True, a 2K 450 is likely to be beat on. Then again a lot of the are "to much" and hardly get ridden.

Not much issue with the 400EX. The 440 builds can be problematic i.e. overheating and weak head bolts. If the proper steps have been taken even these can be fairly reliable.

 

The 450s i have rode with (none anymore everybody sold theirs) wpuld over heat, foul spark plugs, carbs loading up, very hard to crank, and having to be rebuilt. Thats just off the top of my head. If you honestly think a 450 is better trial riding than a 700 then i dont believe you have ever ridden one. I am not talking about trial "racing" because most of the time when you race you will be rebuilding anyway which comes along with a 450. I will put my stock efi 700 against any 450 for trial ridding. And please dont get me started on two strokes in the woods.

 

lol, I have ridden multiple 660 and 700 raptors. Wrenched on 'em for friends as well. I like them, but even the 700 doesn't have the right "feel" for me. To tall although I appreciate how plush they are as I get older. I definitely prefer the sharper handling of a 450 for trail riding(you get most of this with a 400 class machine BTW.) What kills me is when people say that this machine can take the abuse of racing, but will fall apart on the trails.

Overheating- Yes they will do that if you are going real slow and/or ride the clutch a lot. If you can manage to stay over 5mph without being a clutch smoker they shouldn't overheat. Engine Ice is your friend

Foul spark plugs- This is a setup/maintenance issue. My 250R rarely fouls plugs, never on the 450. Stock they run so lean I don't even know how you could get a 450 to foul?

Carbs loading up- See plugs. Heck, I use both my machines to putt around with the kids on 90's. I am in 1st gear almost exclusively and don't have these issues. Then again I have everything jetted properly.

Hard to crank- Again, sounds like a jetting issue, although the carbed 450's do start harder when hot. To bad we don't get the hot start button like the bikes as standard.

Rebuilds- Yes, you will need to rebuild more often. While spendy, swapping out from titanium valves to stainless and running oem or quality forged pistons goes a long way towards mitigating that for anyone not constantly bouncing off the rev limiter.

To the OP, unless you find one in your price range with pretty low hours on the motor(like 10 or less) keep in mind it can easily run 2K for a full on rebuild if you blow one of these. I still stick by my original post of best bang for the buck with great reliability to be the 400EX in your price range.

 

You do stick to your guns my friend i do see some of your points and you are the only person i have seen that thinks a 450 is better than a 700 for trial ridding not racing. Yes i agree a 400ex STOCK would be a good way to go even though i have had better luck with a z400 and i know my z that i used to have was quicker than a 400ex.

 

I don't know that I have ever championed the 450 class to be a "better" pure trail machine over the 700 Raptor. I do take exception when they are dismissed as a pure race quad though. My opinion is that if you plan on doing any jumping, the extra maintenance for a 450 is worth it vs the 700. I don't race mx, but I do enjoy playing around on them from time to time. I usually only do a few laps on the big Raptors, then right back to my 450. Thank You very much. The difference is that big.

Also I usually try to tailor my input to the question at hand, hence why I recommended the 400EX. You can search and find a dozen places where I preferred a Z to the EX. Reality is, I am actually looking to buy one of these for my son in the next few months, and trying to stay under 2K to boot. While I would love to get him a Z, in this price range it is much easier to find a clean, older 400EX. In the woods and tight stuff, you don't need any more power than that anyway.

 

Ok it makes sense now thats why i was confused because i thought you were saying they are better. I enjoy jumping too and my raptor does fine imo the longest jump we have on our track is 55 feet. And yea you are right on that there are more ex's but i was trying to get the op the best bang for his buck, which imo would be a z with reverse

 

In my area there seems to be just as many z400 as 400ex and a lot of the z400 actually have a better price

 

That is good! The Z is an all around better machine than the EX. Wish I was seeing more of them for sale.