should have taken a picture

[TacicalRedneck]

A guy at the local shop has a 400ex, with the 426 in it with a high compression piston. Says its a solid bike, has the elka triple rate shocks with remote resivoirs, the rear it an elka shock, forget what he said about it. It's not much to look at, but i asked if he'd like to trade..... maybe...

Showed him a pic of my bike, said i could keep my orange plastic, wheels, and tires!

Only thing is the bike is in pieces... Says it'll be a few hours of labor out of his own pocket to the shop ($30 an hr). i beleive he said 5th gear was out... had all the parts right there. Told me the bike was in great shape, a real solid piece... The ex-honda dealer mechanic is the owner, i really trust him, and he seemed to back up the guy........

So, what do i say? Go ahead and tell him to get it back togather? Any problems with the 426, I'd love to swap for that bike, it even has a sparks on it!!


I'll get a pic of it, sort of sits in a corner outside in the weather, with grass growing all around it.... Hope i can run back up there tomorrow if i have enough fuel...... :ermm:


SOOOOOOOOO............ 416 or 426

[jgar]

Is it the same guy that rebuilt your top end? What are the years, all mods, etc.

[CJM]

I wouldnt do it. If you know yours is clean and good then why bother-just so you can get some shocks?

Elkas aint nothing to really write home about either.

[TacicalRedneck]

Originally posted by jgar
Is it the same guy that rebuilt your top end? What are the years, all mods, etc.

This a differant place, but a few of the fellas that worked there are shop helpers here... not sure on year, mods i beleive are +2 a-arms +4 axle, has Hipers and x-rexs on it, elka shocks, ac nerf bars with small heel gaurd, aftermarket bumper, air shrouds ehhh.... i'm going to be calling him back tomorrow for more imfo... From looking at it i could tell it had a lot of goodies..

[TacicalRedneck]

Originally posted by CJM


Elkas aint nothing to really write home about either.


I was told by someone a simple stage 1 would be a be a huge improvement, these are.... stage... something :D

I was looking for a sparks pipe to, this came up today, had all the goodies i'd like to move up to, already on it....

The big bonus i get to keep my plastic, wheels, and tires... That seems like the best deal in town right now.....

[jgar]

Sounds like its worth a look. I understand why you are looking for a different ex. But dont commit until you take it out for a good test ride.

[CJM]

Well if it has that much then it might be worth it.

Better question is, if it has allt hat done to it and is in the shop to be repaired why would your quad be what he wants to trade for?

Something dont smell right.

[HondaRacing83]

keep the hipers

[TacicalRedneck]

Originally posted by HondaRacing83
keep the hipers

The hipers are very faded, they look pretty bad... think their just the cf1's to, wouldn't match my orange plastic....

My wheels and tires are practically new, + i'll be getting fronts sometime so....much rather have the orange...


Something to look into at least, but of course his bike isn't perfect.... Pretty much right now it's a half-way painted frame, a pipe, a stem, some handelbars, some wheels and tires, and plastics.....

If it goes through wish i could keep my bumper and handelbars :ermm:

[01boneless]

screw that sounds like a p.o.s .I mean u said its in pieces ,5th gear is out, and its sitting in the weeds, all for some shocks and a 426 kit that may not even be done right. and im sorry to break your heart but you just cant trust some people out there.

[TacicalRedneck]

That may be the case... but... ill have a look once its back togather.

I do trust the owner, hes the one who kept the honda dealer alive!! ...until they closed...

We'll see what happens...

[dxcody]

I disagree. Elka shocks are not bottom of the barrel shocks.

I mean if he is going to fix it all up (mechanically wise) then i say its worth it.

From the sounds of things, the guy wants a looker and not a eye sore.

Your 400 is a good looking quad and you said his isnt the best looking, BUT it has some goods on it.

Just remember, you can strip a 400ex down, prime it and paint it whatever color you want in the matter of 2 days and be riding again the 3rd day.

Cosmetics can always be changed.. I say go for it.
Elkas are probably in my top 5 of preferred shocks.

[chronicsmoke]

Elka's rep is being too generic from the factory, meaning that they require fine tuning (valving/spring changes) to compete with other brands.. Once that's done they are competitive (leaps and bounds better than stock 450r shocks..) but you can't just buy them off line and run them and expect top notch performance.

OP: Make a list of things that are on his bike that you want, and what it would cost you to buy it (use forum prices, not brand new..) His elka's are probably on par with your ZPS PEPs.. the 426 kit shouldn't be included in the price assessment. Try and dissect and see what kind of deal it actually is..

If all you're getting is an elka shock (and link?) I'd say eff it.. your 400 looks too clean