I am deciding to puchase the acclaimed 400EX. I want to know how good it handles in the snow since I live in Montana and we get some pretty deep snow. I also want to know how good it does in the woods and muddy trails, and how easy they are to tip while popping a wheelie.

 

Brian,
I have owned my 400EX for about 3 months, and really have nothing bad to say about this machine. I had ridden my LT250R for years and did not know if I could tolerate riding a 4 stroke machine. Boy was I wrong! The power is great, suspension is top notch, quality is great, and I can just haul *** on this thing. Having taken it out in both snow and mud I can say yes it does handle both quite well for what the machine is, a high performance 2wd sport machine. It rules in the woods, but deep snow (over 6 inches), the machine does not fare as well due to ground clearance. As for wheelies, it is hands down the best machine. If you can wheelie any other machine, then you can wheelie forever on an EX.

 

Brian
I have had my 99 400ex for about a year. Most of my riding is done in the woods. Deep snow or deep mud it is no good but for the trails with lots of bumps and jumps there is not a better machine

good luck

 

I rode mine in the snow over the weekend. We have about 4-5" of powder (normally we get slush in the Great Mud-West). It did surprisingly well but needs better clearance for anything deeper than that. The tires worked fairly well, but I would suggest something a little more aggressive (maybe 22" All-Traks by Maxxis). You would have a hard time finding any 4-stroke that jumps or wheelies better than the 400EX!