New member, looking to get my feet dirty
 

Yes, the piston on a 2-stroke will need to be replaced more often, and they are more finicky about jetting and need proper warm up time before blasting around on. But overall the extra maintenance isn't that bad on a 2-stroke, and the power to weight ratio is much better. That LT is probably faster than your buddies 400. On the other hand, they can be very pipey and more difficult to learn on depending on how the motor is set up and what pipe is being run. My LT (and my brothers) both have a mellow hit with beefy midrange power. On the other hand, I test rode a LT that had minimal low end power but a big midrange hit. That kind of power is very difficult to ride for a beginner, and more tiring for just about anyone. Plus you have to ask yourself, if I am going to buy another quad for myself later, is my wife going to be kickstarting this thing and pushing it when she needed reverse. Mine wouldn't, but there are many that will.

New member, looking to get my feet dirty
 

Check it out, I've had an expensive lesson in finding the "right" atv, it's left me with four now <sigh>.

When I first started I got a Yamaha Beartracker 250, didn't do much research or ask questions, kind of an implulsive buy (which I almost never do) anyway, its a fine machine but definately too small for me.....My GF rode on it and I was kind of thinking if she liked riding I'd get a second quad for myself only a little bigger........WELL, she liked riding but absolutely hated trying to shift, was a major problem she refused to have the patience to learn. So now I'm kinda stuck, I want something larger but she's not comfortable riding the tracker....so I go ahead and get a second quad anyway, a Bruin 350, they were gonna screw me on trading in the beartracker so I said screw it and just paid cash for the Bruin, only my problem is compounded by her not wantint to ride the manual which means I'm stuck with it. SO.....I go ahead and get an Outlander for myself and she can ride the Bruin, just my luck, she dumps me a few weeks later, now I have three quads......I said hell with this and traded in the Bruin for a DS650.

My first advice is to make sure your wife is comfortable first since your intentions are to hand the first quad down to her. My buddies wife and daughter both ride his Raptor 350 with no problems and his daughter is only 14. Just something to think about.

IMO the new Wolverine would be a great starter bike, its fully auto. AND 4 WD but looks like a sport bike.

New member, looking to get my feet dirty
 

the warrior i have/had was practically bulletproof. it was a great machine, but not for those who fell the need for speed (such as myself). The thing about under 400cc's gets old it true, once you get used to the power, you want to go faster (look what happened to me). With a few mods, the warrior should be able to keep up with the 400ex, and your wife should have a blast with it. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img], lol. anyway, good luck with your decision, and welcome to the atv world.

by the way, welcome to the forums[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

New member, looking to get my feet dirty
 

Again, thanks for the responses. I want to make an educated decision.

Scooter86, thanks for the info on the two strokes, and LT. It seems like a stock one would be good to grow with, if I'm not mistaken. Performance can be increased as skills improve. However, I don't feel it would be appropriate for my wife.

CaRider67, even if I do get a warrior, know that your statements have had affect. From what you stated about your gf not liking what you had, it makes me think of what I can get that my wife would like. I think she would be fine with anything warrior size or smaller. She gets worried when out on atv's, but there is good reason for that. I think a warrior is more than enough power for her.

warriorguy22, I like what you're saying. As soon as the power is not sufficient for me, and mod's are not cost beneficial, it will be a good time for what I really want.

New member, looking to get my feet dirty
 

OllieP! Go with the 400 you can alway's set the speed control down until you get used to the bike. Anythig smaller you will not be satified with in 6month's. Why have to buy twice.

New member, looking to get my feet dirty
 

If your objective is to get a learner bike and then pass it down to the little lady, the Warrior is probably to big. I tried giving my old Warrior to my petite gf, and the idea just didn't fly. She was very intimidated by the size and weight of the machine (Warriors handle a little clunkey anyway), and prefered the smaller Blaster.

I take it that your wife is willing to learn to shift a manual clutch??? The 300EX might be a good choice. Not to small, not to large, descent power for a beginner, and the engine will hop up some later when you want more power. Properly modded, the EX is maybe the best tight trail bike of all time.

New member, looking to get my feet dirty
 

middleagedcrazy, I understand what you're saying, but if I buy the one I want the first time, I'll more than likely never get around to getting my wife an atv. Now if I buy the one I plan to hand down to my wife first, then I know we'll both end up with something.

reconranger, that is something I'm going to have to consider. She is not much shorter than me nor much lighter than me, so I believe she can handle it. She is already familiar with manual vehicles, as all of our vehicles are manual. I hope that makes it easier to teach her to ride. As for your advice, I'm going to look at a 300ex and warrior. I think it will ultimately come down to those two sport quads. Now I just need to find somewhere to ride both of them. Ebay locally might be just the place.

Again, thanks to all for your time.