I think the biggest reason they compare them is because its down right embarrassing that a little 400 can beat the 660 in the woods, beat it on the track, and only loses in a drag race by a small margine, much smaller margine then the 60% bigger engined Raptor should be able to do.
Add that to the fact that many Raptor owners bought the Raptor because it used to get all the rag fluffing, and it makes a good story.
I rode both before I bought the Z, which was also before I read any Rag fluff, and there was no way I was going to spend more on the Raptor. I think lots of people are making the same decision. This for some reason gets some of the Raptor boys all pisseed off. GET OVER IT!
Buy what you want, not what someone else tells you that you want.
If I ONLY rode in the dunes, the Raptor would have been a better quad for me. But I need a DO-ALL quad, not a DO-ONE quad.

 

Z better in the trails... I think not & if your talking MX track the Z is not the bike that would be a Cannondale. If you want to MX the Z your gonna need some mods engine & suspension. Go with the Raptor & never look back, unless you want to see that Z400 you were thinking about!

 

whats with all this complaining?? yes the raptor does have more power, everything else seems to be more up to the rider. if your bigger guy you might like a raptor because you have that extra grunt and you can muscle around that thing. if your a smaller person, your gonna want a Z for th easier handling. im 6'2 and almost 200lb, i personally didnt care for the soft suspension of the Z, i didnt have a chance to ride it, but by first impressions it wasnt what i was looking for, sure it would probably be nice for someone who just wants to lean a little and haul, but i think id take better to a raptor for racing. id probably gear to get a little less torque and it'd be nice

keeping the front end down can be changed pretty easily


PS: i am not biosed currently as i have not boughten my quad yet. im still calculating if i can save up that cash in time for the tech school next year

 

Hey Andrewtheman you should ride them both or you mite make a $1000 mistake you cant just sit on them and make a good decision the suspension needs to be adjusted to the rider PRELOAD COMPRESSION & REBOUND my RAPTOR was way to soft for me and my Z was way to hard for me you just mite like the RAPTOR I am 6” 185lab and I like my Z way more

 

well i may end up getting neither, because i have 1 year of school. making just a little over minimum wage about 7.25 thjats roughly 300 bucks every 2 weeks. in a year i dont know if i can afford it. see about 4 months after school ends im going off to a tech school for like 2 years. so i wont have time.... so i may end up getting some old used dirtbike, even thoughi want a 4wheeler

 

your joking right i make 7.15 a hr at a food place i am 19 and i jsut bought a brand new z 3 weeks ago. you can buy it know problem, my payments are like 200 a month and that isn't sh*T.


LTZ 400 - NERF BARS,pro armor skids coming soon!

 

with only one year to buy it in??

see, you have more then a year to buy yours, i have 1 year...which is my dilemma, also because i really want the 03' black and red raptor

 

why the raptor ? Do you want to spend the extra 1,000? Have you had a chance to ride both the z and the raptor ??

 

why you ask?

several reasons.

1. it can be made into a decent MX racer for not much money. amatuer atleast
2. im possitive i could muscle it around an MX track.
3. i plan to make it a desert racer after a little bit
4. does anyone make a turbo for a Z400/KTX???
5. if i wanna do MX more, id get a hooser chassis and build up a racer


but likely i wont get either...

 

Where are you coming up with this $1000 difference in the raptor and Z? thats insane. The price difference, if you are wise, will be about 200. The Z sells for around 5100 bucks around here and the raptor sells for 5300 so whats the big deal? Ride what ya like.