i don`t think the 400EX will ever be the "6-pack beauty queen" not by a 250 anyhows. hell, i got one at home thats big,stinky and noisey......
its called a `97 X-cab, 3/4 ton 4X4 powerstroke!!! i love whoopin up on those import cars that look like shopping carts with coffee can exhaust pipes and that useless wing on back!!!

 

Get'um scootdog!!!
Right on vooduuchild!

 

Lest see I own a Honda yes I also have a P650 an LT80 for my son a Breeze for my daughter and a ttr90 my son has a ktm dirt bike as well gee I am so brand lotay it is sick.
How can a 440 be more reliable? Well when you build a motor you take your time to make sure it is right. You are not going to build a high comp race motor. If you had ever built a motor of had ever raced you might have a clue. As for the gun to knife fight if you are ever around Louisiana we can go to the track and to the woods and I will show you what the back end of an ex looks like.
My statment stands why own a stock quad? For less money than buying a new quad he can have a quad taylored to him. If you read any other post you would have seen me give the excat same advice to a Raptor owner wanting to swap to a Pred.
One of us is brand loyal and it is not me. Also if the best you can do is talk trash and try and atack people to make yourself look intelegent then I can take it bash away.

 

We all know about Honda engines and how they are bullet-proof stock. The 400EX is an awesome example. Typically when someone modifies an engine, as with a bigger bore and a stroker kit there are greater stresses placed on all the engine components, regardless if you keep the compression ratio down. Of course you can take the time and expense of replacing alot of internal engine components to help insure against engine failure, but there will always be some (alot of, actually) components that you can't or wouldn't even think of replacing. These are the parts which will contribute to less reliable operation. The engine, overall, is designed for a certain set of operating conditions, and building up a motor for the end result of producing more power will exceed some original design and/or fatigue loading limits in one way or another. It is just a fact of life-- build up a motor, it won't be as reliable as it was stock. Sometimes this is noticable, sometimes it isn't, it just depends on what mods you did and what parts you changed out.

I am not brand loyal, although the majority of quads that I have owned have been Hondas.

Here's some more advice... learn to type... [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

 

Well from the way I see it, it's very unfortunate for the 400EX. Yes, it's a nice bike. However, with the new bikes coming out the depreciation for it is dropping rapidly. No matter how much money you put into it you will NEVER get it back. Of course, that pretty much goes for most makes, but a 3 month old 400EX is lucky to bring in $3800. You can mod. it to the hilt, but it will never have liquid cooling, reverse, BRAKE light, and several other features that the other stock bikes now come with. 2 hp is a nice difference. 2hp is all you get from piping and jetting an EX. The Z still has better performace than a piped and jetted EX right out of the box, not to mention throwing in liquid cooling, reverse, ect., ect., for less money. I do agree with riding what ya love and love what you're riding, however, don't try to push on everyone else that your bike is better than the others. It just isn't so.

 

1 you are correct I can not type. 2 I can't spell
But do you think that anyone would race a desert race on a stock quad? NO Why? because when a motor is mass produced there are certain tollarances that will be met that are not always great a max spec cylinder mated to a min spec piston and marginal valves can occer. Look at the Ford 5.0 it was rated at 225 hp for years then ford said wait we changed the way we do hp. They used to test a bunch of motors and then the one w/ the most ws the hp rating. The change was to average all the motors and then give a # the new # 205. That meant some folks were getting 225 hp cars and some getting 195 hp cars but all were spec. So what you do is blueprint a motor. That means check valve clearances lap seat the valve face add heavey springs clean up the porting make sure the ring clearance is up to spec clean up all oil ports and such. Now a 400ex motor has tons of potential built in so by going to a 440 kit and blueprinting and balancing you will by no means give up reliability and if you had a marginal motor you will with out a doubt gain. All you have to do is ask any endurance racer. Now if you build for pure speed you will have problems w/ longevity that is why the CRF450 motor was designed and built to run 15 hours before needing a top end job to maintain 100% performance. Yes it will go longer but you will lose hp, that is also why honda will not put that motor in a quad.

Also if I were to purchase a new quad now it would not be a 400ex but the question was, I have a 400ex and love it should I get something else? I feel the best answer to that question is no, build your quad to suit your needs and riding style.

 

Point taken about the blueprinting... but that kind of goes along with the arguement earlier about time and money versus a different platform (new machine). Also the last part of your most recent post is about the same thing that I said earlier.

I believe that Honda is missing the point of a new machine. They shouldn't build a new sport quad to replace the 400EX, they should build one to suppliment their line-up. Add reverse to the 400EX and it is about the best introduction high-performance quad around (if that niche exists). If Honda would just make an XR650R-engined sport quad AND a 450-class sport quad based off that same technology (liquid cooled, higher performance), then their line-up would be the most complete sport line-up of any manufacturer.

I better take a step back here, this Honda forum "dreaminess" is rubbing off on me... lol...

 

I'd add one quad to that lineup alaska a all new 250R It would be sumthing different no-one else has made and consider they still use them racing imagine how many they'd sell. If they did ever make them not that they would it would be my next quad along with many other racers who want to update their old 250Rs...but with the way honda's goin right now i'm just dreaming...

 

You guys crack me up!![img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

 

msrp on both bikes is 5699.
read this: my uncle used to work for the buick engine plant here in mid mich. when they produced a cam with that was 98% within specs, it was set aside for use in race engines, cars for important executives, and cars sent to press fleets. tolerances are an essential part of mass production. aftermarket parts, modifications, and engine work is done with lower tolerances for variation than most factories. by adding these more accurately produced parts, you are effectively improving the reliability of the engine. this is true for almost every mass produced item, from toys to engines, to plastics, etc.