In my opinion the only quad to start with is a Honda Trx450er. Honda is know for the dependability and craftsmanship. Also I recommend starting with the most unmolested low hour atv you can find. I scored this one out of NY. May only have 10 hours on it total. With this few hours there is no need to pull engine apart. Even if you plan on doing head and cylinder work the bottom end and clutch are fresh enough to run with out rebuilding.
Get everything that's not gonna be used out of the way. A-arms, steering stem, swing arm, axle, bearing carrier, handle bars, brake lines, rims and tires, exhaust, skid plates, bumper and grab bar, etc. On this build we decided to use an 2005 style swing arm. Roll design and Elka have done more testing with the 05 style swing arm and linkage. This swing arm is slightly shorter. We also decided to use 05 style spindles and hubs in the front. We are using a pretty wide a-arm in the front. Our goal was to be no wider then 48" The early spindles will narrow the front end 1/2" each side. We are also going to be running a 4-1 offset front wheel.
We will be reusing the oem brake calpiers and rotors, rear hubs, an oem swing arm from 2005, all electronics except cdi, engine, frame, and all wiring. We will also be using a stock air box, carb, and radiator.
This quad will have Elka stage 5 shocks all the way around. Roll design mx / worcs a-arms in the front, and a early 2005 swing arm in the rear. Its also getting a roll steering stem, a lonestar double row bearing carrier, lonestar anti-fade lock nut, and a rpm doninator II axle. We are going to finish the drive line off with some douglas rock and lock 4-1 front wheels and g3 rear wheels matted to holeshot gncc tires all the way around. We will be running stock gearing with a Regina o-ring chain.
For some increased performance we are running a Duncan racing fat boy 4 exhaust system, a Vertex ignition, and a pro design K&N pro- flow kit. The carb will be rejetted and a remote fuel screw kit will be installed. The vertex ignition lets you change ignition curves from a handle bar switch and also moves the rev limiter from 9,800 to 11,700 rpm.
We will be running a renthal fat bar with Moose racing ARC unbreakable brake lever and clutch perch / lever assembly. We installed a pro design tether switch, a moose hour meter to monitor engine run time. We also installed a motion pro twist throttle kit. It comes with a cable to mate to carb.
Here is an image of the 2014 brake calipers mounted to the 2005 spindles. 2005 hubs must be used with 2005 spindles. This hub / spindle combination was used to narrow the front end slightly to compensate for the use of very wide a-arms.
When installing an after market exhaust and air filter combination it will be mandatory that you re-jet the carb. For the install of the Duncan Racing Fat Boy 4 we went from a 122 to a 175 main jet. This is a huge increase of fuel. Expect some big performance gains. In the pilot jet circuit we went from a 42 to a 45. It is possible to use the stock non adjustable needle but is recommended to upgrade to an adjustable needle. We used Honda part number 16232-MEB-671. We installed this in the 4th position which is the forth position down from the top. We also installed a R&D remote adjustable fuel screw. (pictured above) This will let you fine tune the idle fuel circuit. The stock fuel screw is not adjustable so installing some kind of adjustable fuel screw is mandatory.
In the rear we are running Douglas g3 rear wheels matted with holeshot GNCC tires. 20-10-9. (PIctured in slide show below) In the front we are also running a Douglas wheel, a Rok-n-lok. This wheel is also mated with a Holeshot GNCC tire. 21-7-10. (pictured above) This wheel has a 4-1 offset. This is to narrow the front end due to very wide mx style a-arms.
When removing the thumb throttle and installing a twist throttle you will have to make a small electrical system modification. On the stock thumb throttle there are two wires. This is a safety feature, if you move the carb slide and not the thumb throttle the bike will shut off. For example, if the throttle cable gets stuck the bike will shut down. In the picture above it shows that we cut the wiring harness side of this connection and crimp connected it together. This bypasses this system. This will also be required on the clutch safety switch when installing an aftermarket clutch lever / perch assembly. If not the bike will not start unless it is in neutral. ( see picture below in slide show.)
The above picture shows a Moose racing hour meter. This was installed to keep track of engine hours for maintenance purposes. Also behind that there is a Duncan Racing / Vortex ignition. This takes the stock rev limiter from 9,800 rpm to 11,500. It also has 10 different ignition settings. It comes with a handle bar switch where you can switch between 2 different settings.
We installed a Rpm dominator II MX axle. We have the provided spacers on the out side of the hubs. This makes the rear as narrow as possible with this axle. It measures 48" this way. It will match the width of the front end. We also used a Lonestar twin row bearing carrier and a Lonestar anti-fade nut. Their nut has two pinch bolts to keep it tight.