[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-disgusted.gif[/img] I am new to the forum but have been reading a lot of Posts and Great info I must Say, I own a 2002 Blaster and it has a lot of upgrades, Trenga Hydralic brakes, extended swingarm,holeshots, Procircuit pipe Carbon fiber reeds active, a little head work done, widen a couple inches,uni air oil injection removed and the list does go on, it is fun to ride and wheelies at will and yes i ride on a local mx track but don't race ,I am yes older than most in this forum but age is a number,put it this way I have 2 kids and they race motorcycles Ktm 65 and cr125 honda and even my wife rides xr 250,But i am torn to buy a new quad and yes i want a Z 400 but all these cracks in frame are scaring the hell out of me ,my question is this just a crap shot when you buy one that is a lemon or is this gonna happen on all of them until 2004 come out I read guy jumps get 5 feet of air and breaks swingarm in half,hell i jump 20 foot doubles on my blaster and it doesn't crack, I do a lot of trail riding but i also go out on the track, I am trying to kill the demon that is leaning to 400 ex honda because of their track record of quality,Any imput about these Z400's and frame problems would be helpful, Sorry for longwind but i am new,Thanks to any response!!

 

The broken swingarm is definitely a fluke. (We had a Blaster a few years ago, and EVERY WELD on its swingarm cracked, so it can happen to anybody!!!) I have ridden hundreds of hard desert miles with no problems, except a blown rear shock.....and I was going to get aftermarket shocks anyway, so no big deal. The EX is great, but underpowered.

 

Thanks for info, I notice you own both Z and Ex is the power difference that great and is it at low end or mid that is different, top end is 5 miles an hour different, and is the power difference say between a piped Ex with Air Mods and jetting faster than a stock Z and i mean by a substantial amount of quickness, Are the handling abilitys the same or equal?? Any more info would truely help, you know you would think Quality control would mean something nowadays,I mean the Z was in the making for at least a couple of years before the first one rolled into the dealership and the testing you would think would catch the frame nightmare, I am still a huge fan of the Z and a white one would look good next to my white blaster,Thanks

 

I've only had mine about three and a half weeks (I think) and so far so good. I love the stock power even though it is underpowered to a lot of the moded quads on here and some of the bigger guns raptor, v-force, and ds. I have heard it's mainly a crap shoot but also I've heard the later made models don't have these problems. I've jumped mine quite a bit but just small air nothing over five feet. I've also hopped a lot of logs on my property. I have about 50 acres of mostly woods and I have quite a few trails I've made with my friends on my rancher and there foremans. There's quite a few small logs that I can't just ride over like I did with my rancher and I just hop over them with the front end and I don't guess thats good for the quad but it's held up to this kind of treatment for at least three weeks. I guess if you have to have one get it, but the 2004 should be here surely this month or next so it might be wiser to wait. The big v-force is out there also if you don't just have your heart totally set on a suzuki. Good luck with whatever you decide.

 

Oh sorry but I have heard a very shaky rumor about a z450 coming out this summer. I think it's very doubtful since none of the magazines have said anything but I seen it on another forum and the guy seemed like he knew what he was talking about. Good luck

 

Thanks Slinger, heart really not set on any manufacturer I just don't want to be one of those guys that has to post " Suzuki in shop for 8 weeks with frame cracks" that could **** a guy off pretty quick and sorry to say the customer support and most dealers is like buying a used car on a buy here pay here lot, I know the new Yammy is being realeased tonight and i have seen pictures of it but it will be 7000.00 plus i beleive and that might be a little steep and what to say that thing won't have some fluky problem,If honda would just upgrade 44 ex a bit life would be so easy, Thanks once again for the imput!! Ride Safe , Ride Hard!!!

 

RideAllDay, I have the Z, beat the crap out of it, still have stock shocks. Nothing wrong with mine, matter of fact not one complaint about that quad. I loved it the frist time I rode it. I know a lot of guys crack frames, maybe they ride harder than me, or just jump higher, but I wouldn't let that discourage you. Meaning there are 2 dudes who have had no problems to the 1 with a cracked frame. See what I'm getting at? If this doesn't satisfy you maybe you should look into the new Yammy, it just might be half as good as the Z, but I doubt it. Don't get me wrong I like yammy's, I just like the Z more. Hope this helps you.

Chris

 

hmm....

Well i have read many things on the forums from guys saying theirs has broken and crack. These were all pre-march 2003 bikes. Apparently they fixed the problem on the bikes being made now.

I have 22 hours on my bike 10 were break in easy hours just around the yard, and down trails. the last 12 have been some pretty rough trail riding, hill climbing and redneck jumping(you know up a hill real fast and jump over the top with a flat landing) Its about 7 feet up and 15 feet out(not much but still rough on your bike). I did that probably 25 times last ride i went on and i came home and checked my welds around my a-arms and shocks. NOTHING! no chipping no cracks. Plus all the fast trails and holes i ran through.

I love my z400 and trust it 100%.

I asked my dealer if they had any returns at all with cracked frames, he said since they have been selling them...(must be a lot when i bought mine they had sold one before me and then they were loading up 2 more when i was coming to pick mine up). NOT ONE PERSON has came back with complaints about anything about the bike other than back brake rotors. which he thought was stupid that suzuki won't recall them. My rotor started squeaking after only a few hours. It drives me up the wall!

If you want to get one i'd say get your dealer to verify when the bike was made, make sure its the newest possible shipment you can get. Inspect the welds when you pick it up, make sure they they look good. If you don't know anything about welding have find a buddy with welding experience and have him check it out for you.

If you are scared of a z400, then go get a 400ex. They are giving out KILLER deals on them now, a guy at college told me he got a brand new one, some dealer in canton, for only 4800 out the door. Take that 500 600 dollars you saved buying the EX, and do mods, Pipe, Jet kit, and an intake. Maybe some left over for nerf bars or something.

OH yeah, how about adding some +2 a-arms +4 axle some Elkas and a full Vito 240 kit to your blaster and really kick as*

 

The frame isn't that big of a deal, yes I gussetted mine myself but, a friend of mine found a welder, had him do it for way less then $100 and bought a can of spray paint that matches and he was done with it in a few days. You don't have to tear the whole quad down to do it.
Also if you get one now there is a good chance it was addressed by the factory.

 

Thanks for all the info ,You guys have been very helpful and no real bashing one or the other,I will be visiting a couple dealers tommorrow and see what kind of deal i can make, And when are the 2004's hitting the floor,Thanks all for a Positive Experience!! And yes my blaster will be getting 240 kit and more mods and my kids will love it!![img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]