Ok..whatever you say...I have yet to have any paint chip away.
The only loss of paint is where my legs rub the side of the frame and there is no rust at all.
I'm not saying I won't have any issues...I'm saying I haven't had any yet and I don't feel it's inevitable.
You pretty much just read about those people who have bad experiences, the thousands of owners who are not having problems are too busy having fun riding to post..[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img][img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

 

I hear these are great for relieving stress on the front end.
I'm gonna get one soon just to be on the safe side.
Here's the url http://www.arensbros.com/

 

i have one but like I said earlier I have not raced the Z since round 10 of GNCC that was back in september. I'm getting the Z back together right now, I'm going to race in a mid-south race on Dec. 7, to try and get it ready for the 04 season.

 

Man I just came to this board to post a thread about the Z400 frames and found this thread so I'm happy[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

I want a Z400, but the whole frame thing is scaring me[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-sad.gif[/img] I don't know what to do now. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-sad.gif[/img]

 

Does the Kawasaki KFX 400 have frame problems?

 

The KFX, the DVX, & the Z400 all have WEAK frames. My Dealers cost for a replacement frame for our 12 hour quad is (around $750.00 DEALER COST, not including the 10% over they would have to charge me).
Just this week I've put $150.00 into sandblasting, (cause it had been P/Ced last year)
Bartlett Racing hooked me up with an AWESOME welding, fabricating, & gusset job a little over $100 (THANKS - BTW for all the help & sponsorship this year!!!) & A new P/C job I'm hoping will be less than $150.00 Total of $400.00 +++ all the hassle of tearing apart everything & doing it AGAIN!!!
The Zuk's are nice quads with a lot of potential, but.............. if you plan to race them or ride FAST & hard, You will need to eventually Gusset & Weld broken, & cracked spots.
& YES I do maintain my quads & take good care of them, except for 2 hours I Beat the livin p!ss out of them 10 times a year racing!!!
Oh well though, I race hard & consider myself sorta fast for an old MN boy, & blame no one.

 

Guys what other quad is out there that's in the same power range as teh 400ex but has reverse?

 

Oh that is too big for me though. I could just get a 400ex and get a pipe that adds 20% more horsepower and I can smoke my friend.

 

20% from a pipe...yeeehAAA!....where do i sign? A full exhaust system might give you 10% more power if you are lucky. and an intake setup might put you up to 15%? Gains are inflated...seat of the pants dyno=wow its loud i must be moving much faster.

anyways. When i bought my z i asked the dealership about frame issues. He said they have sold hundreds of these bikes and they have yet to have one come back for frame problems. Maybe most of the riders in the pa/oh/wv area mainly trail ride? I don't know. But every z400 i see around in trailers has their sticker package on it....

 

If you guys can't already figure this out, the guys from Bartlett Racing are hear to knock the Z.
These guys race. Key thing here. The Z is not a race bike. If you race on it you will most likely break something.
The Z is made for recreational riders. It does that very well and will hold up well under those circumstances.

So if you race look at the YFZ if you are a trail/sand rider and want the funnest 400 out there try the Z.


All in all the Z is a great ride for what it was intended for.