I'm starting to wheel my Jeep less and less and I've been considering buying a sport quad for awhile, and i think its time to start looking. I'm 23 years, 6'3, 170 lbs, Ive ridden quads enough to know that they are to be respected or you can hurt yourself badly, ive seen it first hand. I live in New England where there are lots of trails, and the three areas that i can go wheeling all have very large sand/gravel pits. I will not be using it for racing.

With that being said, Ive narrowed it down to the Suzuki/Kawasaki 400, the YZF 450 or the 660 Raptor. Alot of my friends have the 400s, and all say it is a very good all around bike for trails/dunes. But i was wondering about the Yamahas aswell? are these race bikes that wouldn't work as well as for me? They all cost about the same, and the only difference is the raptor weights about 25 pounds more than the 400s and has a much bigger engine. I'm sure this topic has covered to death, but id figure id ask anyways. :flipoff2: Any guidance would be appreciated. Ast this point i'm leaning towards the Raptor.

yfz450 rated the number 1 sport quad out there

Get something with two less wheels.

I thought about that, but i want to be able to use this in the snow too. And all but two of my friends have quads. Granted the bikes can out perform us on the trails, its not really neccesary until the DEP come along. :flipoff2:
I got one vote for the YZF450, anybody had experience with any of these quads and willing to share some insight?

I have ridden them all, I have ridden z400/kfx400 extensively along with the raptor and the yfz450. I used to own a 400ex. THe raptor never pulls the 400's until about 3rd or 4th gear. The yfz450 would be my pick because of the shocks and the power. Do not buy an 04 or 05 though. Pony up and get more power and better suspension in the 06.

If power is not a big deal then spring for the 400 z or kfx as those do a great job power wise after a full yoshi pipe and airbox modes are done! GOOD LUCK! If you have any more questions, PM me. I ride my quads more than I do anything and I have a good knowledge on most all of them. I also work at a Yamaha dealership part-time.

I had a modded Raptor 660 and loved it. It needs better suspension and lower some as well. I liked it since it had reverse, other than that the 450 is a fine machine and is hard to beat.

Friend has a Zuki 400 and it's a nice ride also. I have yet to ride it since he freshened up the motor with a cam and some other goddies.

first things first for trail riding the worst ride is the yfz it has no butt cushion but for 100 dollars it can and the is no other bike i have i ride more. i presently have a banshee bored with a 535 trinity kit a dvx the same as a z400 or kfx 400 i went artic cat because buddie owns a dealership. the z has a 435 kit head flowed hot cams one tooth down in front yoshi pipe kn intake alot. the funny thing is my girlfriend of 96 pounds can beat 90 percent of the yfz and 450 r out there. my raptor acuatly my little bros he has big bore and stuff the thing is tall and comfortable i dont like riding it is fairly quick and will hang will stock 400. it is to top heavy for my liking but still damn fine bike. the yfz is mine it is currently being built i have had it for one season fairly stock just jetted properly and piped my personal custom intake cam advanced this bike is like no other. this is the best bike on the market. the only reason i am building mine is i enjoy speed.

It seems after some more research and asking some friends who work on bikes and quads what they liked and disliked, Ive narrowed it down to the 400s and the 660 Raptor. The general consensus is the 400s are a better trail bike, they get going faster and have lower gearing, the raptors although quick, have higher gearing that doesn't work well on the trails and needs a little more room to really open up. The 400 is a nice machine, but i'm not sure if i shouldn't make a little sacrafice for the extra power.

I agree with you. If you want the best of both worlds with the Raptor and do trails and open stuff. You can always do a sproket change for what riding you are doing. Just another option. I left mine stock and it did lug in teh trails more than I liked, but once out in the open it kept going and going.

