buffing the plastic instead of spending $400 bucks on new plastic,lol

[honda400ex2003]

have you tried plastic renew or some of the other polishes on it?

steve

[Budweiserebel07]

The thing is, that stuff doesn't last. What I'm doing is bringing it back to factory looks and durability without having to use clear coat and plastic renew that you will have to fix much sooner than what you would just taking the time and effort to do it right.

[honda400ex2003]

nice! ill keep an eye on the other thread now that i noticed it was up. i was redirected from the email the first time.

steve