I have an '03 banshee right now, and other than paddles its stock. I was planning on putting a ton of money into it but after I saw how much I was going to need to spend to make it do what I wanted, I realized that I would be way better off just getting a second bike. I'm going to keep the banshee for dunes and ride it from time to time around the local trails, but I want to have something else better suited to lower speeds. I've been riding my dad's raptor a little to get a general idea of how a Z will perform. There are a few major things that I absolutely hate about the raptor, and I hope that the suzuki doesn't have the same problems. First of all, the raptor overheats very quickly if it's not doing at least 30mph. There are also really bad vibrations at mid-range rpm's that wear me out. The brakes are spongy, and the suspension is just not tuned right. It's too tall and skinny. Other than that though, its kinda what I'm looking for (although that doesnt leave much). I don't need as much power as the raptor for trails, sometimes that much power makes riding harder. Basically what I want is:

- smooth, controllable power
- low, stable ride height
- easy and comfortable to ride at lower speeds
- good suspension
- good handling
- light weight
- good jumper

Thats the major stuff. I almost bought a Z instead of the banshee last time I went quad-shopping, but I was primarily into dunes at the time, so the shee was the best bike for me. I still ride dunes most of the time, but what I noticed is that the banshee makes slow, technical trails way less fun than they are on less powerful machines. I have heard a lot of good things about the Z, and its very comfortable ergonomically for me, but what I really need to know is whether it's the best choice for a trail bike. I don't want or need a 4x4, I've never needed the 4wd before and I hate the size, weight, and handling characteristics of them. Is the Z an easy ride bike or does it require a lot of rider input? I'm used to shifting a lot, so I'm not so much worried about that, but does it force you to be in an aggressive riding position or can you ride it sitting down without getting jolted all over from bumps? Is the new suspension compression adjustable and how hass it changed from last year (other than the rezzies)? How smooth is the powerband? How does it compare to a raptor when it comes to wheelying?

And of course, I have to ask; yellow, white, orange or green? I'm leaning towards white with the blue seat at the moment.

 

The Z will be better suited to the woods, and technical riding then the Rappy. The Z isn't known for having gobs of low end power, so you may want to gear it down a tooth or two for the slower technical trails. It seems like you get your high speed thrills on the sand, with the banshee. They aren't nearly as "tall" feeling as Rappy, and shouldn't overheat under normal situations. Then again, neither should the Raptor. I'd look into that. My buddy has one, and trail rides it, sometimes low speed, with lots of lugging, and clutch slipping, and I don't think it's ever overheated on him.

 

It's not? Hmm. I have an '04 and it has a whole load of low end power. In first & second gear, you just touch the gas and the front end pulls up.

I have never driven a Raptor, but i have driven a 400ex, and the 400ex doesn't have ANYTHING on the Z400.

 

He meant in comparison to the rap. I havent personally ridden a z, but my dad has, and he said that its got way less power than his rap. In a way thats what I want though, the rap is kind of a handful at low speeds. The raptor overheating happens really fast, but I just chalk it up to the engine size, a 660 generates a ton of heat. If you dont get moving and get some air on the radiator you start to really feel heat from the motor on your legs and if you dont get moving quick, it'll die if you dont keep the revs up. I'm not particularly worried about it, its not my bike, and my dad never complains about it. He only rides it in the dunes, so its always high-speed and doesnt have cooling problems. Also, I should mention that the bike he'll be riding in the trails with me is our polaris 325 mag. Thats one reason I want to have something that can go slow without complaining, cause I'll have to slow down and wait for him to catch up a lot. I'm not going to depend on low rpm torque, I'm used to having to rev up a bit before attempting certain things on the banshee, and I'm sure the Z will have 10x as much low rpm torque as that. The trails are mostly 3rd gear, mid-r's trails, no big mudholes, no rock-crawling or anything like that; just moderate-pace cruising trails. Are there any other bikes I should consider than the Z? I really like them and I dont think theres a lot out there that's as versatile as them, but I'm open to suggestions. Plus, I havent been able to do much ground stunt riding since I sold my blaster, the banshee doesnt really like it, and I've seen Z's do some pretty awesome stuff.

 

Well the 400ex is nice too.. I don't know if the new 400ex's are any different, but my cousin has a '01 400ex and my '04 Z400 has alot more torque. I know my Z400, not that it's broken in, will run low speeds all day long if ya want it to, but when your ready to lay on the power, its there waiting.. I would go with either the Z400, or the 400EX..

I almost bought a 400EX but after reading alot of reviews the Z400 was rated better. I am Happy with my Z400, but i am sure i would have been just as happy with the 400EX..

Or of course the KFX400, It's the same as the Z400 in a different wrapper.

