Hey guys, I just bought a 2003 z400 a few days ago. A friend brought it over and I rode it. It will absolutely fly. He said it was for sale and I had to have it. Now the only thing is he has it mostly set up for the track. He said he had a different head and pipe setup put on it. Jetted and k&n filter. Now I pretty much just trail ride but I love the speed too. Now I've mostly ridden automatics. It has so much power on the take off that it's got me a little weary of what it's gonna be like using the clutch on steep trails with that much power. He gave me two extra front sprockets with it. I'm not sure what it has in it. One of the extras is 13 and one is 14 tooth. Will it make much difference for me to change the sprocket for trail riding?
Also he has some pretty low profile tires on it and I would like to go to a better all around size for trail riding. What would be a good size for me to get that would work good on a z400.

 

HAMMERJAMMER, congrats on the new ride! Changing out the front sprocket will give you a noticeable change in where the power is and which gears work in any given situation. dropping a tooth in the front or adding 2-3 teeth to the rear will effectively give you more hill pulling power. It shouldn't take you long to get used to the clutch anyways though, the 400 is a good hillclimber. As for tires, 20" is the standard trail riding size. That usually gets you a good compromise between weight, handling, and ground clearance. If you hit a lot of muddy or really rutted trails, you could jump up to a 21" or 22" tire like the Holeshot XCT. What size tires are on it now? Don't forget, going up in tire size will raise your overall gearing also.

 

Yeah, congrats on the new quad [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

well i've got 20's on my Z and it does just fine on all sorts of trails. Going down a tooth in the front sprocket might help. Depends on the trails u ride, but if its very muddy, as Scooter86 said, maybe go with 21's or 22's

Hav fun with the new ride [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

 

Agreed on the 20in rears. I have a 13T on the front of my 400, it's perfect. 1st gear is maybe SLIGHTLY low now, but it (13T) got rid of the soft off idle response the Z400's are known for.

I'd also recommend 22in front tires. I had 21in on the front for a while & even with Works front shocks, the front end felt harsh, so I went with 22in & now it's MUCH plusher.

Have fun with the new ride.[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-cool.gif[/img]

 

Hammerjammer...I have had my '03 Z400 for about a year and a half now....I trail ride probably 70% of the time and the three biggest changes
I've made to my bike to make it more enjoyable and less butt-pucker in the hills are the following....1. 13 tooth front sprocket(easy to do, about a 1 hour job)...
2. 22" tires on the rear(the only thing to keep in mind here is it will make the bike a little more tippy if you are into taking corners at a high rate of speed, but extra ground clearance in the trails is well worth the trade off to me)...3. HMF Ballance Race series slip-on exhaust...The TRM(toroque range modifier) insert that comes with this pipe really gives you a noticeable difference in low end torque which is great when you're climbing steep hills(it looks pretty damn cool too)...The pipe is louder w/o it, but I will trade torque for noise anyday of the week....These are just my suggestions take them for what they are worth....I love my Z400 and wouldn't trade it for anything at this point...It also has all the top-end speed I need(65-67MPH top end), I am not much of a drag racer though....It is also an awesome bike in the sand dunes....Congrats and good luck....

 

Thanks for the reply guys. I guess I'll go ahead and put this 13 tooth sprocket on. The atv already has 20" tires on it. They seem alittle small for me. Some of the trails I ride are rutted out pretty good. I guess I'll take it out and try it once, then maybe get a bigger tire if I need more clearance.

 

With the limited ground clearance a solid axle sporty has, you just have to pick good lines when riding the ruts and rocks. Give the 20" a chance before buying new tires. You might be surprised at what your Z can accomplish.

 

Ya like scooter86 said, do whatev u can to stay out of the ruts. My yosh was raced before i bought it, with lots of mods, but i loved it in the trails, it was really zippy!

 

Exactly....

I ride with a couple IRS guys, and they just ride straight through everything like tanks..... but I manage just fine to go almost everywhere they can go with smart line choices..... you can usually dance on the edge of their ruts in most instances with the 20" tires....

 

I have a 2004 Z400 and have changed the sprockets. I now have a 12 tooth on the front and a 44 on the rear and love it for rough trail riding. Also works great for sand dunes with paddle tires. Did loose some high end speed due to the gearing down but I do not care for high speed. I suspect my top speed is now in the 45 mph range which is too fast for me.

You have to special order the 12 tooth sprocket from sidewinder (see atv mags for phone number). cost about $65. Also have to have a longer chain due to the 44 rear and have to space you rear swing arm guard down about 3/8" thus losing clearance. But the slower speed in low gear is worth it all.

Larry