Replying to "440ex026"

You are exactly right about tuning being so important. Many people feel if they just "get the work done"....... meaning slap a kit on........ they will immediately be better than or more competitive with their buddies, which may be less "trick" but be in tune, and come to find out they are not. How many race quads have you seen at every meet give up the ghost or just not run right due to a small tuning adjustment?.....people may chase these things for weeks before they get them right.

Back to the original question.....I think either stock unit would be fine for the asker, and he would be happy with either for a while. My earlier comments about the frames on the "Z's" may now be outdated due to upgrades made since they were introduced, but certaily the design of the original chassis left something to be desired if you wanted to take that quad farther up the performance road.

 

i hear yea nothing is better than a honda i got a 03 400 ex a i ant never had a kvf or a z go by me and i will race anyday stock to stock just glad to see another honda liker on here

 

First of all, the kawisuki frames were not fixed 1/2 way through 03. Apparently they have been fixed for 04.

Second the dvx is exactly the same mechanically as the z and kfx. The width and such is just suspension setup changes and of course the plastic.

If you buy used, the 400ex is the best deal by far. If you buy new, go with one of the zuki offspring. They are faster and respond better to modifications. The frame geometry is almost identical and liquid cooling and reverse are nice to have in the trails. Liquid cooling is especially nice in the dunes.

 

The sincerest form of flattery is to copy something. That is exactly what Puki and Kawa did with the Ex. Let me ask this question: Which has won the most Baja 1000's? The Ex. I rest my case. Plus if you own a honda you know it is the most bullet proof machine on the planet.

 

i own an 04 kfx400 with many extras. I have ridden and raced many honda 400ex's, they seem to be an ok atv. I am more than happy with my kfx. The honda do not handle as well as the kfx's and do not have as much power. I think you would be happy to be riding green. make the right choice and go kawasaki

 

I'm a 2 stroke guy so would say neither. But, thats just me. This kid gave us no information about himself. He could have absolutely no experience at all on a quad. He might not even know how to use a clutch. If he has no experience, then, a 400ex/z400 will be too much for him. He is also only 13 years old at 110lbs. I think something smaller would be better for him. 250ex with auto clutch, warrior, 300ex, mojave, lakota, blaster. Any of those would be fine for a 13 year old without experience. But put him on a z400 then he's asking for trouble. Thats my .02

 

Cool to see this thread come to life again [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img] cause it shows people are reading the older threads still!!

Interesting to see the thoughts on the potential for either machine to be too much especially with how all the 400's seem to get thought of as being slow and old since the newer 450's have come out (something I dont agree with either)

Have to admit I am still happy with the performance of my 400ex (OK its not nearly stock either lol) and though I have been thinking more about either a 450R to start modding all over again or a finished and priced right 250R I am still not thinking of either as a replacement yet due to the actual amount of any performance gains, and the $$$ the ex would most likely get if sold. I think the same would be true (to me at least) if it was a zuki or kawi 400 in similar modded form.

I guess if you can keep away from all the loyaty crap and not get caught up in all the hype on the new models you can still be pretty damn happy (and fast too lol) on your current 400cc machine as long as you dont let all the extra thousands of $$$$ in your pocket slow you down [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]