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Cheap Tricks
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Posted by: OTLEYEX

So what can a guy do for next to nothing to improve the performance of his quad? Share you tips & tricks. Stuff that you happen to stumble upon one day while tinkering around in the garage etc. Share the little things that made a big difference to the bike and a little difference to your checkbook. Thanks.

Posted by: hondaboy400ex55

hi performance plug i mean its not a big improvemt but it helps a little and premuim GAS

Posted by: knelson

let's see ....for the 400ex you can remove air box lid ,remove baffle in exaust, 14 tooth front sprocket,remove choke from carb,grind down welds inside stock header that all I can think of that would be cheap or free but, if you wanted to go into your motor you could seperat the 3 layers of your head gasket and use one layer ,remove your base gasket (but if you are in there you might as well do a high comp. piston and cam)

Posted by: tprender

rejet from stock.

Posted by: Joe400ex

quote:
Originally posted by knelson
let's see ....for the 400ex you can remove air box lid ,remove baffle in exaust, 14 tooth front sprocket,remove choke from carb,grind down welds inside stock header that all I can think of that would be cheap or free but, if you wanted to go into your motor you could seperat the 3 layers of your head gasket and use one layer ,remove your base gasket (but if you are in there you might as well do a high comp. piston and cam)

i think u covered it all

Posted by: quad2xtreme

Make sure your front wheels are aligned properly.

/Jon

Posted by: phildogg

make sure the throttle cable doesn't have alot of play in it.
phil

Posted by: Jakeyracer

race cut fenders will give you about 5 more mph

Posted by: Jakeyracer

and i am not saying go to maier or some company to buy them make a cardboard template to trace and cut evenly at home

Posted by: Rico400

i was at the dunes like a month ago and there was a guy on a 400ex there and it was doing tree shots that alot of people couldnt make on a 450 or banshee. and we got to talking and he said that he cut his cam, the part for the exhuast valve. he says stock it leaves that valve open all of the time. he said now it build up a little bit more compression in the bike.

Now i have no clue if this is true or not so dont come back and say it effed up your bike. this is just what this guy told me he did to his 400ex.

Posted by: knelson

DO NOT GO CUTTING ON YOUR CAM

The guy you talked to was either messing with you or had no idea what he was talking about

Posted by: 400exrules

u could get a sparks timing advance key....i hear its well worth it. i might get one some day for myself. Only about $20, and its supposed to give a big increase in throttle response

it does make your machine run alittle hotter, so its not recommended for big bores

Posted by: hondaboy400ex55

that whole removieing ur air box isnt safe if you ride in real dusty condiontions

Posted by: JEFF400EX

quote:
knelson DO NOT GO CUTTING ON YOUR CAM

quote:
Rico400 i was at the dunes like a month ago and there was a guy on a 400ex there and it was doing tree shots that alot of people couldnt make on a 450 or banshee. and we got to talking and he said that he cut his cam, the part for the exhuast valve. he says stock it leaves that valve open all of the time. he said now it build up a little bit more compression in the bike.

THE CAM CAN BE CUT.... HOWEVER....

not by yourself in you own little back yard garage.

If he did it, he has connections with a race shop.

A cam can be reground or change the angle or degree, which would change the duration of how long the valve would be open or closed.

(not cheap) not easy to do, and it can not be done at home.

Posted by: mittimj

I'm pretty shure that guy ground the compretion thing off the stock cam. infact I would bet money that is what he was talking about.

Posted by: 400expooner

take your throttle cover off and grind the piece of metal that is keeping the throttle from opening all the way. didnt make a big difference but made a noticable change.

Posted by: mittimj

I dont think so. I think if the throttle is adjusted properly then you shouldent have to do any grinding. That stop is put there so you dont pull to hard on the cable.

Posted by: knelson

quote:
Originally posted by JEFF400EX
THE CAM CAN BE CUT.... HOWEVER....

not by yourself in you own little back yard garage.

If he did it, he has connections with a race shop.

your normal race shops do not grind their own cams, they buy their cams to the specs that they desire, it isn't worth the trial and error grinding on cams when you can have one sent to you already with the specs. you want. He more than likely removed the decompress. assy. on the stock cam. which would yeild you no more power only making it slightly harder to start.
Think about it would you rather grind on a stock cam and have to worry about hardening issues......Or would you rather order one to spec for less money and less hassle than the machinery to properly grind cams.While not saying it's feasable to grind a cam I am saying it is more likely that he did not. If you would like you can remove your cam,send it to me, and I can put a custom grind on your cam for a small fee

Posted by: mittimj

ya, lol. what does a new cam cost new a days. like 150. so send me your stock cam I will "regrind it" for you. only thing is when you get you cam back it will be in a Hotcams box... lol.

Posted by: JEFF400EX

knelson,

I didn't want to give the impression of grinding a stock cam to a different spec for better performance.

more along the lines of, we use old cams that are used in race cars with 1000 hp plus, that have had a lifter go bad and mark up one of the lobes. We can have that one or two lobes re-ground and then reuse the cam instead of replaceing it for at lot less money. Some of our cams are close to $1000.

Thanks for pointing this out... could have confused or misled someone into thinking the wrong way.

The way Rico400 explains his experiance, I would lean more towards an alterd cam or different cam vs just the compression assy. removal.

Posted by: blakefoote

well i went out and bought a new sproket for liek 16$....and remove the airbox....I also went out and cut my White bros pipe 8 inchs long( that was awesome)...thats all i have ever done to improve my quad that did cost over 100$...

Posted by: knelson

I just didn't want anybody to get creative with a grinder on their cam and end up f'ing up their bike's. You are correct about "fixing a lobe" on the cam though. We have had some of the new yamaha hpdi motors marr a cam lobe due to improper break-in
And pricewise It is cheaper to have it fixed rather than replacement($1,200 a cam) so you are correct as far as you can "fix" a cam.

Posted by: Rdhanded2

I have a Outerwears prefilter on my K&N filter, and an outerwears cover on my airbox. I don't have problems with dust, and get a ton more air.

Posted by: tooanxiousii

quote:
Originally posted by 400exrules
u could get a sparks timing advance key....i hear its well worth it. i might get one some day for myself. Only about $20, and its supposed to give a big increase in throttle response

it does make your machine run alittle hotter, so its not recommended for big bores

I had one in my 400ex and it worked great but I had remove it when I put my 426cc in ... Great bang for the buck!!!!!

Posted by: ride hard man

Well instead of removing your air box lid completely, you can just drill holes in the back of the box. It works just as fine and mud doesnt get up in it that bad. Just watch out when washing it not to spray directly in it or anything.

Posted by: vinny3299

well heres a myth i wanna trample... i heard just taken out the sparky/baffel in your pipe is pretty much like haveing a slip on added to the quad... if so should you get a k&n with outerwares for the 400ex and rejet how would that be...

Posted by: R_rocket

U can get a 450r carb. I got one off ebay for $50, well worth the money.