New to forum. Questions about Maint.

[Britt400]

Hi Im new to the forum. I just bought an 02 400ex an ive been having a blast the last few days. My ex is bone stock except for a bumper, handle bars and the PO drilles three holes in the air box cover. My questions are about maintinace. What should/can I do to freshen up and bring my ex back to life? Also where are the best places to find parts? Should the valves be adjusted? Carb jetted? do I realy need to spend money on the atv oil or will regular 10w40 work?

[DirtyBirdRacing]

Originally posted by Britt400
Hi Im new to the forum. I just bought an 02 400ex an ive been having a blast the last few days. My ex is bone stock except for a bumper, handle bars and the PO drilles three holes in the air box cover. My questions are about maintinace. What should/can I do to freshen up and bring my ex back to life? Also where are the best places to find parts? Should the valves be adjusted? Carb jetted? do I realy need to spend money on the atv oil or will regular 10w40 work?

Welcome to the Site you will learn ALOT from people here (esp CJM, Tri5ron, 01Boneless, honda400ex2003 And others im sure im forgetting some that have always helped me. )
Few things that will help you. Use the search bar to try and find your answers, But dont be afraid to ask questions if you dont understand something or cant find your answer Look in the Stickey section (http://www.exriders.com/vbb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=464998) it has some GREAT info in there about shocks, performance upgrades, how to bring your plastics back to life.. all sorts of things,

As for the Oil you dint have to buy the Honda oil, I'm not sure what guys use but i have read that alot of people dint run the Honda stuff.

You can find alot of parts for cheap on here in the Classified parts (http://www.exriders.com/vbb/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=86) section or look on the site sponsor web pages others that are good IMO are Cheap cycle (cheapcycleparts.com/),Ebay (http://www.Ebay.com), and Rocky mountain (http://www.rockymountainatvmc.com/)

[cheater13]

^^ He pretty much summed it up but if the valves are ticking loud, they might need adjusted but the 400ex has a usual ticking noise that you cant really take away. And you only have to adjust the jetting on the carb if you are running too rich or too lean.

[400exrip]

Welcome to the site, 400ex's are easy to maintain, One thing that will make the stock 400ex come alive is a exhaust system a slip on is fine if you are just riding trails and want a little more hop up to the bike. Air filter, Different jet sizes, different CDI box, These are all cheap upgrades that will make a lot of difference on the EX from stock. If you have any questions feel free to ask!

[dan5]

You don't have to use honda oil .
But you do have to use an oil that is design for quads and motorcycles. Because it also is the oil in your tranny and the wrong oil will cause you problems

[CJM]

1. Change your oil and filter every 20-40 hours (depending on how hard you ride it). I like to use shell rotella 15w-40. You can also use valvoline powersport oil or mobil 1 15w-50. How to change your oil: http://www.atvriders.com/articles/oilchange400ex.html

Its VERY important you do not overtorque the drain plug bolts and the bolts that hold on the oil filter cover. They can and will break!

2. Valves should be checked/adjusted every 40-50 hours. Procedure is here: http://www.atvriders.com/articles/valveadjustment400ex.html

3. Basic setup would be to properly jet the bike. You need a 42 pilot, the stock pilots to lean. Also a nice exhaust/slip sparks key will help power. You want a bit more you can buy a stage 1 hotcam and if your really inclined an 04-05 TRX450R carb can be adapted to fit.

4. Feel free to ask a question, but please use the search function and check the sticky first please!

5. Throw away the stock shocks and buy yourself some stock TRX450R shocks. They require little fitting and are much better than stock.

Otherwise enjoy your new quad and welcome!