Well i finally got my Z400 and broke her in, i then went back to the dealership and a friend of mine (with MUCH more experience with atv's then me) went on a deserted piece of road and raced one of the mechanics on a Raptor. BTW both riders were of similar weight.

They both nailed it, Raptor pulled a wheelie, due to the gobs of low end torque, z400 got a great jump and got out in front. Raptor reeled in the z400 and at the top of 6th gear on the z400 was about one front wheel ahead!

No big surprise here, Raptor is faster, but harder to rider and keep the front end down.

I let a few of the sales guys ride around and they all liked the "controllability" of the z400 more than the Raptor.
They said where a raptor may wheelie coming out of a fast corner, the z400 would just pull hard in a predictable fashion. MUCH easier to do controlled rear end slides thru corners on the z400 than the raptor.

We also matched the quads for dimensions and the front of both quads sit about the same height and have the same width, the main difference is the angle of the front suspension, MUCH steeper on the z400.

At the rear the z400 sits lower and about 2 inches wider than the raptor.

My personal opinion...if you love gobs of power, and good handling buy the raptor, if you love great handling and good power, buy the z400. I know both machines can be modified to fix either issue, but i am comparing stock vs stock!

I may give the z400 to my wife and buy a raptor for myself and have the best of both worlds..[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

oops...i just reread my post and i made a mistake! At the top of 6th gear the RAPTOR was one wheel AHEAD! sorry[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

Thanks for the info. I have too ask how big of a lead the Z400 got when the Raptor rider wheelied and had too let off. What gear was the Raptor in when they let off?

 

I dont know because they were 'out of sight', but the Raptor pulled from behind and took the lead, so it definately is faster. They were both in 6th gear, but stopped at a specific point, had the race continued the raptor would have pulled away by even more. Hope this helps.

 

I thought the Raptor was a 5 speed...

 

Eq....the Raptor and Z400 are 5 speeds. Baaaahahahahaha

 

oops again..i'm too used to jap bikes, all the one's i have had have been 6 speed....they must have said top gear not sixth gear..[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-sad.gif[/img]

 

(maintaining composure) Yea....that was it. Enjoy your new Z400.

 

"Composure" from anger or laughter??..[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

Hate...