I'm going to be buying a quad soon. I've gone on a bunch rides with our club on a 4x4 eiger 400. It was alright, but I was definitely pushing it beyond it's limits. I kinda *whisper* bottomed it out a lot *end*.

I almost bought a Vinson this morning. Then my brother explained how I would get myself hurt fast, riding utilities the way I do. A lot of people in our group have 400ex's and love 'em.

My brother and others in the group think a 300ex would be a great sport bike for me to start out on. I just turned 18, am 5'8 - 180 lbs. I am incredibly green on a sport bike, don't know how to jump or anything. I rode a couple hundred miles on the auto eiger but there's no skill or finesse to that. I'm in a situation too where I could have the thing paid off in 8-12 months (buying one brand new). Then I could sell the 300, and upgrade to a bigger bike with some experience under my belt on how to ride.

90% of our trips are trail rides, with an occasional annual trip to sand dunes. We're going up to Silver Michigan a week from the first friday of October. I'm going to ride their sports there (KFX 400, 400ex) and make sure it's what I want. So if it turns out that I'm a sport-rider at heart, hows this sound to you guys?

Thanks, and sorry for rambling.

 

You would definetly like a 300EX, it's a good trail quad, if you have alittle more money though I would definetly go for the 400EX though, eiether way though you won't be disapointed

 

ur 18? u might wanna go bigger. if not the 300ex is a great choice

 

if you are 18 and you can afford it don't get anything smaller than a 400ex.........you would out grow the "power" of the 300ex very quickly

 

i'd definetly go with a 400ex, great bikes, very reliable, my buddy went from a lt250(the work quad) to a 400ex and he loves it, until he hops on my ds, then wants more power, lol,

 

I could easily afford a 400ex, but would it be okay to learn on? That's my brothers main concern.

After a year I could always sell it and upgrade. But maybe I could avoid that altogether.

Tough decisions!

 

yes the 400ex will be fine to learn on. that's what I learned on and after 1/2 a season I was ready to get the 440 kit. Its a very nice bike with good power but not the kind of snap that is going to throw you or anything. If you buy the 300 and sell for the upgrade you will probably lose money. I would say just get the 400 and you will be happy you did

 

Like has been said the 400 ex does not have extreme power but enough to complement it's suspension.

The suspension is much more flexible (broader range of safe riding under more extreme conditions) on the stock 400 ex than the stock 300 ex,(wider stance, more travel) so in fact it is probably a "safer" choice in some ways.

At 18 you would either outgrow the power of a 300 ex very quickly if you ride as indicated, and end up spending money to get more out of it as well as modding the suspension to keep up with the extra power. Then you would end up with more money invested just to have about the same performance as you could have bought with a new or used 400 ex.

Actually the best buy might be a recent used 400 ex with aftermarket a-arms and shocks, and only mild engine mods like pipe, filter and jetting. This would give you a bit more snap but much better suspension(if you choose carefully) which would be the safest way to go. Putting money into a suspension is a much better way to go fast safely than building horsepower.

Many stock quads(not all) tend to have more power than their suspension can safely handle in stock form.

 

Dear quad n00b,

yes, what everybody else said. go with the 400ex. Like MDE3 said, actually the best buy might be a recent used 400 ex. get the feel for it before you buy the a-arms and engine mods its a lot easier to get used to it stock than modded.

good luck,
Jake

 

I am also looking 4 a new atv, i am 13 and about 140pounds. i owend a dirt bike four a year and it dident have a nough power four me. i tryed my cousens yamaha warriorand liked it a lot but i heard that honda 300ex is a nice atv too. whitch one should i buy??





Thanks Jordan.