Went cruising by my local Suzuki dealer this morning looking for some gear. When I pulled up there was a 400 sitting out front. The salesman said 3 people fell through on financing and it was up for grabs. i grabbed it up and trailered it home.

Nice, light machine with a lot of area to work on all of the important parts. So far I've only riden it around the block and all I can tell from that is it's FAST.

Off to watch the Kings game!

 

BarelyLegal,

How is it for quiet? I've heard that they were very quiet for the power they put out. I can't wait for a compairison between the 400EX and it. Keep us posted!

 

I was at chaparral in San Bernardino last week end and they had one there. Very nice looking quad, let us know how it performs.

 

Mike, I don't know what to compare it to really. Yes, it is quiet for what it is, but in this case you can hear a little bit of ferociousness to the exhaust note when you snap it off idle. It is probably as loud as a 400EX with just a little more snarle to it.
I can already tell it is faster than an EX, but haven't taken it up there too high in the rpm band yet. I did wheelie it in first and second, and the EX never did that on my short test rides.
It has a very smooth idle with no real vibration. The frame is steel and the subframe is aluminum. It has a washable filter and easy access to the carb, fluid change areas and pretty much everything else you might ever want to get to. I hear Yosh makes a great pipe for these things. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img] It also has an oil sump like the Scrambler, but the filter is hidden behind a protective plate in the block.
The seat is wide and comfortable. It has a brake light and adjustable front and rear suspension. You can change compression and rebound in the rear, spring tension in the front. It's pretty soft, set in the middle from the factory. Nice ride to it.
Man, I'm going to have some fun on the MX track with this one.
The Scrambler with a silencer, HPD lid, green primary spring and whatever else I did to it has more torque off the line, but after that it would get hurt bad. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-sad.gif[/img] ... no [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]
I'll take it to the dirt tomorrow to see how it handles and jumps.

 

BarelyLegal,

The reason I was asking is that ATV Sport did a quick test on one. They said it was really quiet for as much get up and go that it had. I'm like a lot of guys here, wondering if it will respond to aftermarket pipes the way the Raptor did. I guess we'll know when some one comes out with a pipe for the Z400. Frankly, I'm holding off buying one because I feel the Kawasaki 400 will be better[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img] (yes, I know the model they had was identical to the Suzuki except for the green plastic, I'm just pulling your leg).

 

It is a smaller outlet than a stock 400EX, and it might be quieter after riding it today. I just don't know cause I usually have my helmet on when it's on.
Anyway, a couple guys came over and got a look. Two had 400EX's and the other a LT500. They were impressed, and since they know a lot about the EX and 500, they were able to see what the differences really were. They were laughing at how small the opening it out of the stock exhaust. It's pretty damn small, yes. They make pipes and had some pretty trick stuff on their quads. They got pretty animated at how much they thought a pipe and silencer would help the Z400. Even offered to make me one. One of my firends also wants me to bring it by, dyno it for free, then sponsor me with a free pipe and silencer from a dealership here. I also hear the Yosh pipe gives it 4 hp at the wheel. There is a lot to be gained there, and in the cams and airbox lid too. One shop on the east coast is putting out like 41 hp from just that stuff alone. Not too shabby for the first week the quad is out!

I took it out on the MX track and hit a few jumps. It flies good, but I was so not used to it I had to chill out and take it easy. I've also never riden out there before, so new track, new quad. Bad combo! I'm not used to using the clutch, and the brakes almost threw me over the bars more than once. Out of a couple turns I throttled up from slow speed and almost did a 360 more than once. The torque kicks in pretty snappy.


So then the wife and I hit this REALLY technical trail. First gear almost all the way, second in like 2 spots, and this thing goes for about 10 miles. Mountain lion, rattle snake country near Foresthill. There is a new movie coming out called "XXX", where Vin Diesel is crossing a bridge and jumps off of it in a vette to parachute to the ground. That is the spot we were riding all around! It's like a 900 foot change in elevation, pretty steeply. I crawled over stuff just fine and climbed some seriously crazy black diamond hills. It only tapped the swingarm skidplate once though.
All in all, I'm happy, impressed and satisfied with this quad. Tomorrow I'll go to more familiar riding territory and start to open it up a little more to get the feel. I need to make suspension adjustments to suit me and so on too.

 

<< It is a smaller outlet than a stock 400EX, and it might be quieter after riding it today. I just don't know cause I usually have my helmet on when it's on.
Anyway, a couple guys came over and got a look. Two had 400EX's and the other a LT500. They were impressed, and since they know a lot about the EX and 500, they were able to see what the differences really were. They were laughing at how small the opening it out of the stock exhaust. It's pretty damn small, yes. They make pipes and had some pretty trick stuff on their quads. They got pretty animated at how much they thought a pipe and silencer would help the Z400. Even offered to make me one. One of my firends also wants me to bring it by, dyno it for free, then sponsor me with a free pipe and silencer from a dealership here. I also hear the Yosh pipe gives it 4 hp at the wheel. There is a lot to be gained there, and in the cams and airbox lid too. One shop on the east coast is putting out like 41 hp from just that stuff alone. Not too shabby for the first week the quad is out!

I took it out on the MX track and hit a few jumps. It flies good, but I was so not used to it I had to chill out and take it easy. I've also never riden out there before, so new track, new quad. Bad combo! I'm not used to using the clutch, and the brakes almost threw me over the bars more than once. Out of a couple turns I throttled up from slow speed and almost did a 360 more than once. The torque kicks in pretty snappy.


So then the wife and I hit this REALLY technical trail. First gear almost all the way, second in like 2 spots, and this thing goes for about 10 miles. Mountain lion, rattle snake country near Foresthill. There is a new movie coming out called &quot;XXX&quot;, where Vin Diesel is crossing a bridge and jumps off of it in a vette to parachute to the ground. That is the spot we were riding all around! It's like a 900 foot change in elevation, pretty steeply. I crawled over stuff just fine and climbed some seriously crazy black diamond hills. It only tapped the swingarm skidplate once though.
All in all, I'm happy, impressed and satisfied with this quad. Tomorrow I'll go to more familiar riding territory and start to open it up a little more to get the feel. I need to make suspension adjustments to suit me and so on too. >>