I am just going by your first post.

1. No MX or racing for me.
2.Features wanted in sport quad:
4-stroke
400cc at least
Manual clutch
Reverse
Reliable--I avoid things that are made cheaply and break down a lot or require a
tremendous amount of maintenance
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Tankota,

Looks like your just out to have some fun.

I have the 01 Raptor and I don't get to crazy at 46 years of age and mine is all stock.

Has been good fun on the trails we have at our place when racing through the woods.

In stock form lets say going about 35mph and you crack the throttle is when I know I made the right purchase.

Really though I don't care what you end purchasing there all going to be fun and should provide minimal problems if not abused and maintained.

Chet [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

 

Kawasaki has a 700 on the way. I am sure it will smoke anything out there. It will be an automatic though!

 

Got to ride a 400ex for the first time this weekend. I was quite impressed with the power, handling, and jumping ability. Rode a lot of tight trails in the woods and a couple open fields with small primitive tracks. That was my first experience riding in muddy and slippery conditions, it was a lot of fun.
The lack of reverse bugged me twice. Both times I was waiting for riders behind me to catch up and wanted to turn around to go see where they were. Since I didn’t have reverse I just waited and they eventually showed up.

My friends next-door neighbor offered to let me ride his raptor next time I go visit, I’m looking forward to that.

Laptraffic,
I really appreciate you offering me a test ride on your cannibal and I may have to take you up on your offer. First I’ve got to recover from this last weekend…I am really sore from riding.
PS I stopped by South Sound Honda on Friday and sat on the cannibal. Suspension is noticeably firmer than any other quad I have sat on. Workmanship seemed quite good. Couldn’t tell much more without hearing it run, riding it, or at least watching someone else ride it.

ToomeyBlasterRyder,
Your right, a Banshee is great on the dunes and my wife and I do plan on getting one at some point in the future. However, first I want a 4stroke that will do trails and dunes. Your suggestion of a piped and jetted etc raptor is noted. I should get to test ride one soon. Thanks for your input.

Pauleo21,
Thanks for the info. I think that swapping tires on the raptor would make a huge difference in the handling. This weekend I got to look at (and use) some holeshots. They are a world of difference from those big round soft doughnut dunlops.

Mjollnir,
Good to know that the map redos are free from the dealer. Do you ride yours pretty much on the dunes only?

RaptorYFM660r,
Thanks for the opinion. Did you put a smaller front sprocket on for the trails? My friend’s neighbor who I talked with this weekend said he had to in order to ride the tight wooded trails near his place.

2fat4moto,
That new Kawasaki is out but it just isn’t quite what I’m looking for. It is a little large for my tastes and like you said, it is an auto.


As for which quad I am going to get...the list is narrowing.
The top runners currently are (not in any particular order): Raptor and Cannibal.

Now I have to decide which one has the features and capabilities that are most important to me. Thanks for you input guys.

 

Tankota,

I have been riding a two stroke dirt bike it seems like forever, the first one in 1972, so the 01 first gear on the Raptor seemed normal to me. I have not changed the front sprocket and on our property we have lots of woods trails.

With the 02 raptor and up they geared it down slightly to address the problem you are referring to. The gear ratios are different from the 01 Raptor. I could look, but I think the first three gears are changed.

If you need anymore info let me know.

Chet Racer[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-cool.gif[/img]

 

Good luck on your choice. I've got two Cannondales, Had one for 2 weeks, had to go back and get another one, I'm 43, my son is 14 and we love the bikes. If you thought the 400 ex has power you need to do yourself a favor and ride the C-dale. We sold our 400 ex to buy the second C-dale. We ride 99% in the dunes.

Lol[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

 

Tankota, if you go with Cannondale, negotiate free or low cost remaps. A lot of the guys on the east coast get them for free all the time, but my dealer was hesitant. I ended up getting the Service Manager to agree to remap me for free a few times, that's all I'll need. Besides, a six pack of beer on a weekday afternoon when they're slow goes a long way. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

I ride mostly dunes. Oh, you can also get the kit for $300 to do your own remaps, as many as you want. All you need is a Windows computer pretty much.

