350X 400EX Transplant Build!

[Matt85'350x]

Frame cost $150. Went in with a fellow triker and we got 3 frames done all at once.

Huge milestone today, finally got my triple clamps. Took a lot longer than originally promised but they look good. These things are huge! Unfortunately I was a dumby and thought the races came with the bearing kit but of course they didn't and I hadn't even opened the box to check until I went to install them. All this time waiting for the clamps and I can't put them in. Time to get some races on rush order.


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[Matt85'350x]

Edit: it does come with the races, just didn't see them. Got to thinking about it and had to go back out and look. Hopefully I can get the clamps mounted up soon.

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[Matt85'350x]

Some more shiny parts courtesy of HRE. Plus 2 350x swing arm designed to accept all 450r components. Has the skid plate, chain slider, and chain guard mounts.
Wider and more aggressive foot pegs, also asked him to put inserts in so that I could mount up heel guards in the future.

HRE does incredible work, the craftsmanship is amazing. These pegs are huge! Both of these parts are so much nicer than I imagined.





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[Ranvier]

Great build. What forks are you going to use?

[Matt85'350x]

Great build. What forks are you going to use?

Cr125.

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[Matt85'350x]

Time to mount up the triples. I bought the tapered bearing kit. I was a little worried about it because of all of the discussion on here about it but I'd say it went fairly smooth. I put the races in the freezer for a few days and greased up the steering neck to make them go in easier. I bought this bearing driver from harbor freight, that worked really well! Races went in straight and with no damage.

Next step was to put the lower bearing on. Seal goes first, then bearing. I used a vacuum attachment tube that I cut down until it was the right size to fit over the stem. The lower bearing is an interference fit so it needs some persuasion to get on but you only want to put force on the inner bearing, not the outer. Packed the bearing with waterproof grease and put it on. One tip is to not slam it all down at once. For whatever reason the sealing washer is way bigger than the stem and therefore slides all over the place but it needs to be centered on the bearing to work. So put the bearing on a little, line up the seal, then send the bearing the rest of the way.

Starting to look like something now.

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[Matt85'350x]

One thing I didn't know about this invert kit is in order to bolt up the rotor adapter you must first take the rotor studs out of the hub. I used the double nut method but the only way I could get it to work was to heat up the area where the stud goes in. Once I heated it up they came out fairly easily. These studs weren't meant to come out and after 32 years- heat was the only way they were coming out.



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[tapper190]

Great build!! are you planning on bringing it to Rose City?

[Matt85'350x]

Great build!! are you planning on bringing it to Rose City?

Thanks! Unfortunately it won't be done in time. I have a few small things to be powder coated yet and getting my swing arm bolt and front axle plated. I'll be bringing my stock x to rose city.



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[Matt85'350x]

Well I ended up deciding I needed the washer underneath the lower steering stem bearing. Unfortunately since I already put it on I had to figure out a way to get the bearing off without damaging it. Since this stem was just put in and I have access to a press all I had to do was press out the steering stem and my bearing was free. Then just put back in the steering stem.

I also cleaned up the forks using some aluminum bright from NAPA. Monroe Mike let me know about that stuff, works great. Below are some before and after pics. Also got the forks mounted up, they look great on there! Now I'm at another roadblock because I'm waiting for the front hub to get powder coated. This is a marathon build, not a sprint.



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[Dirtcrasher]

Looking GREAT buddy.

What R your plans for the rear suspension??

[Matt85'350x]

Looking GREAT buddy.

What R your plans for the rear suspension??

Thanks, I ordered a stiffer spring, a re-valve kit, and everything needed for a full rebuild from racetech. Just following in Shawn Powell's footsteps lol

[Shawn Powell]

Oh no. Don't do that!! Lol. ( except for the racetech part, do that) I think your front ends beats my front end beyond comparison. Did you end up with a 450r style rear linkage from hre? And if so do you still use the 350x shock or a 450r one?


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[Matt85'350x]

Oh no. Don't do that!! Lol. ( except for the racetech part, do that) I think your front ends beats my front end beyond comparison. Did you end up with a 450r style rear linkage from hre? And if so do you still use the 350x shock or a 450r one?


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I just had him utilize the stock shock mounting. The problem with the 450r shock is the stock one has the reservoir on it and it can't mount up like that. So you need a 450r shock with a remote reservoir which is an $800+ shock and then you need to factor in the frame mods necessary to mount up the linkage and top mount. Overall it would have been an additional $1000+ on top of everything else so I had to tap out on this 1. I'll be happy with what I'm getting, I'm not going to race this at unidilla lol.

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[Shawn Powell]

Got it. I'm happy with mine. I have the plus 2 hre and stock shock all redone. The biggest difference was the gold valve kit. Moves so much smoother now. Now your front end will make it work that's for sure. Mines pretty balanced. I'd say a bit biased towards the rear.


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