YZ400F second time out

[V8Pinto]

I went up to Foresthill OHV today for a few hours (NorCal, above Auburn). Staged at Sugar Pine and ran the #1, 4, 7, and 3 loops. The first hour or so, I spent with the suspension beating me up. The second hour was spent with wet red dirt stuck in every crevice after a face plant on the slick stuff in the pouring rain

I spent the last hour making suspension adjustments and the ride got a lot better. I backed the front compression out 6 clicks and the rear 2 clicks. I gave it two clicks on the front rebound but it could probably use a little more because I ride slow. I spent the whole day in 1st gear. Tomorrow the 13 tooth front is going on, I'll see how that does at Hollister next weekend.

Last weekend in the desert, the bike stalled on me once and wouldn't re-light (pretty sure I was going too slow and it overheated). Today I tried to rev it and get some wind through the radiators whenever there was an open spot and the bike ran flawlessly the whole time I was there. I'm really starting to like it.

[DeeCee]

I to have a 400. In my case I ride desert all the time but over a variety of terrains. Great bike, it iseasy to understand why they made such an impact when they were first introduced.

They definitely need to be moving to keep cool. Slow riding in first or second gear they do not like at all. I have fitted a WR overflow bottle to mine and have found this extra capacity prevents the coolant from getting too low. If you are doing a lot of slow riding you may wish to consider this option. Motion Pro also make a kit that serves the same purpose (I have used this as well with good results - the advantage of the WR bottle is it has larger capacity).

[V8Pinto]

I changed the oil and filter and wow what a difference. I took care like grayracer513 said to pay attention to the oil filter cover drain bolt. It needed a chaser on the threads which worked well. When I got the cover off - lots of metal shavings. I was shocked. I don't know when the oil on this bike was last changed but it wasn't recently. Cleaned all that out and put 20w-40 in per the manual and it's a lot quieter.

I also installed a 13t front sprocket and will see how that goes at Hollister this weekend. It didn't seem to slow it down much in 1st in my backyard testing. I will ride it at Hollister and see.. probably buy a 13/51 set with new chain and call it good.

It's cold enough now that I'm hoping I won't need the coolant overflow. Now that I know to keep it moving, I won't ride it like my old air cooled IT's. After this trip I will probably add the turkey baster overflow as I have a desert fuel tank in the side cover where the WR bottle would go.

Thx for the help folks. It's running really well now.

[M0SSLAGER]

wow a 13/51 is pretty low. I have a 13/50 and hate it in the desert. I am going back to a 14/48 I think. I will try a 14/50 setup first. What kind of riding is at Hollister?

[V8Pinto]

Yeah 13/51 is low. I'm kind of stuck though - I will ride it in the desert and I also trail ride a lot. Hollister is hill climbs and good overall trail riding. rocks to dirt. For the kind of riding I do, a WR would be better for me but I have the YZ so...

The last time I rode in the desert was the first time there on the YZ and I found myself wanting a lower 1st gear and a taller final. Then I went trail riding and wanted a lower 1st gear. So I'm just going to go lower overall and worry about the top end when I go to the desert. I'd rather be able to go slower than faster. I'm going to run the 13/49 this weekend and see how that goes. Maybe it's enough for my slow old self.

The suspension is where I'm focusing now. I don't have a lot of experience with dialing in suspension but I'm practicing on the YZ and it's paying off. I got the rear sag set right, softened up the compression damping a bit and it's *close*. The front is different though. I almost need a softer spring (again I ride slow hahahaha). I have the compression damping out pretty far and it's almost soft enough. Now I'm messing around with the rebound damping.

Like I mentioned, I'm coming off old air cooled two-strokes so the 99' is "modern" to me