I am 17(soon to be 18)and am looking to buy a sport quad sometime around may or June. I should have around 1500-2000 by then. I currently have a 98 yamaha timberwolf 250 that we actually got for farm work about 5 years ago but I ride it with my friends. I also had a yz125 for about a year and a half but no longer have it. One of friends has a raptor 700 but that is out of my price range. One of my other friends brothers has a Suzuki ltz400 bored to a 440 but is scared of it ( I outrun him in trails on the timberwolf). I have ridden the 400 and really like it. A little about me, I'm right around 6 feet and 200 pounds and most of my riding is on trails that are mostly old logging roads with the occasional long dirt road where you can really open them up. What would be a good sport quad in my price range? Thanks in advance

 

Also I am pretty mechanically inclined. Me and a friend rebuilt the top end on the yz125 I had and then put another 40-50 hours on it before I sold it and it still ran great. I have also rebuilt several carbs on several different bikes and quads. Also I have done several small things.

 

Consistently the best bang for the buck in that price range will be the 400EX. You can find some very clean older ones comfortably under 2K. Great trail machines but they won't keep up with a 440 or 700 on the wot stuff.

The 660 Raptor will be right there as well. Imagine the 700, but everything is a notch or 2 worse(handling, power, suspension, maintenance, etc.)

Over time I see more and more of the Z400 triplets under 2K as well. In my area you don't get a garage queen for that yet though.

 

My friend got a Raptor 350 for 1600 and i bet you could find a 400ex or raptor 660 for under 2000

 

I am seeing a lot of nice z400 that look good for 1500-2000 around here. I have only ridden that one about 30 minutes but really liked it

 

IMO stay away from 350's they are almost bulletproof if they are stock but SLOW if your buddies are riding 400's and 700's. I would go with a z400 stock if i was you. I have rode with 400ex's and they seem to not be as reliable and it might be because most of them have had ppl go into the motors and what not. The z400s are good they will rev high and are pretty quick.

 

I found a 2004 z400 for 1300 Obo that has been garage kept today and he had the price down because he needs money for something. Man I wish I had the money. There are several more nice ones in the 1500-2000 range. I am just going to save up and be patient and wait until the right one comes along. And a 2006 660 raptor with a 686 big bore for 2000 because he's moving and can't take it with him.

 

i have not heard good things about the raptor 660 esp the trans which is a big deal, if you can find a 2004 and up (i believe that was the year) z400 they have better shocks an a couple other things.

 

Thanks for the heads up on the raptors. I will look for a 04 and up.

 

Depending on the mods, I would not buy any machine that has been modified unless I knew who did the mods and the way the machine was taken care of. When machines are modified, they are generally ridden harder. Stock is your best bet. Either way, look the machine over very carefully.