Riding off road was a huge part of my life when I was younger. I'm smiling thinking about all of us kids riding in a pack with what ever we had that would get us out on the trails. a Mag Light tapped to the front fender of a CR80 back in '84 for night rides, a YZ60, a CT70, a Maco 3 wheeler and a couple of 200X's making up the group...best time of my life.

Now I'm 41 and looking to buy a pair of used quads to get out camping and trail riding around my wonderful state. For the most part, I'm not too worried about girlfriends, all the wives of my friends seem to love the camping, socializing around a fire having drinks, but I want to share my hobby. I know I can't predict it, but I was curious how many of you have experience with this scenario?

I'd like to get a Raptor 660 for myself, most of my friends could easily ride a faster quad, but I have some friends who really have no riding experience at all, or very little. So I am considering a Honda 400EX as a second quad. Fast enough for my experienced friends to have a good time on if I bring them out, and tame enough that you can ride slowly in a low gear with out killing it, for those learning a clutch, or who are not going to handle something like a 660. I don't know.

I see women out at the dunes a lot on Z400's, so I thought I would ask and get an idea...because I don't want to have to buy a RZR! Thoughts?

 

Well, my wife wanted to ride too, wanted something "sporty", and didn't want to screw with shifting gears. So we got her a Scrambler 500.

Having said that, our oldest son has a LTZ400 that she can ride (and does often). His girlfriend rides it also, but she also likes to "just ride" sometimes without having to screw with the gears.

A few other guys we ride with also have sport quads. Their girlfriends ride their bikes, but they also like to "just ride" sometimes, too.

I don't really have an answer for you, but for some reason, the girls seem to like the autos better (at least they do around here).

 

Actually, that is exactly the information I wanted. I know you're right and you gave me clarity believe it or not. The answer is to buy two fun quads for me and a buddy, then once I get into a relationship, I know I'll have to get a third one with an automatic transmission. Thats cheaper than a RZR!

 

some girls like shifting gears



-although i couldn't see some women in technical situations handeling the whole clutch deal to well....

 

A local service technician at a dealership gave me a solution. A Rekluse racing clutch. Apparently, with that clutch, the engine wont stall out if the clutch is not engaged. You could be in 4th gear and come to a stop and the engine will continue to run. Its a $700-$800 solution installed and a decision I will not need to make unless I have a significant other who cant work a clutch, but it seems reasonable compared to a utility quad, or buying and transporting a third quad.

 

Never heard of it, but if it accomplishes what you need, then give it a shot.

Edit: I'm not sure if I googled it right, but that looks like it's for motorcycles only.

 

The Rekluse works well, and they actually do have models for quads(a lot of quad engines are slightly modified bike engines anyway.) The only downsides I see are you loose a lot of engine breaking and they tend to wear faster than a traditional clutch if you abuse them. I know a few guys that ran them on 450s, pretty sure they have a solution for the Z400 but not the 400EX. Of course it has been a few years since I looked into it.

 

That's helpful to know. I certainly would not want to pay all that extra $$$ and have even more maintenance on a typically low maintenance trail quad. Now that we are discussing it, I went to the Dunes with some friends a few weeks ago and one friends wife can work a clutch. She actually has a Ninja 600 she rides to work too. Both her quad and Ninja are pink with white stars on them. LOL. My other friends wife did not want to deal with the clutch at all and would only ride the old Honda 300, which did not have a clutch. After that ride, she came back and said she prefers being a passenger, and just went out with people who owned sand rails after that.

I guess if the woman enjoys to ride herself, she will learn/use the clutch. If she does not really want to ride, it doesn't much matter what you have. I see a lot of older guys around here selling their quads around their 60's and buying a RZR, or just selling off the wife's quad because she never rides. I'm not going to worry about it! Whether your GF wants to ride or not, does not mean she wont have fun. Going out of town and camping/RVing with friends is very social and usually involves drinks by the campfire and kids making smores. I can't forget about that.