I've always wanted an ATV and grew up in a desert where all my friends had them but my parents could never afford it. So now that I'm out on my own and I have a second source of income from boxing/training, I'm going to purchase one. My two best friends have a KFX-something and a YFZ-450, and race them. They reccomended that I get either a 2003 Raptor or a 2004 z450. I'd like to get into racing, but a lot of the reviews I've read said that the the z450 is a purely racing bike while the Raptor is good for off-roading as well as racing.
I'm a pretty big guy, 6'1" and 205 (215 before my next fight) but with no quad experience and only been on a motorcycle a few times. What would you guys reccomend I purchase? And can you give me some links to give me more information before I go and drop a $7000 on something that I don't know much about?

 

a raopter banshee or the yfz

 

Just wait a couple more weeks and see if Honda comes out with anything good. (It may just make that little difference.) If not, I'd go with the price reduced (retail $6199.) 2004 Raptor 660 unless you're completely serious about racing then I'd say the new Yamaha 450. Check Honda out first just so you don't regret something later.
As far as the lack of experience, I'd like to suggest an atv safety riding course. I'm not sure about the other companies but Honda will pay a beginner $100. to take the safety course.

 

I WAS TOLD ALL MANUFActors give u $100 but polaris

 

By "racing" what exactly do you mean? Endurance desert racing, harescrambles, MX....it makes a big difference.

I personally prefer the Z. The Raptor is OK, but to narrow for my taste (way to narrow for desert racing!). I'm going to ride the YFZ tomorrow in the open desert (night ride), and I will post my impressions of the bike. My dream bike is a Honda 650 if they ever come out with one.

 

Okay, thanks for the info guys; I spent the night reading everything I could find on the web, and I think I'll be picking up the z450 on Monday morning at my local dealership. Will they have all the information and such that I need about insurance and things like that safety course? Also, I read on another site that beginers should start with an auto-clutch quad... how much trouble will the YFZ450 give me, since it is manual?
Is there any specific online material that you guys could link me to for beginers?

 

a raptor, banshee,yfz450s r not for begginners i don't care how old u r get a kfx400 u'll be more likely not to kill u self

 

Anybody else agree with this? I still want to be satisfied with my bike 6 months from now, so it seems like I should buy a high-level bike like the Raptor or z450 and just take learning slowly and take that course you mentioned rather than get something that is less powerful now only to buy another one as soon as I get the feel of it.

 

You can kill yourself just as easy at 65-66mph (Z400) as you can at 72-74mph (YFZ450). Actually as a beginner it would be smarter to buy a little Z250 or 250EX with a semi-auto. But you won't be happy with those quads in about 3 months when everyone is leaving you in the dust. Then you'll have to sell or trade the smaller quad to move up to a faster quad. (That's when you really lose money.) So I think it's better to buy what you really want now and save money later. Just don't shift past 3rd gear for a few months and it will be kind of like having a 250. Then when you're more confident you can go all the way up to 4th. Then when your friends blow by you, shift into 5th to catch up.[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img] Just be careful.[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

depending on what kind of racing you are going to be doing...The V-Force would be great for GNCC racing...It is an aut though...but it is just as fun. It is also good for beginers and you wont be bored with it 6 months later. just get use to it first