Hi everyone!

For the last month or so I've been researching and shopping for a new Atv. I'm 27 years old and I've been riding for most of my life. I just sold my 08 kfx450r and my 1988 trx250r. I'm looking to replace them with something just as fast but also something that will last longer between serious maintnence. I'm currently choosing between the yamaha raptor 700r, Can am DS650x, Honda TRX700xx and a Kawasaki kfx700.

I mostly ride trails in Oregon which range from very technical to extremly wide open so I'd like a versatile machine. I also plan on entering a few harescrambles and gncc races every year with it so I'm going to supe it up quite a bit. Any experience or suggestions are more than welcomed and thanks for having me.

 

I owned a DS450 for little over a year, it was new and i cant say alot of good things!, My two buddies rode the Yamaha YFZ and the Honda TRX, Both super fun/fast! both still own the bikes, they do reg maintaince on them and they have YET to brake down( anything serious) hope this helps!

 

Thanks for the response.

I have had a lot of good things to say about my past hondas and yamahas. I've heard of the ds450 horror story's when I was 450 shopping a few years ago. I'm really looking to step up into a big bore now though. I like both the Honda 700 and the Raptor for different reasons. I'm sure the irs on the Honda would allow a rider to achieve a much higher speed thru rough terrain but it is heavier than the raptor. I've heard both are more than fast enough. Wish I could get a ride in on both machines.
The kfx700 is cool but it's super heavy and the cvt auto trans is lame. Kawasaki certainly didn't put the passion into it like they did with the kfx450.

 

Correct me if I am wrong someone! but I believe the Honda is quite a bit lighter! And to be honest , cant go wrong with a Honda engine ( even though I love the Yamaha engine also)

 

The yamaha is about 40 pounds lighter because it has a solid axle vs the independent design on the Honda. I agree that you can't go wrong with a Honda engine though. I Recently sold my 250r that gave me a good 8 years of reliable fun despite being 20 years old when I bought it. I bought a Honda 450r when it first came out in 04 and sold it in 09 when I bought my kfx450. The Honda never gave me a lick of a problem but I wanted the Kawasaki because it was supposedly the better machine according to all the "experts". Well it had a better suspension setup out of the box but everything else was subpar compared to the Honda including the engine which never had the bottom end grunt of my Honda.

I found a mint 09 700xx for 4000 and a nice 2010 raptor 700 for 3500 in my area. Going to look at both this weekend. There is also a nice 08 or 09 KFX700 close by for 2500 which is certainly intriguing but I'd hate to buy a inferior machine based on price alone.

Does anyone have a opinion on the Independent suspension on the Honda? How does it compare to a conventional solid axle on a fast paced trail or technical section?

 

I,m not into sport ATVs but I think the 700xx has a good 5hp over the 700 Raptor. 50hp vs 45hp give or take. If that helps in the choice.

 

There is a chart going around on here with the power outputs of a few of the atvs made today. If I recall correctly the 700xx makes about 55 Hp at the flywheel and the raptor 700 makes 47. With the 40-50 pound weight difference, they should be close in terms of acceleration but I have heard that the Honda has a much higher top speed.

 

The 700xx is sweet, I am surprised it never really took off. Since it is such a low selling model, i question how hard it wil be to get parts and aftermarket support.

At least on the tighter east coast xc tracks, suspension rules the day over big motor mods. A lot of guys are putting more $ into suspension than power, I certainly did.

You may want to look into the 525 Outlaw too. IRS, plenty of power while mildly modded. The downside is the service intervals are essentially like a 450s. That Katoom motor is pretty easy to work on though.

imho, you could pick up a big bore R, put some suspension on it, and rip it up old school style. Motor rebuilds are so much easier and cheaper, power can be awesome with the right build.

 

Just to give you guys an update

I went ahead and bought the KFX700 about 2 weeks after I started this thread. I offered the seller $2200 for it and since he had a baby on the way and his wife basically made him say yes, it came home with me.

The reason I'm reopening this thread is because I made a huge mistake with this v-force. All of my prior worries about this particular ATV have turned out to be true followed by a few more that I didn't even consider. It's extremly boring to ride given the automatic trans and the belt sure makes lots of unnecessary noises. It rides like it has bricks for shock absorbers and handles like an ice cream truck. The engine sure is big but to be honest, it's not very fast. The seat position is extremly high and awkward as well and I can't seem to toss my weight around given the awkward position. I knew I made the wrong choice when I dragged a early model 400ex for what was probably 500 feet and TIED from beginning to end. Bummer. It feels more like a farm quad then a serious sport model and that's not at all what I wanted.

So I'm putting the KFX up for sale and I'll be on the prowl for something that works. Thanks for the prior advice everybody. Seems like a great group of guys here

 

Yeah, pretty much how I felt about the kfx 700 too. I rode a buddies, and couldn't give it back fast enough. Right back on my 450. If you want to ride a utility, better to get the 4x4 and racks to go with it I think. I can see where peoe would like them, I know they have a decent following still, but I just dont get it personally. I have seen one with aftermarket suspension ripping up the mx track. Looked like he was working pretty hard for his laps though.