I put my deposit on 2 z 400 2 weeks ago at competion motorsports they said it would be here by the first of may the only thing that bothers me is why haven`t the magazines had a test ride yet? Normally they have several test rides before the release so is suzuki gonna give them to the public before the mags?

 

I sorta wonder the same thing. I can tell you this, I've got a friend who just talked to Allen Knowles. They've already got a Z400 in their shop as we speak. The word from him is that they dynoed it at 33hp (about 2hp more than they're stock 400) and it handles as well as a 400EX. The real question to this whole equation is how reliable it's going to be. That's what I'm more concerned about.

 

Buh-huh.. OH, I see.. You own a Raptor. that explains it.

 

I guess I should update my sig. I USED to own a Raptor, I sold it several months ago. While it never gave me any problems I got rid of it before it had a chance to.

 

I don't mean any harm, Its just Im tired of hearing smack from Raptor owners who are worried the Z400 might be competition. The only bad stuff I hear about the Z are from guys with Nick's like JoeBob660R, or Raptorific, etc.. I just wish they'd all stay in the Yami room Instead of trying to start bad rumours. Like that bull about the Z making 2hp more than a 400ex, whatever. Nobody has dyno'd it yet, and even if they have, I have a hard time believing almost Identical numbers to a honda motor from suzuki.

 

I'm as optomistic as the next guy about the Z. I've owned 4 LT250R's and 2 LT230S's so I'm a Suzuki man through and through. I'm not worried about the Z being competition for anything, I'm just glad that Zuk is back in the market.

As far as those dyno numbers, those are straight from Allen Knowles (owner of CT Racing). They've got a Z in their shop right now that they're developing aftermarket parts for. You can believe them or not, that's what CT is saying the bike is putting out on their dyno in 100% stock trim. Remember, the Z is only running the 11:1 compression, not the 12.2:1 of the other DRZ motor. We knew they were going to neuter the engine some when they made it for the quad (don't all manufacturers?). I'm just relaying information that I've acquired about the Z.

 

I just don't buy it. Suzuki outdoes Honda(ecspecially here lately) in the power department in everthing they make.. I just got out of streetbikes, and Honda was always the "running joke" when it came to power. Like the Suzuki 750, that STILL makes more power than Hondas revised, revised, and then some more,, (900rr, 918rr,929 and now 954rr) Liter class bike. Honda can't even compete with its own class (GSXR1000, R1). I Find it to be depressing. I just assume it will be the same way with quads, I guess I could be wrong.. Honda has already proven my point with the 400ex. A great quad, but its just like their streetbikes, when compared to others in its class, it looks PATHETIC. Don't flame me Honda fans, I recently bought a Honda(for the g/f), high quality, dependable stuff, but just not up to par when it comes to performance.

 

binfordw,

Why don't you call up Allen Knowles of CT before you starting spewing an uninformed opinion. Allen Knowles has no reason to lie and he does have a dyno. If he said that he dynoed the Z-400 at 33hp, I don't doubt it. He dynoed the Raptor right after it came out and it only made 35hp stock. Also remember that his shop is based out of California, so that is probably a choked down engine (just like the California Raptor). So, these numbers are realistic, and you have to remember that these are peak HP figures. Who knows how strong the low and mid range are on the Z-400. I'm guessing that if they dropped the peak HP numbers in favor of torque, this DR-Z based engine is going to rip!!!

 

Its not an uniformed opinion if They dynoed a stock 400ex at 31hp. So youre saying, on the SAME dyno, a ex went 31hp, a raptor 35, and the z400 33..????

 

binford, don't kill the messenger. I repeat, I'm just trying to relay information that I've gained about the Z400 to others that may be interested. As Alaska said, you can call CT Racing and argue with them if you're not happy with the dyno results. 33hp does sound a little lower than I would've liked to see from the Z but maybe they did shave some peak HP in favor of more torque or a flatter torque curve. I just hope Suzuki quits dragging it's a$$ and gets these bikes to the public.