I posted this same message in the Yamaha forum but I wanted to get feedback here too.

Ok here is the deal, my son will be turning 16 in June and is outgrowing his dirt bike. He wants to get a quad so I figure that he can have my KFX 700. That means that I will need something new. I have been eyeing the KFX450R, sounds like it will be a fast machine however, I am worried because it is a new model for Kawasaki and they may not have all the bugs worked out.

Furthermore, my friend just got a new Outlaw 525 and he is smoking me on my KFX 700 so I need to be able to keep up with him. Can you all give me your honest opinions concerning the Raptor 700R GYTR?

I know that I will get a lot of the Kawasaki rules, Yamaha sucks type of messages in response to this post and that is NOT my intention, I am looking for valuable feedback. Additionally, I know that there is not a lot of information concerning the KFX450R, so comparisons may not be available.

I plan on doing all trail riding, mostly with my family but sometimes with friends. The trails behind my house are tight and a little technical, so suspension is critical.

On the appearance side of the decision, I think the black KFX450R looks great and I am not crazy about the white GYTR.

Thanks in advanced for your time and help.

Sincerely,

Jeff

 

I can't speak as to the KFX450R because I haven't seen, ridden, or even know anyone who has one. However like you I am always a little conserned about brand new products when they first hit the market. I know the manufacturers spend alot of time and money with R&D but you never truely know how well any product will hold up when it gets massed produced. That being said I expect Kawasaki to put out a great product and the KFX450R should be able to hold its own in the 450 arena. As to the 700 Raptor, I have a friend who has one and I have been very impressed with the performance and quality of the quad. Every other weekend it gets rode hard, jumped and drag raced. To this point it has performed flawlessly. The bike turns in 5.3s and 5.4s all day long in the sand drags. In October we made a trip to Little Sahara in Oklahoma. While we were there he put the bike on one of the dynos there. With an intake mod, exhaust (forgot what brand), and dobeck fuel mapper the bike pulled around 50 rwhp, 49 I believe but don't hold me to that may have been a little more or less but it was right at 50. There is a night and day difference in the old 660 raptors and the new 700 raptors. If I had money in hand and were going to buy a new quad today it would most likely be the 700, but that's just my opinion, that's why they make so many different ones. Different strokes for different folks I guess.

 

I dunno if you are expecting a response from a Polaris man or not, but here goes:

The GYTR Raptor should run w/ the Outlaw 525 pretty well. The 525 stock outpaces the 700r slightly (taken from rider reports and acceleration graphs as you can see from my sig, mine's not here yet) but with minor aftermarket stuff on the Raptor it should keep pace with the 525 'Law just fine. So here we go (please don't flame me, this is all my experience)

The 700R is a decent bit quicker than any current 450, as well as the Pred (included because i had one and know.) The 450 Kawasaki has not yet been released, but to be honest, it would have to be pretty incredible to best the 700R. If it does so, you can bet there will be reliability problems. Every one of my friends who has a pred / YFZ has had to do motor work. We've talked to Honda 450R guys on the side of the trails whos engines have simply hand-grenaded for no apparent reason. The 450's are simply trying to make too much HP out of too little engine and are really build for Racing applications only. (again, this is only my experience) if you don't mean to goto the track every weekend to be honest, i'd say go with the 700R. While i can't garauntee that the Kaw 450 will have reliability issues as well, i can tell you that i've talked to guys who have had ALL the 450s, and they all do. The 700R on the other hand seems to hold together very well. Another question for me (maybe it's just because of the fact that i'm buying one, but i must ask,) is there a reasone you haven't considerred the 525 'Law? besides maybe that you don't want to just buy what your friend has? Because the 525 KTM engine is FANTASTICALLY reliable (which after my Predator nightmare, and my best friend's YFZ nightmare, is what sold me).

Just a thought. To be honest seems like you would be satisfied with either the KAW 450 (if you're lucky and it is reliable) or the 700r (which tends to be reliable anyway) but I think you should at least include the 525 'Law in your options for best reliability and performance, don't think you can go wrong w/ either the 700r or the 525.

another thing, (b/c it WILL come up before this thread has run its course,) is cc limits in competition. if that is really a major factor in your descision i suggest you actually look at the CC limits before you assume it's 450. I see you are from michigan, as am i and i can tell you there is NO cc limit in the hare-scrambles series. so, if you are interested in racing XC, either of those machines will serve you well.

Best of luck making your descision, hope that information helps a little [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]