Which one of these machines should i buy and why. I've heard that the Z only puts out 1-2 more horse acrosed the power band.

 

i love my new 400ex.its a great quad.it jumps and catwalks very nice.
but im sure everyone else will tell you to get the Z.never rode a Z so i cant tell you about that.i say 400ex

 

Do a search, there has been a ton of threads posted on this. Enjoy what you get, I went with the Z and love it.

 

I'll help ya out
http://forums.atvconnection.com/mess...hreadid=316367
there's one thread.

 

I like my 400ex but from what i've herad the z is better, more power.

 

bansheeman

I own a 400ex and rode a z400 for a little while at Silver Lake sand dunes. If I had to replace my ex, I would opt for the z. It handled as well as the ex and it felt slightly more powerful. The power on the z was very smooth, plus it has reverse. All in all, the machine are very similar in feel except for the smoother, more powerful engine. Hope this helps.

 

I think most 400ex riders agree it is not worth selling the ex to get a z b/c a few mods will put you right there, but if we were in the market to buy new, the z would be the choice mostly due to added reverse, and the little bit better that the quad is.
For me the liquid cooling is nice but unless you race you will not notice any drop off in power on the ex due to heat and it adds to the "what can go wrong factor" the EX will always be the king of easy maintanance.

 

The power band of the EX is superior for trail riding, and the Z for riding fast and reved out in more open country. The EX does its best work on the low end, where the Z is kind of lame on the low end (the engine just won't lug down). If you don't believe me, just look at the gearing: EX is 38/15 and the Z is way lower at 40/14. If you put a 40/14 on an EX, the front end would never be on the ground. Still, even with the low gearing, the Z screams on the high end.

 

I have ridden a 400ex and I bought a Z400 (for price). I'm new to the sport, but I'm able to pick out the differences in the 2 machines.

400ex is the best choice if...
(1) You want easy maintenance/less things that can possibly go wrong
(2) You do lots of tight trail riding where low end torque is more important than upper end power. This only applies for stock vs. stock because a change in gearing will allow the Z400 to get wound up into its power band at lower speed.
(3) You want a quad that can be thrown from the bed of a pickup truck doing 30 mph and not get damaged at all (disclaimer, the stock handlebars would probably be toast, but my buddy had renthals on his 400ex)
(4) You want a closer perfect shifting ATV (The Z400 loves to find neutral when shifting. By letting out the clutch a bit while shifting, it'll fix that problem, but it's still annoying)

As YZGUY pointed out, the <u>stock</u> Z400 does not like to be lugged down. If you are mechanically inclined at all, you can spend ~$32 in mods to the make the Z400 a lug machine that has even more power across the band. Mods necessary: 152.5 main jet ($4), Unifilter ($28), two No. 4 washers under the carb needle, take off noise baffle of intake snorkel, cut some holes in the air box, drill out the restrictor on the spark arrestor (still keeps the spark arrestor forestry legal), and drill out a restrictor within the silencer. With those mods, my Z400** easily pulls away from a 400ex**.

If my list of 4 things are the 100% most important to you (remember, #2 doesn't apply if you're going to do mods) then get a 400ex, otherwise I recommned a Z400 (or the Kawasaki model)

** My Z400 has 152.5 main jet ($4), Unifilter ($28), two No. 4 washers under the carb needle, take off noise baffle of intake snorkel, cut open the air box lid, homemade &quot;outwears&quot; using speaker grill fabric, drill out the restrictor on the spark arrestor, drill out a restrictor within the silencer, 13 tooth front sprocket($20), 22&quot; Realtors.

I may still change my rear gear to a 41 tooth. My top speed is mainly drag limited, so the extra torque might help.

My friend's 400ex has XXX main jet (the one that K&amp;N recommended), Ajustable needle (set based on K&amp;N recommendation), K&amp;N filter ($120 including jet kit &amp; outwears for filter) , Pro circuit T-4 Pipe (the MX pipe) ($180?), Outwears on his filter, Outwears on the hole in his airbox lid ($20), 14 tooth front sprocket ($20), and 22&quot; Realtors

You'll have to get a 400ex a LOT cheaper than a Z400 to have the $$ to make it faster.

 

if you are buying new, get a z, unless you are deadly loyal to honda to the point that you'd like to be beat by every other stock quad.