Ok, there probably are many people in the same boat as myself that are shopping around for a new sport quad. If you take money out of the equation you're left with many options for buying the best sport quad for 07. So which one do you buy? I've put together a little summory of what I belive to be a good list of the top sport quads for 2007.

IMO these are the top contender 4-stroke quads with some quick notes on each. I left out the Kawasaki V-Force because I don't think it has close enough specs to compare it to this list. It is a very good machine and some people may like the automatic trans but I believe the list below are very comparable quads.


1) Yamaha Raptor 700r - Reverse, low compression motor (leaves room for upgrades), EFI, optional SE/GYTR editions with upgraded ressy style suspension, under 400lbs, rocker arm setup - no shim under bucket.

2) Yamaha YFZ450 - Carbed 5 valve motor, 350lbs dry, no reverse, , seems to be the quad others want to match, high reeving motor that need a little more maintenance (shim under bucket)

3) Suzuki LTR450 - EFI, total MX setup quad, very restricted from the factory once opened up very good quad, another

4) Kawasaki KFX450R - EFI, reverse, 364lbs, No solid reviews yet, looks promising (worth the wait?), will still hold true to be a be little more maintenance - about the same as all the high reeving 450s,

5) Polaris 525 Outlaw - Carbed KTM 525 motor, IRS, rocker arm design, sub 400lbs

6) Honda 450R - Carbed motor, Electric start available for 07, no reverse, 350lbs - 10 lbs loss from 06.


So looking at this list there are many good options. When it comes down to buying the "best" I believe that it becomes what is the best for your type of riding. Out of this entire list I believe all quads can do just about everything you'd want but some can do it better than others. For example; a Polaris 525 with IRS can probably make it down a rutted trail much easier than the sold axle quads, but it doesn't necessarily mean the solid axle quad can't maneuver the same trail, the driver might just have to work it a little more. The Suzuki LTR450 might have problems in a tight trail situation due to the wide stance and if you're not into MX riding I'd stay away from the Suzuki LTR.

I'd say all of these quads are mod friendly(some more than others). I read through many pages of the forums with Quad A vs Quad B discussions. Most of the time it becomes a drag racing comparison which has many different factors come into play such as rider weight, rider ability, traction, gearing...etc. In my opinion all of these quads I listed would be money well spent and if you choose correctly with your own style of riding you'll have a great time on anyone of these machines. Over all for 2007 I think the best ALL around Sport Quad out of the list above would be the Raptor 700r SE/GYTR due to the very nice suspension options, ease of maintenance with the rocker arm setup and lower compression motor. With the right mods on the Raptor it can handle very diverse riding conditions from MX to the dunes. The best trail only Sport Quad I'd choose the Outlaw 525 due to the comforts of IRS, ground clearance and a great motor. When it comes down to the MX specific quads it's a pretty close call between the bunch and we have not seen what the KFX450R can do yet. As of right now I think a slight edge goes to the LTR450 due to EFI and that out of the box it has a good suspension setup. The KFX450R has reverse but do we really need reverse in a MX based machine? Yet it may become the machine of choice for GNCC class racers. Only time will tell.

One last thing I want to say. These are my opinions, based on my research and knowledge of quads, you might disagree with me but I'm ok with that. I have a modded out Z400 that is setup for GNCC style of riding and other than being a little under powered it's been a great machine and has done great against 450 class machines in the woods. Suspension setups go a long way and for my style of riding having a full Elka suspension setup has gone a lot farther than adding horsepower(such as a big bore). I will say that in the open the 450s will pull on me but most of my riding is in tight twisty woods trails and the machine has worked out great. I'm in the process of upgrading to a newer quad with a little more base HP for reliability reasons, having a little more of open land monster and the EFI setups are looking real nice.

 

Be carefull when considering any IRS quads. The numbers look real good on paper, but when the rider sits his big heavy a$$ down it squats (even worse on a utility with the racks loaded), and under power is can squat even more. In the end, you can end up not all that much better off than if you would have been on an SRA machine!

Take a look at the April Quad Magazine. They do a shootout between the Raptor and YFZ. I haven't read it yet, but the dino stood out. The Raptor is all low end torque....great for the trail. It makes its peak HP at about 6,000rpm.....but checks out early. The YFZ makes it peak at something like 9,000, but then drops off going up to 11,000rpm. So, my point is that if you are looking for more of an "open land monster", the Raptor might not be the hot ticket. And, I personally don't find the Raptor's ergonomics to my liking.

Not quite sure about "a little more HP for reliability reasons". Doesn't really make sense! I don't think any of the machines you mentioned is going to be as reliable than your current Z. You switch to a high strung 450, and things are only going to get more tenuous.......

I ride the 450R in the open desert. It is the king of desert endurance racing, and if you don't show up on a 450R, you probably won't even finish much less win. I don't think you could come up with more of an "open land monster" than that!

 

raptor700,kawi450r,honda450r,yfz,ltr,outlaw


for the riding i do...this is the list i would say

 

All good machines to choose from (except the Honda) and some good points about them. That's the boat I was in, so I opted to buy a Banshee as it was the last available year in the US and I don't like purchasing used. If I had to buy another sport quad this year it would be the Raptor as it has EFI and reverse with a lot of available mods. However, if I didn't have to buy one I would wait to see what the Kawi was like and also if KTM has a machine available. The machines are going to improve dramatically in the next several years. Good luck!

 

hey bud, i'm not sure, but if you want to wait i heard from a couple source that there may be a '07 500 cc banshee coming out, and it will be a 4 stroke. If that does happen like it's supposed to i'd wait to see what's going on, other than that i have a yfz450 and in the year and 1/2 i've had it no problems so i'd take another yfz :-). o honda's are good too, so sorry to be not to much of a help.

 

The 07 banshee is a joke it does not exist.

I would pick the raptor 700r.