Hey guys....I juss smashed my 93 Bayou 300 into a tree....it was old so its not worth fixing up, i'm looking for a fourwheeler. I have a prarie 650, and a prarie 360, so i'm not into buying a utility. Money is not a problem as of now so i've narrowed it down to 4 sports (which is prob the 4 most popular ones made anyway:

Honda 400 EX
Suzuki Quadsport 400
Polaris Predator 500
Yamaha Raptor 660

All i hear is that raptor is "all the atv u'll ever need". I've also heard that the suzuki is one of the best sport atv's ever made. I also hear that the predator is too new to buy and there may be many problems when it first comes out. Although its said to be faster than the raptor i'm not sure what to buy. And Honda, well its honda, its always nice. I've heard that the 400ex is one of the most powerful sport atv's and has the best handling. I do some jumping, but mainly i juss ride around to catch some speed although I've only hit 61 on the prarie 650 and i know it goes faster than that....I havent been ne where that i could get enuff spped to bring out the full potential of a raptor....gimme a shout on what you think!

Thanx guys

 

btw, I'm 15 and I've been riding since i was about 4. I'll bee 16 soon, I'm 5'10, 135 lbs. My dad has been looking at the suzuki cuz he works w/ a suzuki dealer. He can prob get a nice price on a z400, but hes also close w/ a yamaha and a polaris dealer....he wanted to get a rincon which runs about 7500, so i dont think price is much of a problem. It's all up to your suggestions [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

PS....the prairies are my dad's [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-sad.gif[/img]
i also have a bayou 220 and bayou 300 4x4 (my dad again)

 

I juss went out to a another dealer. I got a look at the z400....its lookin nice...my mom caught her eye on the limited edition banshee and she's liking that. I got a shot at the raptor 80 juss to get a look at the frame but they didnt have a 660. I'm going to a honda dealer tomarrow to check on a 400ex. still not sure what to buy although i never got a glimpse of the predator and raptor in person yet.

it's sad that im only having a conversation w/ myself aint it?

 

Out of the four I would see what kind of deal you can get on the z400 and 400ex. Get the one that is the better deal. The raptor is narrow and sits high, causing it to be more tippy than the others. The predator is a nice looking quad, but I would watch out being something totally new for polaris I can is it have problems like the cannondales did, the only difference is will Polaris back it like Cannondale. I don't think so.

 

Well...i went to a dealer....and he sold the raptor for 6500 and he had a z400, piped, and a few other things on it (he said 400 bux worth of upgrades) for 5100. compared to what ive seen 5100 is a nice price for the z400 especially w/ the extra upgrades [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]. I havent checked a honda dealer yet, ive been tryin to find one close to me and i cant find ne where that sells polaris within an hour of my house [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-sad.gif[/img] im gonna go saturday to get a look at a polaris dealer about 1 hr 30 min from my house but it has yamaha and suzuki but im still not sure about honda. its a huge dealer so ill see what i can find and update ya guys on it.

 

Well depends how much track, mud, dunes your doing really. The raptor will have more low end grunt but if u don't want something so big get the 400ex if you want good handles or get the z if you want a little mroe power.

 

im sick of people telling me the raptor is tippy. i dont know if lt250r has ridden one, but most who say this never have. the only time there is any noticable difference in handling from most of the other sport quads is when pushing hard in a corner or on a jump and trying to pitch and roll the quad. other than those extreme situations, handling is excellent. and you have so much more power than the 400 class that you can easily beat them in the straights. the raptor is slightly bigger, but is very close to the size of the 400 class chassis. it is not a tank like the ds650. my little sister has a raptor 80, and the frames are nothing alike. the only siimilar aspect is the general appearance of the plastic, so dont take the one you viewed as any indication of the real bike. make your descision based on how you ride. if you can get the modded z for that cheap, go for it. our 03 red and black 660 was 6100 otd, well under msrp. anyway you go, you will have fun. good luck on your shopping trip.

 

Thnx guys.....the problem here is taht there are no dunes near where i live (north tonawanda, ny) There's a small one called devil's bowl and its nothin compared the the pics i've seen of dunes. I have a camp out in the country and thats where i do most of my riding. My problem with the sports is the ground clearence! they are usualy around only 5" which is pretty small compared to what im used to riding. I duno if a sport will be a nice ride at my camp. I'm lookin for a fast, decent fourwheeler for riding, jumping, mudding, and mainly handling. Is there any way to make the ground clearance of a sport fourwheeler andy higher than it is? or shud i start looking at utility's. I also know that if i get a rock or sumthin in my chain while mudding it may snap and id hafta buy a new one. I do mudding like every other week, which i think is quite often but im sure if i get a sport i would be riding it around my house and id be at devils bowl alot more than ive already been....so what do u think about my riding style, like which would be the best for me and is there anyway to raise the clearance of a sport to maybe 7" or so....the chain sits so low [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-sad.gif[/img]

 

Hey Devin, Also check out the Cannondales. You wont be sorry

 

ive checked out the c'dales.....the dont have reverse which for me quite good for where i travel and thats y im not lookin into a banshee or one of the smaller atv's