Guys i need unbiased advice!

[Re-run]

I have a heavily modded 02 blaster. I love it but hate hiw mich you have to shift and go through gears compred to my raptor 660.

Found a guy willing to trade his pretty much stoke 02 honda 400ex... Ive heard that the over bored blasters are faster than the stock 400ex.. But i dont give a crap about top speed on a road i want whats best for trails and hills! What do u think i should do? Here is pics of my blaster and mods and his 400ex.

 

[speedyslyder]

i can give you my opinion
i sold a blaster to get a 400ex
HAD a aftermarket 600$ duncan fatboy 4 exhaust on it...
just like the one in your pic it has no HEAT SHIELD MOUNTING HOLES TO put 1 on it..
it got soooo hot on my leg/with pants/riding pants ect it was un comfortable to ride it.
I ended up making a heat shield for it/but looked weird/and the heat was still felt going full speed down a road lol.

ALSO THE 400EX HAVE A PROBLEM WITH 2ND GEAR SOOOOO CHECK THAT.
HAS 2 BOLTS TO DRAIN THE FRIGGING OIL OUT OF IT TO

THE 400ex will ride double better and has more low end torque
for hill ect..
also the headlight and electric start is run off a battery.
although it will jump start easy as pie if battery dies..

I liked the 400ex in certain ways as i like the blaster in certain ways

you have to pick wich flaws you want...and the 400ex was louder then the blaster.
much easier to find blaster parts and maintain it as well
id rather have the blaster tip over on me then the 400ex lmao
just my experience.....speedy

 

[Re-run]

i can give you my opinion
i sold a blaster to get a 400ex
HAD a aftermarket 600$ duncan fatboy 4 exhaust on it...
just like the one in your pic it has no HEAT SHIELD MOUNTING HOLES TO put 1 on it..
it got soooo hot on my leg/with pants/riding pants ect it was un comfortable to ride it.
I ended up making a heat shield for it/but looked weird lol.

ALSO THE 400EX HAVE A PROBLEM WITH 2ND GEAR SOOOOO CHECK THAT.
HAS 2 BOLTS TO DRAIN THE FRIGGING OIL OUT OF IT TO

THE 400ex will ride double better and has more low end torque
for hill ect..
also the headlight and electric start is run off a battery.
although it will jump start easy as pie if battery dies..

I liked the 400ex in certain ways as i like the blaster in certain ways

you have to pick wich flaws you want...and the 400ex was louder then the blaster.
much easier to find blaster parts and maintain it as well
id rather have the blaster tip over on me then the 400ex lmao
just my experience.....speedy

Thanks man!!

I am riding up a lot of hills and would love to not have to shift so much going up them for sure!!!

Just scared with all the money in mods that has been done to my blaster that im making a bad deal for a basically stock 400ex that he mod welded an fmf pipe on.

 

[speedyslyder]

others will reply but
there is alot of issues with the 400ex that are harder to fix then a blaster
such as 2nd gear slips...and why does it slip???
i will tell you
you have to keep it in 2nd gear to get any power half the time,depending on where you are riding the 400ex i had got sold quickly after i bought it because the blaster was way easier to work on and much funner to play on
but it is your choice...i was dissapointed with the 400ex air cooled 4stroke

at the time if i could have keep both the blaster and bought the 400ex ....
the 400ex would have got sold before the blaster

 

[Larry's Shee]

Shifting a lot is part of the fun for me. Little to much out of the ex makes it rather peaky. Tho not lots of hills where I ride.

 

[Re-run]

Shifting a lot is part of the fun for me. Little to much out of the ex makes it rather peaky. Tho not lots of hills where I ride.

So ur saying its peaky meaning?

Ur saying u have to shift less with a 400ex?

 

[Re-run]

Bump

 

[deeeebeeeeee]

Stock for Stock the 400ex is the preferable bike. But once you build out the blaster lengthened arms/axle, hydro brakes, shocks,etc.
It becomes what is in my opinion a much better bike. It's light quick, and if setup right should be faster in most cases.

The 400ex is a little less interactive to ride it doesn't have to be clutched and shifted nearly as much to keep it pulling, but for all that, it is still better suited for areas that are hilly and open.
I know I originally bought the blaster for my boys and had I been buying for myself at the time I would have got the 350 warrior of similar vintage, let's face it i am not 18 anymore and 4 strokes are just easier to ride, we all know when the trail gets tough and the hills steep, it's just as much work to cruise a 2 stroke as it is to rip on it. Now here it is I got a good running little blaster, which I most recently used to follow my 10year old in his first trip down the trail (dirt road) on a CR80, it was painfully slow, and made me wish I wasnt jetted slightly rich. I would have loved to have had a 4 stroke for that task.

At the end of the day 2 stroke takes more effort, to ride, setup and maintain, but are typically much more fun to ride.
Where a 4 stroke is easy to ride, and thoughtless to maintain, you don't have to worry about oil for the fuel, jetting, the engine loading up if ridden easy. You jump on it , hit the start button and ride away.

The decision between a Blaster ,and a 400ex is really one of function each has their own purpose.

 

[pudvah]

It's a 400 pound 4 stroke, if you're into fat chicks go ahead lol. It's really all opinion. I've rode 4 strokes my whole life this blaster is my first 2 stroke and I've wasted 30 yrs of my life. I will never ride a non 2 stroke quad/dirt bike again

 

[dirtysquared]

I had a 400ex for quite awhile. The dude I got it from dumped thousands into this motor, started going through a divorce, and sold it to me for $1500. All I had to do was replace the bearings in the rear axle carrier.

It definitly has it advantages over a Blaster, but also its shortfalls. The best thing is the geometry is modeled after the 250r. IT will take corners, jumps and anything else you throw at it well. They are a torquey beast down low, never had any trouble climbing hills. That had alot to do with the gearing I set it up for, I've never been too concerned with top speed.

The Bad....They hate rear axle bearings!! In 5 years, I changed at least 6 sets, and one time even took out the tube with it. IT's still an air/oil cooled bike, so you better be moving to keep it cool. It will get hot. The timing chain tensioners are also notorious for going bad. I changed mine after the first season I had it and found out about the problems.

The reason I got rid of mine. I got operated on, they told me I couldn't ride anymore. That lasted 1.5 years, and I bought a Blown up blaster under protest from my wife. The main reason for the Blaster was to keep it simple. A 2 stroke motor is a very simple design, that's easy to work on and diagnose. Parts are still available, and alot cheaper than a set of valves, seats, and guides.

That's my 400ex story, hope it helps.