Hello all. I was wondering what the best way to drag race a 400ex is? I mean, tips, etc.

Thanks,

Jason

 

Lots of weight on the front!

It all depends on the surface being raced upon, but generally:

I have the best luck starting in first, about the middle of the rpm band, and working the clutch a little, be careful not to get the front in the air, you may have to back out of the throttle a little, and watch the 1-2 shift, if you manage to keep the front down in 1st, it will come up violently in second if you shift right, so be prepared, if you are not, you will most probably lose.

The 2-3 shift will try to wheelie, but it is managable with weight, turn lots of R's and keep'er pinned from this point out, I usually just "slap" the clutch on the shifts, kinda hard on the clutch, but they're tough, and replaceable. At this point it's pretty much a no-brainer (as long as you know how/when to shift) and you can shift your weight and try some crowd pleaser, highspeed, go thru the gears wheelie action (make sure the psi in your tires is balanced!).

I can usually beat a friend on a '00 XR400 until about somewhere in 4th gear, where he promptly passes me (dang power to weight ratio)....

 

I have a question about tire pressure. You say "make sure the psi in your tires is balanced." I was doing some third gear wheelies yesterday and a couple of them pulled me to the left. I was riding on a snowy gravel driveway, so were my tires just spinning or was it because my tires aren't balanced?

 

I start off in second and drop the clutch. The tires spin and then take off way faster than starting in first and shifting into second. It is probably hard to tell with snow and all. I have learned that being on an incline will pull the bike to a side, so will of course, something more slippery on one side as opposed to the other. A very easy trick is to make a hose with an end on each side and hook it up to both tires at the same time to equalize them. (of course you can't ride it this way!)

 

Well, if you were on a slippery surface, more than likely, you had a little tire slippage, especially if the pull wasn't consistant.

It never hurts to make sure the pressure is balanced though, if it's not one tire will be a slightly different diameter than the other, causing the pull...

As far as what gear to start in, like I said in my above post, it all depends on the surface being raced upon.

 

your left tire probably has a little less air pressure than you right. later




97' 300 ex