i supposed to recieve my 2001 400ex any time now, and was just wondering if anyone has any tips or suggestions on the perfect way to brake a new quad in....i heard the brake in process is what makes the quad so i want to do it right....ive got a pipe and stuff too but want to brake it in a lil before putting it on...thanks for the help!

 

Well you need an hour meter to correctly do this method- You may do anything but go in mud or water until 10 hours. Dont go above 25mph until 7 hours of use.
Honda dealerships say 5 tanks of gas, if you dont have a speedo/hour meter.

 

Every one says different ways. I personally ride it easy for the first roughtly ten hours. What I mean by easy is no holding it wide open. Keep varying the RPM too. This will help the rings seat. After the first ten hours, change the oil and filter. Use the regular Honda motor oil or a similar brand. After the first ten hours I ride it the way I intend to. I don't recommend synthetic motor oils until after you have some time on the machine(maybe the third oil change). Synthetic motor oil is too good and will hinder the motor from breaking in correctly. After it is broken in completely you can use synthetic.

 

you seem to have a lot of mods for a quad you dont even have yet! But when breaking in, I ride nice and easy varying the throttle. I leave it completely how i got it when breaking in also. Dont adjust anyhting!

 

The RIGHT way to break in a quad is the 10-20-30 method. It goes like this. Ride the quad for 10m minutes easily never exceeding half throttle then let it cool down totally. Then do the same thing for 20 minutes never exceeding half throttle then let it cool down totally again.The do the whole process over again for 30 minutes. After that run a whole tank of gas through it. After you have done this your quad will be broken in.This process will yield nicely polished bearings and your rings will seat too. Hope I helped out.

John Fahey
1999 Honda Recon soon to be getting a Yellow Honda 400EX

 

Are those mods for the future or do you have all that stuff waiting for your new 400ex? Just wondering that is a lot of mods!

00 400ex
http://www.geocities.com/cory_14/

 

drive it like ya stole it

after personal experiences.....i beleive a bike run in slow will always be slow.....this doesn''t mean thrashing it.....petrol engines i am told traditionally should not be driven hard in the run in stage....but don't be nice to it either!

if it were a deisel engine however i would say work it real hard......tractors our farm buys go into hard constant work when new...

just my 2 cents

 

i read a study, cant remember which mag it was in (dirtwheels or atv sport) but anyways it hads dyno tests from a quad that was broke in hard and noe that was broke in soft and the one that was broke in hard accually had more horse power. but this dosent mean hold it wide open in first gear

just my 4 cents

 

corey , i already have all those mods waiting on my Ex to get here...i had a 330ex before this and my bro has a 99 400ex so i pretty much knew everything i needed at first so i went ahead and got it while i had the money...ill wait about 8 mths before going in the engine....thanks for everyones help....but some are saying take it slow and others saying ride it hard...if you really know the RIGHT way, let me know!

 

Dont ride it hard, and dont ride it soft. Just ride it regular. Dont try to kill the damn thing,and dont go over 25 for 7 hours. Remember to change the oil after 1 hour, then after 6 hours, then at 10 hours. Dont use synthethic until after 10 hours. Change oil filter after 10 hours. And remember to get an in-line gas filter, one of the little clear ones you can get from any auto store, they REALLY HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!