2017 exc 350 engine characteristic

[cross1]

Hello

I am about to pull the trigger on new 2017 exc 350.

Before doing that I have 2 questions.:

1. What is the engine characterictic of new engine? Is it more 250 like (need to rew it hard) or is it more like 450/500 ( you can ride with low rews)?  I know that older generation of 350 needed to be rewed hard, but I heard that 2017 model has a lot more grunt in lower rews and could be riden more like 450/500. I am comming from 2013 450 and I like the fact that  there is a lot of torque availabile in low rews, but i don`t like the weight. So that is why I am thinking 350.

2. Are there any known issues with new generation of 350 yet?

 

[Spud786]

THe key thing I like with the 450/500 over the 350, is the valve train design.  The 350 has the typical dual over head cams and you have to remove the cct cam chain and cams to adjust. The 450 also has roller bearing cam followers, where the 350 has little teeter totter fingers that can wear(they beefed up the coatings this year I believe). Being both have very narrow cam lobes, longevity of design is in the 450/500's court. Not sure if they fixed the 350 , where some were melting the plastic vent spout, there was some kind of heat/lubrication problem there with some bikes(where the 450/500 is metal and at the top of the valve cover with no issues at all..

On the 450/500's you don't have to touch the cam chain or cam to adjust valves, by only dealing with rocker arms to me is easier.

I always lean towards longevity, and the motor that can pull the taller gearing , since the bikes cost about the same, the 450  rev feel are going to be in between the 350 and 500.

 

[jamesw9404]

Hello
I am about to pull the trigger on new 2017 exc 350.
Before doing that I have 2 questions.:
1. What is the engine characterictic of new engine? Is it more 250 like (need to rew it hard) or is it more like 450/500 ( you can ride with low rews)?  I know that older generation of 350 needed to be rewed hard, but I heard that 2017 model has a lot more grunt in lower rews and could be riden more like 450/500. I am comming from 2013 450 and I like the fact that  there is a lot of torque availabile in low rews, but i don`t like the weight. So that is why I am thinking 350.
2. Are there any known issues with new generation of 350 yet?
 

I have a fe 350 2017 and I don't think you'll be disappointed with the low end power. It has far more than my old 350 had. You seem to be familiar with how the older bikes ran anyway...

I run 13/50 gearing which seems ok, I might change to 13/49 soon.

I test rode a new 450 before pulling the trigger and loved that too but the power was immense which I thought could get me in a lot of trouble hence my decision to stick with a 350.

My idle was set from the dealer and is possibly a little fast which I think helps with the low end grunt and also reduces the engine braking which isn't always such a bad thing.

I do find myself wondering if I should have brought a 450 though as I find myself bouncing off the rev limiter a lot when going at a fast pace in gears 1,2 and 3 which is actually quite annoying. I don't think you'll truly feel the weight difference between the models but that's just me

[bikedude987]

If you like the 450 grunt, get the 450.   It weighs about the same as the 350...5 lbs difference.

[cross1]

Lately I am riding more and more tight trails where 450 is quite heavy. The idea was to go the 350 way as reportedly it is more at home in tight trails.

 

[travertt]

Personally...I would go for the 350...to me the perfect combination of power, torque, speed and nimbleness for the woods/enduro/tight trails/technical type riding.  For desert type riding and more sustained high speed type of riding...450 or 500 for sure.

Spud is correct....the 350 dual cam valve train setup is more complicated and a bit trickier to work with...but in my experience...never had a problem of any kind.  The consensus I seem to get from my reading etc is that there are not a lot of  people with valve issues on the 350.  There are always some problems of course...but that holds true for any make or model of bike.  All the new generation of 4 strokes engines have a very good reliability record. The melting plastic "vent spout" issue (on the 17s) is a believe a problem on the 500s and the 350s.

[Spud786]

1 hour ago, travertt said:

. The melting plastic "vent spout" issue (on the 17s) is a believe a problem on the 500s and the 350s.

If they put plastic on the 17 (500), they ruined a totally perfect and reliable design, hadn't heard the 500 ,now has a plastic vent tube.

[jamesw9404]

Personally...I would go for the 350...to me the perfect combination of power, torque, speed and nimbleness for the woods/enduro/tight trails/technical type riding.  For desert type riding and more sustained high speed type of riding...450 or 500 for sure.
Spud is correct....the 350 dual cam valve train setup is more complicated and a bit trickier to work with...but in my experience...never had a problem of any kind.  The consensus I seem to get from my reading etc is that there are not a lot of  people with valve issues on the 350.  There are always some problems of course...but that holds true for any make or model of bike.  All the new generation of 4 strokes engines have a very good reliability record. The melting plastic "vent spout" issue (on the 17s) is a believe a problem on the 500s and the 350s.

Well said. It's a great compromise between power and weight which is its exact intended purpose.

[jamesw9404]

I checked my valves at 20 hours and they were all in spec fyi

[xrbrp]

I spoke with rangers at the Local Off highway park  .they are getting 3 350s next month.  the reason is they are a bit shorter for smaller rangers and have about the same power as their older 450s.  They ride a lot of different terrain. 

[travertt]

Quote

If they put plastic on the 17 (500), they ruined a totally perfect and reliable design, hadn't heard the 500 ,now has a plastic vent tube.

Yup...my mistake...in reviewing stuff I'd read previously...Spud is correct...it seems the melting plastic breather tube appears to be a problem associated with the new 2016 - 2017 350 XCF models to be more specific. It doesn't appears to be a rampant problem,  but those who have it get pretty vocal about it...and who can blame them when a virtually new bike has a catastrophic (read expensive) failure.

I guess if the problem exists with the 350 XCF's...one would think that it could very well be an issue with the 350 EXC's as well...although I haven't seen anyone with an EXC posting about it.

 

[Joescab]

Just picked up a '17 350 exc-f.  To give you an idea of where my impression of this bike comes from, I've owned a DRZ400S, a DR650, and an XR650L.

Got tired of muscling the heavy bikes through the trails, and had an opportunity to upgrade. 

The 350 came with 14/52 sprockets from the showroom, and I find them to be quite short for fire roads.  I'm always in 6th and above 80km/r, it's pretty buzzy.

Power delivery is nothing like my previous bikes.  My previous bikes didn't mind lugging along at low rpm and delivering some torque, especially the DR.  While mine only has 4hrs on it now, it didn't seem too happy at low rpm and preferred to be at least in the lower to mid-range in rpm's.  Power delivery is manageable and safe in that range.  However, if you crack it open at mid-range and above, wow does it go insane!  It screams and the back tire is roosting anyone in your wake.  It felt more like a 2-stroke than any 4-stroke I ever rode.  It will take some getting used to for sure.

I'm actually putting a 48 tooth on it tomorrow to see if calms down a bit, and hopefully shift gears less often than the 52.  May even try 45 tooth if that's not enough.

[jamesw9404]

That definitely needs gearing down. No wonder it revs so fast. You'll like it with the 48

[WR Jason]

Let me know what you think about that regear. I am looking to do the same. Why did you go to 48 in the rear opposed to dropping to a 13 in front?