First off I'd like to say hello. Stumbled upon this site while doing some websearching.

After some thinking I've decided to get back into riding. I used to ride religiously up until I was about 16. Now I'm 26. Ready to get back into it. I've been reading a lot on this forum, and other sites. I've pretty much narrowed my decision down to 3.

1. Yamaha Raptor 660
2. Honda 400EX
3. Bombardier 650

I plan on buying used. And I'd prefer to spend under $4500. The raptor has the most appeal to me. I'm just a bit leary about the tranny issues. I like the fact that it has reverse. I plan on doing a lot of trail riding, and I think that would come in handy. I'm a BIG fan of the honda the lack of reverse gets me though. As a kid I always rode Yamaha's so I have faith in them. The Bombardier looks badass, and definately has the speed that I want. I just don't know of any Bombardier dealers around here should something break.

So even though I'm sure you all have seen this post 1000 times. What do you think/recommend? Thanks, and all opinions are welcome!

 

I would say the 660 if you want a good trail bike and speed and you can normally find used ones cheap

 

If you don't like the trx450(honda without reverse) then I would rule that out........also rule out the yfz 450(too much of a race quad, no reverse)......rule out the predators(no reverse from years 03-04)......The 05 pred is supposed to be a great trail quad though, might look into that. The 400ex is a great quad, and will not break. The rappy has all of the problems fixed by now, so don't worry about that(they are a little top heavy(tippy) and have tons of torque.....good trail quad)....)

The ds650 isn't a good trail quad....it is very heavy, and wide, and also has too much top speed.........it is an awesome duner though.


Between the Predator 500, 400ex, and 660 raptor, They are all good quads, and will suit your needs.....


You might also consider the z400(suzuki) it is a great trail quad too.......

 

I was looking at those same atv's back in 02 when that's all there was for sport quads. I ended up with the raptor for a few reasons. It has a ton more power than the 400ex and reverse to boot. The 02 and up models have no problems whatsoever with the transmissions so as long as you stay away from the 01 models you will be fine.

I left the ds out for a few reasons. It was heavier, it didnt have reverse, it was too big for tight trails, bomb dealers were fewer and farther apart and parts were harder to find and more expensive when you did. Power is about the same if not a bit better than the raptor but the raptor can easily gain 10 hp with a pipe while I have yet to see a bomb gain 5hp from a pipe.

The pred and the z400/kfx400/dvx400 are all going to be at the upper end of your price range if you can find them. Thats simply because they have only been out since the 03 model year and there just arent as many on the market so prices are higher and selection is limited.

I would go with an 02 or 03 used raptor with no internal mods. They should be about 4k. There are quite a few 400ex's to be had for considerably less money so if you would rather save some cash and still have a good bike you may want to go that route.