 

Johnny,

I am a rookie, but I have a Z400 that I bought in June of this year. I think you would be pleased with the Z400. I have ridden several bikes that belong to sandbomber (see his pics, 418 'shee, stock DS650, DS 720, DS770, Raptor and 450R). The Z has good low end and is easy to handle, wheelie and jump. If the trails you ride are first to third gear, with no rock climbs or other stuff that require slipping the clutch or crawling, it will do great. I chose the Z because it was light and has reverse. As far as colors go, I was torn between the yellow Z and orange Kawi, until I saw the limited in the showroom. The extra cost of the limited was worth it to me, I like the graphics and it matches the helmet I already had .[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]. Check out the pics of the Z in my gallery.

 

Thats the only other bike thats even in the same class (EX). They changed it a bit for '05, it has reverse now and the 450r plastics up front. IMO it looks even worse than it used to. Plus, the motor is too simple, sohc air-cooled just doesnt sound good to me. I'm glad to hear that the Z is easily capable of low speed riding. Have you ever ridden a shee? One of my favorite things about my shee is the low ride height. On paper, the Z is only about an inch taller, but the banshee seat provides more cushion, so it gets about an inch lower when you sit on it, and the rear suspension is really soft so that just adds to it. Is the Z's rear suspension compression adjustable? How is the low-speed ride quality?

All the reviews I've read on the Z were great, nobody was disappointed except in overall power, which in this case isn't a primary concern. I think that a Z is probably the best choice, a YFZ or R is going to be claustrophobic like the raptor and shee are; I dont particularly like the 400ex or raptor 350, which really doesnt leave any other choice. Plus, I want it to be an easy to ride bike, not only because I don't mind taking a break from the high rider-input riding that the banshee requires; but also because I might have other people ride it who don't have a bike of their own, so I want it to be controllable and user-friendly. I'm still torn on the color though... The '05 white looks awesome with the blue frame, but I know what happens to white plastic, and kawasaki green does have a certain appeal to it. But in a way I'm obligated to go with suzuki, I kinda owe them, "first on four wheels" changed my life, what would we do without quads?

 

The suspension is adjustable in both the front and the back. The front suspension has a 5 position adjustment. It comes set on position 3, which I found to be way too soft. So I changed it to position 4, and it made a huge difference. The rear is a bit harder to adjust, but it is like most rear suspension. It’s an adjustable collar on a threaded shock body.

As for low speed ride quality. My wife putts around the yard for hours in 2nd gear. The thing I’ve noticed with quads, is because they run allot more radical then say a car engine, you have to really learn how to use the clutch and proper shifting. When I first got my Z400 home which was about 3 weeks ago, I would kill it all the time, I have been driving a manual car for years, but it's allot different. Now that I’ve had it about 3 weeks, I rarely ever kill it. So if you already know how to shift them, then you can run the Z400 all day long on any gear you want and it won’t complain. That's the nice thing with the water cooled, you don't have to be going full speed all day to keep the engine cool. But depending on the riding you do, you may or may not want to look into the Suzuki Accessories they make a Radiator scoop that helps scoop more air into the radiator, which will help keep it even cooler when you are doing allot of low speed riding.

 

Your Z is the '04, before they upgraded the suspension. I know it has preload adjustment, practically everything does, I was talking about compression adjustment, which I'm pretty sure it (the '05) has after looking at the shocks up close in the dealership the other day. I've been riding quads for probably about 9 years, and I have a banshee right now, so I'm not going to have any clutching problems. The banshee is also liquid cooled, but I would think that the shee's motor would heat up faster than the Z. Have you ever had any overheating problems with your Z? Theres a lot of upgrades (like those radiator scoops) that I would probably consider for the Z if I got one.

 

I have only had mine for 3 weeks. But with the wife driving around the yard in 2nd & 3rd gear for long periods of time, i have yet to notice any over heating problems. The radiator does have a fan that kicks on when it does get hot, but the fan is rearly on for more then a minute.

Its an awesome machine. I really wanted the '05 but i bought my '04 for $4499. I figured witht he money i saved it was worth it to miss out on the '05 goodies.


Trust Me, i went threw the same thing as you.. Which one to get? I myself was looking at the 350 Raptor. But i read reviews, all the reviews about the 350 Raptor said for about the same price get the Honda 400EX, its a way better ATV. So i started looking at the 400EX, and all the 400EX reviews said for the same price the Z400 was a better ATV. Then i went to the dealership and the Z400 was $4499. So with all that in mind, i brought home the Z400.

Your situation is a bit different then mine, but with all the information you've provided, i still think the Z400 is a good choice for you. As you said unlike the Honda 400Ex the Z400 is water cooled which will help you with the Low driving speeds, as well will the reverse help if you get in a tight corner.

The Raptor 350 doesn't have the power that the Z400 has, and you will want something with the torque and power. So it looks like your best choice is the Z400.

-ThaChad