The 450 is a Racing Bike all it is built for is racing, And No reverse, to me that is important for trail riding. I ha ve ridden a raptor 660 and is to "tippy" for my liking, I own a suzuki Z400 2004 model. Great bike imho electric start reverse and more power than I will ever need. I am 5'6" and wiegh 245 lbs and this bike does haul ass I have pulled 400exes on more than one occasion. Saying this I would consider a raptor 700 now since they have lowered the COG and and made it a touch wider with EFI.

the new suzuki 450 fuel injected. this thing should be is mean built on the same platform as a 400 z. this machine that will turn heads and scream off corners and on the flats. the down side to them is it is first year bike. there like 7300 dollars and they wont beat a yfz. i took one out last night stock to stock with buddies 05 yfz with no extras and he held me by a bike length. the only other downside i see so far is no goodies for them yet it wont be long but i have not even seen a pipe or computer advancing yet.

for the flat out best bike on the market i stand by what i said earlier yfz 450 so what if it does not have reverse it takes forever to put my artic dvx 400 in reverse i think i could push back faster.

alright guys i have raced quads for 2years now and will say hands down yamaha is the shit and there is no quad up to par yet. i have a friend that had his honda 450 built by esr that cost him 5big bills and he never beat me in a sand drag race or on the track and there was that a girl that was the best rider in central cali in tt that ran 100dollar per gallon gas that i ripped her a new one any day any track at starts.
my o4 yfz 450 just has
and these are my recomendations for aftermarket parts
full exhaust (i have thunder alley)
cam mod
full intake
dirt bike needleand full jetting
and DITCH STOCK RIMS AND TIRES!!! I CAN NOT STRESS THIS ENOUGH THIS WILL BE THE BEST INFESTMENT EVER. PLEASE TAKE MY WORD ON THIS. YOU WILL BE SO HAPPY WITHT THE OUTCOME, SO TAKE A LOOK AT ITP TIRES FOR THERE FULL RANGE OF TIRES FOR DIFF TYPES OF TERRRIAN.

PLENTY OF TEST THAT HAVE BEEN DONE WITH YFZ AND IT IS STILL #1 AGIANST ANY OTHER QUAD.


TOOK MY 45O TO GLAMIS OVER CHISTMAS AND ONLY USED 10 GALLONS AND I WAS THERE FOR 5 DAYS AND EACH TRIP OUT WAS ABOUT ATLEAST 40 MILES ROUND TRIP. THEY ARE VERY GOOD ON GAS.

HAVE HAD MY 450 FOR ABOUT A 1.5 YEARS AND HAVE NOT ONE PROBLEM WITH IT.

Tough call. I have a 450 that has simple mods like cam mod and pipe jetting. It hauls ass. I rarly get beat. The cons are that the bike is small. I'm 6'1" and I lean over quite a bit. I put taller bars on it but would still like a little more height. I've ridden the suzuki 400 and really like it plus it has reverse. I will ride my quad anywhere but it really shines in the sand or desert. I like my bike better for trails.

My friend has a 660 raptor and it rides nice. I dont care for the stock suspension. The 700 raptor has better suspension but needs the 450 shocks in my opinion.

Screw all that and get a Kawasaki Brute Force 750 or a KFX 700, I own the brute force and almost bought the KFX700 except I love doing 4x4 required trails down in moab. I am a large man and this brute force will almost hit 70 with me on it and wheelie over from a stand still in low and high range...it is a pissed off quad.

You are not a large framed buy so you might want less...but I got needs...

The z-450 does NOT SIT ON THE 400 Chassis, The entire bike is different! I say go with a raptor since that was one of your choices. I ride a kfx700 and I love it to death. While everyone is shifting gears I just mash the throttle and point the wheels to the sky. I have seen a few kfx's taking very modded 450's in the sand on video. Fundy Powersports can crank almost 110hp out of the big v-twin. Can we say wicked fast! He is also working on a turbo kit for the Kawy's, when that happens watch out because these quads will finally get the respect they deserve.

www.fundypowersports.com
www.kawieriders.com

love it, z400 like the price, like the features, does everything well- trails all day- dunes pipe and jet it, best bang for the buck