Hi,
I'm having a hard time on deciding on which quad to get either the 400ex,banshee,raptor,ds650,or scrambler 400/500 2X4.I'm 5'9" 227Lbs.I have about a year of riding experience and I would be riding in dunes and trails.I have some questions about them such as:

1.Which one is the most reliable?

2.Which one will be better suited for the places i ride in and my riding experience?

3.Which one is easiest to turn?

4.Which one over heats the fastest?

5.For the owners of each machine what mods gave the best bang for your buck.

6.Which one powerslides the best?

7.Which one is the most stable?

8.Which one has the lest maintenance?

9.Which one is the fastest?

10.For owners of each machine what are the things u don't like the least and what mods did u do to fix it if u can?

11.Which one wheelies the best?

Thanks,
Dan

P.S.
Sorry for the questions but I really need to know.

 

well if it was me since you want a 2x4 I would rule out the Scramblers not because they are not good but i think there claim to fame is the switchable 4x4 which has advantages that is why I picked the Scrambler but for dunning and the odd trail ride I would rule them out. If i was to buy a new quad right now it would be the DS650 reliable powerful and the most stable and probly the best jumper out of the bunch they are a bit heavier than the other sports bikes excluding the Scramblers but the power makes them feel light as I have been told. And with the stage 3 kit in them I guess they are complete animals. The raptor 400ex and banshee are nice but the DS650 gets my vote.

Good luck with your decision I am sure you will pick what best suits your needs

 

If you want sporty "all around" get either the DS650 or the Raptor. Both are considered among the fastest and best handling quads available. After buying/riding the Raptor I would have problems with the more limited power of the 400ex. That is only my opinion though... so nobody get offended.

If you plan on riding dunes a lot I would definately get the Banshee. The feeling of that 2-stroke power is unbeleivable! You have to try one to understand.

I really love my Scram but as Millenium stated only because of the 4x4 and auto tranny. I love my Raptor and chose it over the DS because of the size and weight advantage...but would like to ride a DS650 to see the difference one day. The weight of my Scrambler kind of turned me off to the DS650.

Good Luck!

 

Thanks for everybodies replies and any more info would be greatly appreciated!!!!!!

 

From your list, I would look at the 2X4 Scramblers and the Raptor ( all of them have reverse). For less than the cost of a Raptor you could put some mods on a 400 Scrambler and have an extremely quick dune rocket. The Raptor is the only quad I would consider selling the Scrambler for.

 

I would have to agree with CAPTNEMO on the SC 400 2X4 being a great dune machine. The 2X4 has a compleatly different feel (Lighter and also less of it on the front wheels) than the SC 4X4. Whenever i ride a friends SC 4X4 it feels more like my Sportsman than my Scrambler and my friends all agree. For the money i went with the Scrambler last year when i had to make the same decision. I loved the DS650 but was not going to pay $2300 extra to get it. If the extra cost is not a problem then get the DS650. From lookin at the YAMAHA forum it looks as though the Raptor may have a couple of reliability issues i would not want to deel with, and the honda is very limited by its 400 air cooled 2 valve motor. With the 400 SC motor the power up grades are cheep and many. Also you need to consider your available dealer in the decision. Having to deel with uncooperative jerks can be a real hassle. Ask your friends you ride with about any dealings they had with dealers. Other than that just try to ride a couple of your choices before you buy a new one. You might be suprised by the HYPE you read on certain quads. In real life they are not that great.
Good luck,
and remember,
[purple]ITS ALL GOOD![/purple]

 

the answers to your questions:

1. Not the polaris! Honda has the best reputation by far and it is the simplest quad in this group by design. A) 400ex

2.Dunes: DS 650 Trails: 400ex or Raptor, the DS is simply to wide. The scrambler wouldn't be bad but i think that its power to weight ratio wouldn't be so hot for the dunes. A) 400ex or Raptor, because they will handle the dunes good also. I might tend to lean more to raptor in this category.
3.A)400ex
4.A)none of them will over heat if you are riding them at any speed at all. however the 400ex is not fan assisted, its only oil cooled so if you just sat there and reved it up it would prolly get hotter faster. but.... that motor is desighned to get hot. its not liquid cooled, it can take the stress.
5.A) 400ex I got mine for 5400 dollars
6.raptor stock tires make it tough, and the scrambler and the DS are pretty heavy. A)400ex
7. either the DS or the 400ex, the DS is a lot wider but it is also a lot heavier, and taller
8.not the scrambler
9.I own a 400ex, I have had NO major problems to speak of, I did have to adjust the carbuerator slide opening form the dealer. this takes about 2 min. My friend has a 400 sport and all I can say is don't jump the things to dam* much because if you do you areasking for costly repairs.