Marc

 

You can hardley go wrong with any of the new quads out today. They are all nice rides, Dale, Z400, Raptor, Predator, 400EX, DS650 damn times are nice.

Some quads do some things better than others but all are fine Machines! For all around and the criteria you described I would say either a LTZ400 or The Raptor. They both have the reverse you listed and both are great all around quads that may not be the best in any one area but by and large are good at everything. I would put the Predator in this catagory also but it has no reverse.

6. The DS: is a great quad also, Low Maintainance, Reliable Fast and Comfortable, But also big and Heavy and not as good a trail quad!

5. Cannondale: is a great quad but more hard edged, IE Racing quad! Handles great lightweight very fast! Sorry but it is not as good a trail quad as some of the others! Before I hear the crap I have owned one, does it make me an expert no but it allows me my opinion!

4. 400Ex: Great trail quad handles nice fairly light reliable but down on power to all the others and not as much fun in the wide open spaces!

3. Polaris Predator: Very nice quad, Handles great Fast Nice suspension overall excellent quad but no reverse, not a problem for some but you listed you wanted reverse. Like I said other than reverse I would put this with the Raptor and LTZ.

2. Raptor: Nice trail quad handles good, Fast, Reverse, A little heavy, Reliability is good in the newer models "NO 2001"!

1. LTZ 400: Handles really good, pretty fast, Reverse, Good all around Quad fairly lightweight!


From the description you gave this is the list I made. You may find other things that are more important to you that change your order of finish.

Nocando

 

RaptorRider660R,
Thanks for the great rundown on the quads.

I'm currently leaning towards the raptor (a 2003). The only thing that has me cautious is the oneway bearing failures on the starter. I checked bluetrax and they have a running post on who has had problems with their starter. The vast majority were 2001s with a couple 2002s...no 2003s in the list yet. Maybe yammie fixed the problem for the 2003 model...I hope thats the case.

After riding some trails recently I have decided that reverse is a requirement for a quad for me so that actually narrows the list substantially.

Thanks to all who posted. I appreciate it.

 

ya since you want to ride dunes a lot and some trails i think a piped and jetted rap would work perfect for you the z400 is a great trail quad but when you get to the dunes it sucks a lot of hp out of you and the extra 260cc helps in that department from reading in shootouts the gap widened in the dunes from the trails for drags and stuff. go with the 03 or 02 rap just don't get the 01 athought my dads has not broken yet and his is a 01 and after you pipe and jet you might want to look into widening it for more stability.

 

i have a 03 LE raptor and i love it. It is completely stock except for the full prm skids and shock covers. I recently took out the spark arrestor to make it louder. I ride mostly trails and have had no problems at all out of it, i have had it for a little over 2 months. 5,999 OTD. I use reverse everytime i pull it out of the shed and it is very convenient and have also used it to get out of the mud. The front end has never came up on me unexpected, when i first bought it i was a little scared b/c of the power, but it is very controllable. As far as being tippy, i have never flipped or rolled over, i guess it just takes a little more body english than some other quads, but this is my first quad and it just came natural. There are so many mods that can be done to the raptor if wanted. IMO it is the best looking quad available. every time i ride i have people coming up to me and looking at it and asking about it. On my quad it is hard to find neutral sometimes, but that can easily be fixed with an aftermarket direct link gear shifter, which are pretty cheap on ebay, i think around $30. I am also 5'10" and I fit the quad great, but i weigh about 50lbs less than you. i had a similar decision as yours not too long ago, was choosing between the TL predator, LE raptor, and cannibal, and they were all about the same price. I felt that the raptor was best for me, and that is what i purchased, and have no regrets, i wouldn't rather have any other quad, but im sure you will be happy with any of the sport quads you listed.