I know, I know... this is the Honda forum.

I am forced to sell my loved 440, as I need the money I can get out of it.
However, I will be able to buy a quad in the 3000-3500 dollar range soon.
There are plenty of Zilla's around here in that pricerange, as well as 250R's and such.

My last trip to Glamis (yesterday) made me a comp hill lover.
Raced a few times with my 440, and lost only once to a modded LT250 by one bikelength. (Of course I COULD have challenged the modded Banshee's.. haha)
Anyway, I think I would love a good, clean Zilla.
I love the wheelie-ability of my 440, would a Zilla be able to pull 2-3 gear wheelies with a little clutch, and body language?
How about comp hill... could I challange a few modded Banshees with a stock Zilla? how about a modded Zilla? [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img] How decent is the suspention and manuverability? Jumping? are they heavier than my 400? or slightly lighter? My brother has a SUPER clean 86' LT250 and I just love the way it feels. It feels like it weighs nothing. Similar feeling with the Zilla?
Thanks for any advise.

-Matt

 

First, the power of the Zilla will stretch your arms considerably! Second, very torquey machine; can wheelie going into 4th gear! Third, you can challenge the Shee's and win more often than not providing you're up to it. Fourth, they are heavier than your 400 by quite a bit, and they are also longer, wider, and taller. Fifth, they have a good ride, plush suspension. I don't know about jumping ability, but they handle well. Sixth, the brakes aren't that good. Seventh, don't get an 87, they had weak engine cases. Finally, eighth, good luck.

Now, when you go to Glamis, go find a real hill to race and leave Comp for the posers.

 

Hey man, thanks for the reply.
Are the 87's the only Zilla's affected?
an 88 would not need new main bearings? correct? (Depending on wear, obviously)

-Matt

 

the problem with the 87 lt500r isn't with the cylinder cases, the problem is that they used less head studs on the 87 model year than they did on the 88 to 90 model years so the 87's sometimes have head gasket problems. this is not a big deal though as this can be easily fixed. all years of the lt500r have problems with the bearings loosening up in the side cases, this can be fixed by having brass inserts pressed into the cases, or you could buy newer updated cases. either way if you buy a lt500r you will have to fix some things, but once you do you will have a very reliable machine. the 500r is a big machine, but it is actaully slightly lighter than the banshee, and it has good suspension, it handles awesome for a machine that size, as far as jumping goes, i actaully prefer the wide stance of the lt5005 as compared to the lt250r. the 500r also has higher quality shocks than the lt250r. good luck

 

whats the top speed on a Zilla500

 

The steeper the hill, the more competitive quadzillas will be with banshees. If you're going to modify one, be reasonable, don't expect the bike to rev like a 250, because RPM's kill quadzillas faster than anything. Another thing, if you like to night ride, get the stator rewired, the quadzilla uses the same one as the LT250, but revs 3000 rpm less so the light will look yellow. A couple companies offer wide axles and longer a-arms to really make it a plush beast. Put some good shocks on it and have a blast.