It has been said before, but I will say it again:

It is much cheaper and easier to add a gussett kit to a Z/KFX Frame than to add a more powerful engine, convert it to liquid cooling and a reverse gear to a 400EX (not to mention better looks and a better suspension).

Anyone reading this post should not assume that I hate or disrespect the trusty 400EX. In fact, all of us who ride more current sportquads owe a debt of grattitude to the Honda 400EX for making this sport popular again in the late 90's. The 400EX was the top of the line when it was introduced and is still a very competent machine.

But when QWERTY drops his little bombs on people, I feel the need to put him in his place which is not very hard to do considering his point of view is not based on facts but on blind brand loyalty.

 

For racing you don't need reverse. The Z does not handle as well as the EX, it isn't as well balenced for jumping and it certianly doesn't offer better reliability. There are far more after market products for the EX and it is a better quad to start from if you want to build it up. The race results don't lie.

 

Race results don't lie, that's exactly right qwerty and the z400 based quads are winning more than anything right now except maybe the great 250r. Really though the race results seem to be just whoever is the better rider so if bill balance was on brand a he'd win or brand b through z he'd still probably win because he's the better rider. It's like Ricky Carmichael in motorcross, he won on a kawi and now he wins on a honda. If they gave him a mongoose bicycle he might still win.

 

Do you 400ex guys really believe the load thats coming out of your mouth. Ever read a shootout in a quad mag? They all say the same thing. z wins in every catagory. I like the Honda but dont start making things up just because you ride one. Honda makes good stuff and Ive always liked them but some of the riders oppinions make me want to hate them. There isnt a group that talks so much s--t. Ride what you like and let your bike do the talking. Every bike has its plusses and it depends on what you need and like.
Thank you for your time

 

Who cares about magazine shootouts. Whatever is brand new is always the best. Don't you notice that when a new quad wins who as the most add space in the magazine? Answer- the winner.

Everyone is slamming the 400EX when it is a better race quad than anything currently made.

 

I have a 400ex and love it for what it is.Text But don't confuse the issue. It is a great quad but it is not the best one out there. Top of the List, yea maybe in '99 when yours came out. What was the LAst real Race won by the 400ex? Reach up and touch bottom!

 

Hey, i bleed honda red as much as anyone on this forum. So much so that I'm nearly dried out. The veneralbe 400ex is a very nice quad, no doubt. But it hasn't been the best sport bike for a couple years now. It had the handling department under it's belt until the z-400 came out. Now the z-400 beats it in handling, the raptor, ds, c-dale, and many others beat it in top speed. Sorry but the 400ex and honda in general have lost lots of ground in the quad world. They seem to get a good idea (400ex, electric shift, rubicon tranny) and sit on it while the other manufacturers keep raising the bar.

My honda red has fadded so much so that i'm begining to get Kawi green flowing. I'm a utlity 4x4 rider. Like it or not Honda makes nothing currently that holds a candle to the prairie 650. The rincon may come close but the ante has already been uped by kawi going with the v-force based motors in the Prairie.

At some point brand loyalty just fades away when the manufacturer seems not to care what the customer want.

l8r
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I couldn't have said it better myself.

 

It's like a broken record isn't it? I hear it all the time from my buddies that ride red. I use to ride red myself but now green has to offer what I look for in a fun filled hobby. It just seems that is what all red riders want to do is bash the other guy's quad. I know for a fact that it is "honda country" around here. I knew it when I bought my 1st Kawasaki almost 2 yrs ago. I also knew that I would never hear the end of it. And I still don't. But it just seems funny to me that my riding buddies always seem to forget who pulled his butt out of the mud or cleared that massive double that he couldn't master. But they never forget about that one day when my prairie over heated on the trail because of a clogged radiator,or the time my tie rod bent when landing from a huge table top. Hmmm,sound all too famaliar to you guys too?
The 400ex WAS a great machine,and it still is a GOOD machine to this day,but to say it is the best....that is a little too far fetched for me.

 

The honda is and always will be a great machine...just not the best at this time. Their time may come again, but it is definately not here now! I still think the 400ex is a great bike to start out on. But more of the same....the Honda guys who are casting stones are probably the one's who will not buck up and buy a real quad...Maybe we should all tune ours back so the HOnda riders quit belly aching...This kills me because I have one...