reconranger,
I TOTALLY agree with you about the 400EX for the trails. For 3 years, I raced an EX in regional hare scrambles and a few GNCC events. Always finished respectively and never fatigued at any event. I switched to the Cannondales when they came out in 02, then to the replacement, ATK, in 04, then to a 450R in 05. All 3 of those years, I wasnt consistent with my finishes and most importantly, I was finding myself fatigued more and more often. I blamed it on getting older and being out of shape, but I learned last year after riding an EX again for the first time in years,...that it was simply the type of machine I was riding. The Cannondale/ATK and the 450R were simply wearing me out on the track. I may have been faster than I would have been on an EX, but obviously,..not over the length of a two hour cross country race from start to finish.
Last November, I switched back to an EX with a 426 kit, Stage 2 HotCam, HMF slipon, and K&N filter. I run 21" HoleShot GNCC tires,...with super low gearing....13/42. I have finished in the top 3 at every event this year except for the Loretta's GNCC and I have not been fatigued at all at any event I have entered.
Maybe the "getting older" makes me faster on the EX than the 450R, but even if I didnt finish well at the end of a race, finishing and having energy to drive home has been worth the switch.

I just got a little long winded there maybe, but you hit the nail on the head with low torque sometimes being more important than high revs and horsepower. And with my granny geared 426,...I dont lack applying torque and there hasnt been but one track all year that I could have used a slightly higher top speed in an open field section........
which is where a Honda Big Bore would come in handy. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-tongue.gif[/img]