my friend is getting wheel spacers for his 400EX. hes gettin 2 and a half inch ones in back and 1 and a half in front. is he going to need to adjust his shocks? and also what are the drawbacks of using spacers instead of extended a-arms/axles. if you have em tell me what u think.

 

I bent a stock axle once using wheel spacers.
I BROKE an aftermarket axle without them.

I don't think it matters. Wheelspacers are cheap, so are stock axles. If you don't hit anything or land really, really badly spacers will probably work fine.

The front wheel spacers will move the wheels out causing the leverages of the steering to be greater. You will notice a lot more bumpsteer. Also, the front shocks will probably have to be tightened up (if they aren't maxxed already..)

 

hey any1 else got any info? he just got his spacers today and hes putting them on as i type this. is it true that your wheels can fall off easy with the spacers on? how easy is it gonna be to bend the stock honda axle? he also doesn't have his front spacers yet. what will the handling be like with a +4(theres two +2 spacers so that would make a plus 4 axle right?) and stock length A-arms?

 

Just like anything you add, you have to maintain it and make sure the bolts stay tight. I had a set of spacers on my Blaster once, they were the plastic type and they would come loose, and eventually cracked. My 350X has the aluminum ones and they stay tight all the time, never have a problem coming loose. But, once I clipped a 2" poplar sapling on the side of the trail and bent the end of the axle right at the narrow point before the hub spline. I never bent the Blaster axle when jumping or anything like that. The spacers just broke after a while.

 

Yes, it will be necessary to adjust the shocks. Only the shocks in the front though. This is because there will be a longer moment arm, which creates more stress at the location of the shock. If they are not already, adjust the shocks as firm as possible. If that does not work, your best bet would be aftermarket shocks. The rear shock will not need to be adjusted. Hope it works out. Let us know how you like them.