Hello all,
I have been riding a 300ex for a long time and although it was a fun quad in its day I am bored with it. I recently rode a friends YFZ450 and the grin I had plastered all over my face made me decide to finally upgrade.

I am 5'8 about 180 lbs. I do only trail riding; mostly in the Allegheny mountains of PA and surrounding area.

I have been doing some research and I am more confused than when I started. There are a lot of choices from big bore sport quads, all the 450s, to the 400 class. I am not sure which class I should begin looking at first. A friend has an LTZ400 which I really liked but considering its lower HP, in comparison to all the new competition, and I'm not sure it will be enough of an upgrade to satisfy me for a long enough time.

I have no experience with the big bore sport quads but I have heard some of these are quite nice trail quads as well.

I really liked the power and responsiveness of the YFZ450 I rode but I wasn't to crazy about the forward position (as in leaning forward on the bike) the bike put me in, as well as not having reverse.

I am planning on buying this quad new when I decide. I don't have a set budget but I think $8 to $9K is on the expensive side. Any one out there have any suggestions for me? Thanks!

 

The 450's have a whole different kind of engine! They have little slipper pistons and are built ultra light, but the engines need to be ridden reved out, so they don't lug down which makes you do a lot of clutch slipping when trail riding.

The 400EX will lug down, and for me it is the ultimate trail quad, along with its little brother the 300EX.

The Z400 and its clones are somewhere in between. It is a bit revy, but not as much as the 450's. This is maybe the best all-around machine out there.

 

I decided to go with the Z after much research. I got a new black 2007 Z400. It will make a nice upgrade from my '93 300ex. Heading up to PA this weekend to hit the trails!

 

Congrats and enjoy the new ride. )

 

Good choice in a ride you will love it!!!!

 

Thanks. I have been riding it around to break the engine in before I go. I am not used to having such high compression in a motor. When you let off the gas the engine breaks hard. I also am not used to all the high end the bike has. My 300 has ZERO top end. I am so used to shifting to the next gear on my 300 I find I am often in too high a gear on the Z and I start to sputter. I suppose this bike likes to be ridden in the higher RPMs (which I'm actually kind of avoiding at this point do to the break in period). The handling and all around comfort off the bike is amazingly good. It is confidence inspiring actually. The reverse gear is also a breeze compared to my 300. WOW was that reverse mechanism a nightmare. I think it is going to make a very nice trail bike. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

Reconranger I understand what you mean now about the bike liking to be ridden reved out!

 

Ya know, I have been racing my YFZ in XC lately, and it lugs down just fine. I slip a 47" wide quad through 50" wide gaps at basically idle speed. I rarely have to slip the clutch. This "won't lug down" is just BS. The last course I ran was probably 35% tight, technical, first gear, idle speeds riding over an approximately 5 mile course. Stock piston, stock gearing, airbox lid on. Just a slip-on. I have ridden in Allegheny/Lake George area, and also north western PA. The YFZ does fine in that setting and is a huge step up from the 300. If you really have to have reverse, the Kawasaki 450 or one of the Outlaws may be the hot ticket. I would say go KTM, those things are taller and feel a bit reminiscent of the 700R raptor for seat height/ergonomics to me. The downfall being that huge price.