the z

 

ex anyday ive never been beat by a z400 w/equal mods not saying i cant be beat just havnt yet for a quad thats supposed to be so much better than my out of date ex ha i never could tell

 

i agree....z has a higher center of gravity....but unfortunately the z for everything else

 

Both are great all around quads, I would throw out anyone's response that says one dominates the other at anything. Each one has SLIGHT advantages in it's own area. It really depends on where you ride, how you ride, your weight, if you intend on modding the chassis or engine and many other variables to determine which one is the best for you.

 

BOTH are great even thoug i think the 400 is slow about getting the power off bottom but could be fixed bt dropping one tooth on the front but i pick the Z it does have more power off bottom on mid and on top ive ridden both the z just takes it but i do see that the z doesnt seem to hold togather too well but maybe its just the riders lol.

 

I own both, and I have to very much DISAGREE with those who are picking the EX as being better all-around! The Z is an EX with WAY more motor, lighter handling, and better suspension. One would be an absolute fool to pay the same MSRP for an EX as for a Z (even with reverse on the EX)!

In my stable, if I am riding it I see the EX as a specialty bike for semi-technical trail rides. This is the one place where this machine performs superbly! There is no other situation where I would choose it for myself. Out in the desert, I would be eating everybody's dust at the back of the pack, even though my machine has superb aftermarket suspension.

For other riders in my family, it is a nice mild training machine for my kids as they move up from the autoclutch bikes to full manual clutch machines. It is mild enough that I am not so worried about my 15 year old daughter or my girlfriend killing themselves.

Just like the XR400's day has come and gone, so has the EX's day has come and gone! Just like Honda replaced the venerable old XR with the CRF450X, it needs to now replace the 400EX with a TRX450X.

 

guys, a Z400 is better, i have rhoad both modded Z's and 400's aswell as stock. The 400ex just doesnt really compare, its a small step down in each catagory.

 

we own 2 z400s and 1 400ex. my cuzzin rides one of the z400s my dad rides the other z400 and i ride the 400ex. as far as speed theres not much difference. the z gets me a little on topend but we really dont get into our top ends much. our bikes are modded but in stock form i thought the z400 felt tippy. i do have to agree that a lot of z400s riders think they have a 2 times nicer quad. when they dont. the reason they beleive this is because they read to many magazines. most of the guys probably havnt even rode a 400ex. also please dont reply back with my stock z wiped a piped 400ex. i her this all the time. your a liar if you did or he cant ride w/e you you wanna pick. but still i would pick the z400 for the reverse/liquid colling(havnt had any trouble out of my ex with air cool)/DOHC !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Not arguing with anything you just said. Sure don't have trouble keeping up with a Z.

Just wanted to point out that the EX is a SOHC, though it does have 4 valves. I have read and read about the difference between sohc and dohc and it seems a dohc is more of a sales gimmick than an advantage. If the Z has more top end, I'd suspect it has more to do with timing and ports than the fact it's dohc. The water cooling would definately have an advantage in hot weather or on a modded bike though.

Just my $.02.

 

i have a friend that rides a 400ex and when people say that Z400 woops the ex they have no idea what they are talking about. in a drag they both basically have the same top speed the z just gets there a little quicker. in some situations the 400ex is better than the Z400 and some cases the Z400 is better but they are both very good quads. i just dont think that honda should make the price for a 400ex the same as a Z400 cause non-biased buyers will most likely pick the Z400.