I have taken my 400 ex down through the mud and some pretty deep ruts and what not, I know the 400 ex is not set up for that kinda riding but I enjoy it so much so. Will this hurt my bike in any way and if so is there anything i can do to prvent it ????

 

clean it after every ride and check oil and air filter for water and you should be ok.

 

does the 400 have a grease zerk for the rear axle bearings? If not you may want to install one. mud and water will eat the axle bearings in a honda. I have replaced them on 5 different bikes this year so far. 2 guys let them go too far and had to get new axles and the carriers.

 

I'm not for sure as I'm kinda new to this whole thing, how can I tell as I have a 05 400ex, also can I just lube with spray lube like wd 40 or such ???

 

maintaining your atv is very important to a long lasting machine use a good chain lube not wd40.clean it often .

 

Just my opinion... I wouldn't use WD-40 for a lubricant. I use it for a degreases so you would be removing the grease and oil where you would want to lubricate. The 400 do not have grease zerks for the axle bearings. My friend installed one on his but, he neglected to relize that the swingarm is hollow and he put it on the swingarm for easy access and drilled a hole in his bearing carrier so it could reach the bearings and now has 4 tubes of grease in his swingarm.

 

also the bearings in the axle are sealed you cant get grease into them.

 

Mud, deep ruts, and what not. Sounds like a typical weekend for me and my 400EX. I,ve been riding mine that way for 4 years now. And thats at lease every other weekend. I,ve had some problems with it because of my stlye of riding. I,ve had to replace the carrier bearings a couple of times and my swingarm bearing once but other than that its been pretty much normal stuff. Oil changes,sprockets and chains, brake pads etc. I don't take it swimming but I will go through water or a creek from time to time. No deep,deep,deep mud --------- I leave that up to the 4x4 guys.

 

awsome guys thanks for the response, ok I have chain lube and used it after each wash, so whats a good lube for the other parts?? sorry to bother you guys with these questions I just want my 400 to last and see that this place is so full of knowledge.

 

thats what quads are made for man have a blast in that stuff...i got muddin with the lakota all the time and my friends always right behind me with his 400ex...just if u keep up with the maintaince and wash it and grease everything youll be fine...i mean its not like we go through anything that we cant handle...