<< Although many love their DS650s, it is not for trail riding...yea this will hurt some feelings but it is true. Way to wide to be competitive with a 400ex in the woods. >>



I'll have to agree with you on that one! Those DS650's are too wide and mainly for the dunes. Geez, some of the trails that we got around here, that thing would never squeeze through!!!

 

Man, this is a great forum. I tend to agree with all of you guys. Especially NotuRaptor. However, I do not own a Raptor so I don't know anything about the Raptors front tires. Instead I own a 400ex. I really like it a lot. Yes, it is very reliable. As for the best trail machine, yeah, I believe that it is the best one on the market right now. The DS650 is a very nice machine, but is too big for the trails. I have never ridden a DS650, but the trails are not it's thing. As for the Raptor, that is an incredible machine!!! I have ridden one once, but it was in a parking lot at a dealership so I couldn't really get out and ride it. I am sure that the Raptor would do a nice job in the trails, but it just doesn't have the exact precise handling manners as the 400ex. That's not the say that the handling on the Raptor is bad, I just think the 400ex's handling is a taste bit better. That is what the 400ex has been really recognized for. As for the fact that the 400ex does not have reverse and the Raptor does, well that is a tough situation. I always thought that a high performance quad should not have reverse. Just like how the Banshee has never had reverse. The Banshee has always been a high performance quad, and no one has ever complained about the fact that it doesn't. I was a little skeptical about the fact that the 400ex doesn't have reverse because I just came off of it's older cousin, the 300ex. I owned two 300ex's. I liked them both a lot. But when the 400ex came out, I just had to have one. If the 400ex never existed, I would probably have bought a Banshee just because they are so thrilling. Anyway, back on the subject, after I got my 400ex, and actually learned how to ride it, I not only never rode my 300ex, but really could care less about the fact that it does not have reverse. If you know how to ride, especially through the tight trails, you don't need reverse. If I need to turn around, I can somehow either wrestle it around, or jump off of a trail and find a place to turn around without getting off. As for Yamaha putting a reverse gear on the Raptor, I think that Yamaha wanted to make their new quad unique, but still compete with the high performance market. They did an incredible job designing the Raptor and certainly threatened the competition with the unique, innovative thinking. I applaued Yamaha for their new machine. Just like many people did when Honda came out with the 400ex. As for Honda right now, they badly, badly, need to come out with another high performance machine to stand next to the red/black and yellow/black 400ex. Something like the 450ex or 650ex. That new Honda Rincon is the dumbest idea. Who cares about competing with the new Yamaha 660 Grizzly, and other utility junk. It's disrespecting to all of us HIGH PERFORMANCE GUYS. Kind of like really fast AMERICAN SPORTS CARS (Camero, Firebird, Mustang) compared to SUV's. We are people who like to go fast and always want to go bigger rather then pulling a deer out of the woods with a utility quad.

Fourtracker14

 

Damn, just when I think my question has been answered, someone else reply's to it and I get more information. This just keeps getting better and better. I cant wait to park that 400ex in the back of my truck next weekend, take it to the trails and ride it for the first time.
Although Im still having a tough decision on red or yellow... but Im pretty sure I can work that one out on my own. Lol. Thanks again for all the help![img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

 

A couple of my friends ride the 400ex. The only thing they complain about is not having reverse. They are nicknamed Fred and Barney, you know the Flintstones, because they have to hold the clutch in and use their feet for reverse. I like the way they ride, handle, and their speed but I could not live without reverse gear. I am going to buy a sport quad this coming year but I am going to wait for a 400-500cc with reverse. Maybe the new Z400, new Kawasaki sport, Polaris's new sport, or Hondas new quad when they come out with them, but it has to have reverse. I guess I will wait and see what they all have to offer me before I spend $5-6000 on a quad that I might not be happy with.

 

Have you ever heard about the women in red? Go with the red! The yellow is nice at first but if you trail ride in the woods the scraps become more distinct on the yellow compared to the red. The red seems to maintain it's deep color for a longer period of time.
sgtmp5

 

I will have to agree because I can fly though the woods nearly 3 times the speed as a can on my 300ex with my friends 400ex.

 

I think that the 400 is hands down the best... Sure the Raptor's faster, but... It doesnt handle as good.

Fourtracker14, I think we were made to argue man.. lol.

&quot;That new Honda Rincon is the dumbest idea. Who cares about competing with the new Yamaha 660 Grizzly, and other utility junk. It's disrespecting to all of us HIGH PERFORMANCE GUYS&quot;


Muddin's FUN!!!!

 

I was reading a article about this years sales report for Honda Sport quads. The 250EX outsold the 300EX and was only a couple hundred units behind the 400EX. If other companys look at this, maybe R&amp;D will come up with advanced small cc quads.

 

That new Honda Rincon is the dumbest idea. Who cares about competing with the new Yamaha 660 Grizzly, and other utility junk. It's disrespecting to all of us HIGH PERFORMANCE GUYS. Kind of like really fast AMERICAN SPORTS CARS (Camero, Firebird, Mustang) compared to SUV's. We are people who like to go fast and always want to go bigger rather then pulling a deer out of the woods with a utility quad.

When I go out riding 70% or more of the people I see are riding 4X4 and utility quads. So it was actually a very SMART idea by Honda.

Also The reason for all the SUV's and not sports cars is probably because of &quot;speed limits&quot; and &quot;cops&quot; and also not everyone wants to go fast ! How many kids can you carry to the soccer game in a corvette ? How many groceries can you bring home in your camaro with the kids in the back? How much wood can you carry in the back of you mustang ? The vast majority of people dont need to go 150mph in there car, they need to haul around people and other things that a corvette just cant do. ALSO how well do you think that mustang is going to handle in the snow?

I could go on and on but I think you get my point.

also if there werent big huge utilities then what would the guys with small *****'s drive to look cool ? LOL

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

 

KILLER250R,
How many kids can you carry to the soccer game in a corvette ? The answer is one.
How many groceries can you bring home in your camaro with the kids in the back? Quite a lot really (5 to 7 bags). I see you have never looked in the back of a Camaro.
How much wood can you carry in the back of you mustang ? Well as long as you don't go over the GVWR rating for the mustang there is nothing the law can do about it if you want to turn you mustang into a truck.
ALSO how well do you think that mustang is going to handle in the snow? Well if it is equipped with true positraction and studded snow tires it will go most every where any other car will go. I hope this explains these matters to you. Chet