I recently gave in to my 14yr old son and purchased a used quad. I bought an 87 FourTrax 250X for $750. I soon realized that this was going to be way too much for him to learn on. I am solving that problem by getting a nice Honda 125 I found for a good price.

Now onto my problem, after riding the 250X around for a few weeks I have become addicted to it. I grew up with snowmobiles, but never had a quad before and let me tell you, I am having a blast. The problem however, is that I am a fairly big fellow (6' and 300 lbs, think offensive lineman) and this 250X is just not big enough for me. I feel very top heavy in corners and I am sure the machine is not showing me all the power that it has with my wieght on it. I have decided (after some wife convincing) that I am going to buy myself a new/used quad. What would be a good quad for someone my size? The type areas I will be riding are sandy and loose dirt around the woods here at home and I will also be wanting to take the quad to North Georgia and ride some trail with my buddy. By the way, my buddy rides a KFX 700. I rode that a few times and it feels like a tank and I am not sure I like the automatic tranny. I would however like to keep up with him, he can dust my 250X. I don't need to 70+ mph, but would like to have the low end to hang with him to 50-60 mph. I was thinking maybe a nice used 400ex, but not sure. My buddy suggested a utility quad, but I think I would like something more sporty that handles good.

Sorry for such a long post, just wanted to give all the info so everyone knew exactly what I am looking for. Thanks in advance for the advice.

 

the raptor 700 is a nice quad its 5 speed or one of the 450's would do you nicely plent of aftermarket for them also

 

If a sport quad will get you where you need to go (don't need 4wd), then you are way ahead staying away from the utilities!

The Raptor 700 is the only "big guy" quad I would ever consider owning. You can get by on lots of other machines, but many will seem underpowered and all of them may need to have the suspension reworked.

 

i have a raptor 700 and love it. lots of bottom end tourqe to lug a big guy around and a lower center of gravity than all the other "big" quads.

 

Are there any Utility Quads that have a sporty feel to them? My buddy is trying to talk me into the Brute Force 750. He tells me that I will be able to hang with him on his KFX 700 with it. My concern though, is that it would not do very well on the trails. I would imagine that having 4wd would be nice when I am riding on the mountain trails.

 

don't kid yourself, that Brute Force will take you where ever you aim it! and has great speed too! comfy seat, plenty of power and just the right size for a big guy. remember it's a sport utility quad!

 

The Brute has the same basic engine as your buddies 700. I agree even the KFX700 feels a lot like a ute with the ride and handling. A 400EX, Z400, or raptor are probably your best bets, maybe even a nice DS650 if you can find one. In a straight line those Kawie 700s can be worked over and pretty fast, but throw any twisties and turns in the mix and any of those quads I mentioned will hang right there or even beat your buddies. You could look at the 450's, plenty of power/handling there. I don't think they are really what you are looking for in a trail quad right now though.

 

rawolfee, where in the N GA area are you going to ride? I live in this area and also am new to the scene. Just got an 07 400 ex about 2 weeks ago. If you decide on getting the 400 ex you might want to look at www.southernhonda.com
You can get one for $3995 out the door.

 

Sounds like I may need to go bigger than a 400ex. I am going to go test drive some this week. I only wish that I could take them to the trails to get a true sense of how they handle. I am going to start at the yamaha dealer, although if I get a raptor 700 I will probably look for something used. I was hoping to keep the bill under 5k. I am going to give some sport utilities a try too. Thanks for the help. Keep the advice coming.

sceptre - We will probably be riding the state trails up there. My buddy also mentioned Durhamtown, but I don't know much about it.

 

but remember the sport quad want a rider 220 pounds or lighter. the axles and the springs suffer with a heavier rider. I think any 700 machine utility will suit u fine. the brute is a wheelie machine as well as the grizzly 700's. so u know they take off.