I am pretty sure it is 56 hp.  I had one, very quick and more then adequate power for a 440 fan.  I think the 56 hp was the limit allowed for stock sleds back then if they wanted to race.  anyone else?    I am sure yamigod knows for sure, he is knowledgable and helpful in these matters.

BEST ONES WERE THE 76-79,s !!  VERY LITE AND FAST. !! 3:16 (tony)

I owned a 78 Exciter 440 and at that time Yamaha claimed the horsepower to be 48. It was a light sled which came from the factory with a single carb and the oil injection was set very rich. If one turned down the oil, it would run quite a bit better with a little jetting change. It was very competitive in the market at that time. The 56 hp came in the 2000 SRV. This was designed to be raced against the other sleds of the time. It also had only one carburetor and ran very good for the time.
We were lucky enough to have the money to buy a new sled. Dynos were not plentiful and most people never even thought about it because of the cost.
I paid less than $1800 for a 78 Exciter 440.

Dynofun, the first Srv came out in the fall of 1979 as a 1980. It was a silver gray color. The 1981 SRV was the same silver color with a wide Blue stripe down the hood. The 82 was Black with yellow and orange striping. The 83 was Black and Red and had the best rear suspension at that time. I have owned only yammie sleds since 1977.
78 Exciter 440, 78 Enticer 340(wife), 80 SRV, 81 SRX, 81 SRV, 83 SRV, 84 Phazer, 87 Exciter, 88 Phazer, 89Exciter, 92VentureGT, 93Venture GT, 94Vmax600, 97Vmax 600, 98Vmax700, 2000 SXR with triple pipes and clutching, 2001Vmax600, 2002 Viper, 2003 RX1, 2005, Vector, and 2006 Candy red Apex ER.

Oh I clearly remember when they came out and what color was what.  Reread the post.  I was guessing what year he was getting at.  Sno Cross racing and the 56 HP class started in the year '81-'82 if I remember correctly.

Hey guy's  I just picked up a SRV with a serial # starting with 8U7   What year is it ? It has the Pro-action so, it must be 83 up ?

hey i have a 1980 exciter 440 fun sleds i was woundering what would i have to do to it to keep up with the 600cc sleds in a drag race if they were stock.

 

Thanks, Derek

DYNO, I DON,T BELIEVE ANY DEFFERENCE. 78,79, 80, 81 WERE EXACT SLED EXCEPT COLOR SHEME. THEY ACTUALLY WERE SLIGHTLY HEAVIER THAN 76-77. EARLY EXCITERS HAD GPX GAUAGE CLUSTER WERE LATER ONES HAD DASH. ACTUALLY MOST IN VINTAGE COLLECTING DON,T REALIZE HOW RARE THE 1981 EXCITER IS. 3:16 (yammie tony)

If you want to make that Exciter run to its full potential, see Doug Flannery (269-792-0070) and have him port it.  You'll not only see much higher peak horsepower, but excellent mid-range gains as well- all the while keeping stock-like reliablility.  Matter of fact, he took 1st with his Exciter in the 440 fan class at Eagle River this past season. 

The stock Exciter pipe is a good pipe and you'd be farther ahead to have Doug port it before spending the coin for twin aftermarket tuners.  Also, dual Mikunis is an effective upgrade to that sled and will probably lengthen the life of the PTO cylinder and piston considerably.  I can have the manifolds for the dual carb set-up made if you need them.  The programming for them is already set up.

If you want to go out hunting for 600s, you're going to have to have it ported- and the porting will very much compliment the twin pipes if you decide to go that route. 

Tony

Having owned & raced 3 440 Exciters back in the day, here is what I'd do. Find a 85 or newer SRV motor & stick that in. There said to be 65 HP stock.. With minor work your probably getting 75 Hp out of those, reliably. . You can probably find a scraped out one pretty cheap & use its clutches also.  That would be a nice little sleeper Exciter in my book. MMR

 

PS, if your thinking about Decals.  The 77 was by far the pretty one & There are sources for repop decal kits for it.