I'm a motorcycle guy trying to buy something I won't have to fight in the sand. I need you expert opinions on what the better, more reliable bike is out of the ones I listed in the topic. I also need help identifying the tell tale signs of abuse when buying used.

I will be buying a utility quad as well for my SO to putt around on but this one is for me, I'm 6'1" 200 lbs and will be riding trails and dunes. Any help is appreciated.

 

z400 all the way........

Raptor 350 is going to be too slow for the dunes, and the Raptor 660 is not the best handling machine for the trails......

 

Thanks for the response. What if I put the KFX 700 in the mix?

 

Let me just put this out there, I'm open to any brand etc. If you guys were going to buy used for the trails/dunes, what would you buy in the 3-4K$ range?

 

i would go with a 400, kawasaki, suzuki, honda, their all good, which brand is up to you. i like the z400 as to.

 

Well I did it, bought an 03 z400 today. Picked it up for $3k, runs great and looks good. Has an M4 slip on and some other bolt on mods. Thanks for the input.

 

The Z/KFX400 is an excellent trail quad. Probably the best all-around machine out there! It does very well in the dunes, yet it handles excellent on a trail or a fire road. The engine likes to rev, and there is tons of hop-up poetntial in this engine with just some simple mods (open up the airbox, header, muffler, air filter).

The other great all-around machines are the 400EX and Raptor 700. The EX is a little underpowered by today's standards, but has excellent handling...it's my favorite trail quad. The Raptor is a torque monster, but still suffers from a few of the problems the 660 had (see below).

The 350 is a terrible design! The Raptor is a warmed over Warrior, and certainly the worst handling machine that I ever owned. Avoid these!

The 660 has its problems. It's a bit narrow and carries its weight high up in the frame, so it is also a little top heavy...and therefore tippy.

The Kawi 700 is a huge heavy ungainly pig! It is really more of a utility than a sport quad, so if you are going to get a utility anyway, you might as well get something that is full on sporty instead...not some hybrid.

 

I was in a hurry and responded to your original post before I realized you had already gotten the 400....good choice! Like I said, lots of hop-up potential in that engine!!!