they are all good machines although I agree with one of the earlier comments of why to get a scrambler if it is not 4x4. its heavy in comparison, poor handling in comparison, and you can't jump them with out mega $. there goes about all you can do for fun on a 2x4. more power to you if you want a sport 4x4, sometimes I wish I had 4 wheel drive but I am very pleased at my purchase.

 

That would be the clasic, mag, [red]HYPE[/red] I mentioned earlier.
Look at Xplor on May 8th for some of your answers. Xplor did a very honest compare between his modded 400 Scrambler and his new Raptor. He still owns both and it looks like he would choose a Raptor.
Do your self a favor and spend some saddle time testing each out before you buy. I am very glad I did. Also keep in mind that people are obviously biased when answering those questions.
I am sory if I unintentionly cut down any quads in my post. I usualy try hard not to do that. We ride with just about everything you can think of in our group. For the most part they all perform well and are still running at the end of the day. Im not going to mention the makes of the 2 that do not, but rest assured they are not Polaris. The 2 Polaris 500 4X4 Scramblers in our group do the towing, not the towed.

 

1.Which one is the most reliable? I have had no problems due to design with any polaris I have ever owned.

2.Which one will be better suited for the places i ride in and my riding experience? I do the same type of riding as you and I prefer the Scrambler 400 2x4.

3.Which one is easiest to turn? Not sure, but I am sure its not the polaris.

4.Which one over heats the fastest? Heat has never been an issue with my liquid cooled 400 and I have had it running all day in 100+ temps.

5.For the owners of each machine what mods gave the best bang for your buck. A pipe and clutch kit give a 2 stroke polaris a nice boost.

6.Which one powerslides the best? Not sure, when I try to stop it does, without sliding.

7.Which one is the most stable? My 400 seems to feel a bit top heavy on fast trail riding but is very stable on the dunes.

8.Which one has the lest maintenance? I am sure one of the 4 strokes would have the least maintenance.

9.Which one is the fastest? With the least total out of pocket expense the polaris 400 will be faster. 500 bucks in bolt-ons can do wonders for a polaris. (Assuming your talking about a drag race.)

10.For owners of each machine what are the things u don't like the least and what mods did u do to fix it if u can? When my 400 was stock it had a lot of lag on the trails when I was on and off the throttle a lot, the clutch took to long to engage, a hypershift clutch kit from hotseat fixed the problem, no more lag, instant power.

11.Which one wheelies the best?The Banshee in my experience it the hardest to keep the front end down thanks to the short wheel base.

 

Here's a little extra to add on to my last post. The Raptor is the funner of the two for now because it is my new toy. I seem to love shifting gears even if I am not going as fast as I would like to.

From a typical full-bread "sports quad" rider point of view, the Raptor660R and DS650 are far superior to the Scrambler line-up. Weight and handling are the major factors. What is fun about the Scramblers is the auto tranny and single lever braking. I just love that. Plus it is easier on a Scrambler to hit the trails with any type of quads, be it Utility or Sport. More comfortable too on long bumpy rides.

In the dunes I would have to say that I would most likely choose my modded Scrambler over my Raptor. Maybe because I am not used to shifting yet. It has amazing power and no worries about making it to the top of the hill. It powerslides and roosts great now. You still feel the weight but it does slide great. This is due to the larger stance and heavy trail mods. It doesn't bite for traction like it used to in stock form...it just spins like a Banshee.

Capt, Do not get rid of the Scrambler if you get a Raptor! Keep it for at least a couple weeks to be sure you won't miss it! The modded 400 has much more zip and power than the Raptor.

Demonic650, you really should try them all out at least once to get a feel for what you like the best. Usually after that you can make a good, informed decision.

One final thought: The Banshee is lightweight, has good handling and the most adrenelized engine of the bunch. It is great for dunes and is good on trails... and to be "great" for trails all is needed is one of those two-in one pipes (or something like that) to give it more low-end power. Just an idea...

There are so many to choose from these days it really is hard to decide!!