Ive been looking at the raptors and z400s recently. I was so going to get one of those till I started lookign at 400ex's. more stuff available, its cheaper, and its easy as crap to find parts, the only thing I was worried about was reverse but i can sacrifice that for the better things. I was just wondering if theres any defects in certain years (i.e. 2001 raptor gears) or any widely known of problems that alot of people have problems with (z400 axles bending, chassis breaking/bending at the shock towers) I will probably be buying a used one so any other tips I should know when I go looking. THANKS!!!

 

YAH! watch out for the broken down raptors when you're on the trail

 

HAHAHAHA! sounds good to me....

 

These things are about bulletproof!I bought my 2001 400ex from my friend last summer after he decided he needed a new ktm bike! All I've ever had to do is change the oil and filter every 4-5 hours of riding time and clean the air filter a couple of times and it run great! I've replaced the rear tires( because I cut a deep gash in one of the sidewalls) to a set of holeshot xc's they work great in soft or hardpack but not to good in deep mud. I'm pobably going to get a set of bearclaws or spidertracs for the snow/mud. It's got full skid plates front to back and just about every DG part they offer for the 400. I replaced the plug this spring just to look at it, old one looked ok but I swapped it with a new one anyway. I kow 3 other guys with 400's also and nobody's ever busted anything on them either. Originally I was kind of worried about no reverse, but in 1 year i've only had 2 or 3 times when I had to get off to pull it out. I'd buy another one in a heartbeat its a great quad! I've ridden 500 scramblers, 350 warriors,300ex's,blasters, mojaves but I like this one the best. go for it!!!

 

I like the fact that there are more aftermarket parts available for this bike more then any other... not to mention ebay has 17 pages of stuff for it. I think the most ive seen for any other is 10 for the ya,aha warrior. So if i crash, i know somewhere theres some a arms or another bumper for me for a good price. One thing I saw that could be bad, was that the rear grab bar is part of the chassis, I guess that means keep the wheelies low.

 

You will have very few worries!!! 400ex's are strong bikes that are built to last.

I loved mine,,,and will most likely own another someday.

They are cheap, strong, reliable bikes.

 

Z400 or a kawi, 400ex's are nice but they are also air cooled, the kawasuzuki's are nice cause they are liquid, and they will still be strong after doin motor mods which most air cooled rides aren't.

 

No matter what the 400ex has durbility over every other bike. We are still waiting to find the huge problems with other newer models. The 400 has proven itself over the past years. I have built mine up a bit and have still had no problems with anything. I break stuff my self.. thats about it.

 

thats the big thing also that the new quads might have some problems like the raptor's did, etc, the honda's are proven machines also!!

 

I was going to get a z400 or a kfx400 but im hearing about the chassis bending and the axles bending, And we havent seen any long term problems with the motor. Its a brand new design and no one knows what to expect yet.