Help trail riding and hill climbing....

[buckeyejosh3]

i just recently bought a 04 Z400 and took it out last night... i am curious whats some things i can do make it a great trail riding and hill climbing quad.. to my knowledge its all stock all i have done is put on a UNI air filter on it.. any help is appreciated.. thanks..

[Salvin36]

I would start with a 13 tooth front sprocket. That will give you a little more low end power for a low end price.

[johndeere9203]

exhaust, tires, skids, hand guards

[buckeyejosh3]

thanks, i just order a JT 13T front sprocket.... i am thinking about buyin a slip on yoshimura rs-2 exhaust.. what tires would you recommend? i heard the best tires for traction are dunlop kt 331/335

[johndeere9203]

I would never buy any dunlop tires that's what comes on it stock i would buy either razer 2's or holehot hds i have the holeshot hds they are a heavy 6 ply tire. I ride a lot of trails with lot of rocks never had a flat and they have awesome grip. And from what i have heard yoshimura is really good but not cheap, i went with HMF because it sounds awesome and you can get them in a lot of colors.

[woodsrider129]

A 6 ply tire is preferred on the trails. A little heavier, but less prone to flats.

[bparks23]

ITP Holeshot HD's, 6-ply tire, last a long time. Expensive, but worth it.

[Salvin36]

If performance is what you are looking for I would not recommend buying a slip-on exhaust as you wont gain much. It will sound cool yes, but if you want more power you are better off to get any make of full exhaust.

[buckeyejosh3]

looks like holeshot HDs is the tire for trial riding.. will have to look into prices on them.. and whats a good bang for your buck full exhaust system ??

[Salvin36]

There is a lot of threads on exhaust systems, but I chose the HMF Competition series because it comes with 3 different tips that control how loud it is at the cost of power. When I race I use the largest tip for the most flow, and when my girlfriend and I take a weekend to the mountain trails I use the quiet tip because a lot of the state parks here have noise limits. It all depends on what you want out of your exhaust. You can sometimes find good deals on a used system on this forum if you are patient.

[WILL BELL]

For my trail setup I run 22in. Maxxis RAZR's on the back for ground clearance, and 23in. Maxxis RAZR II's in the front to make it look proportional. I personaly think that 22in. tires on front and back looks horrible. If I were you I wouldn't get an exhaust system. They only add a little bit of power and can be annoying at times. I rode a 300ex with an exhaust system for 6yrs. and when I get on my LTZ I am relieved to not hear the loud exhaust.

[ridin434]

Personally I would say if your just trail riding and hill climbing, add 13t sprocket and take a long trail ride to see what you would like to change. I found I wanted higher bars and nerf bars for more places to move feet.

The z is pretty well set of for trail riding and is pretty decent at hill climbing as long as your tires are decent.

Best trail mod I made was adding shocks from an 05+, can ride longer and get less worn out.

[ridin434]

Forgot to mention I added a 1" riser along with the higher bars-it makes standing comfortable and I am 5'-11". I is still low compared to what my buddies run on their snowmobiles to be comfortable standing.

[dtfm33]

Razr II all the way around are great for trails too. The side walls are so strong I was able to ride several miles back to camp with a flat just by moving my weight forward. Great traction too. Also, +1 on the full exhaust. Full or stock. Also, look into 05' or newer front shocks. The 04 pogo sticks suck. It will feel like a totally different quad.

[blessedhellrider]

here in florida sandspurs will give the OEM dunlops a flat. been there done that.