Did you all honestly feel that the shootout winner was the Z400?They basically stated that the dale was faster and better handling,just costed more and only advanced riders were able to harness its abilities.On that note they made the Z the winner.I am not downing the Z,they are great quads.

Let's go to B.S. land for a minute.The Suzuki LT 80 vs Z400.

"They Z400 was much faster and handled awesome compared to the LT 80,but our young riders riders consistantly turned faster lap times on the 80.The 80 also costs less than the Z.The winner is the 80."

Dont jump down my throat now,I know the above is a little "out there"but isn;t this a similar way DW made the Z win over the dale.Be honest

 

I don't agree w/ some of it, but the Z's run well. It is an easier machine to ride and if you make a mistake the suspension won't jar you off the seat. I'm talking the average rider not a mx guy. The Z shifts better and is smoother. The Dale is for serious riding. I cannot gain on my Brothers Z when we race around in the dunes. I don't care what any drag race shows. Hard to believe, not for me, since I see it week in and week out...Haven't raced him on an mx track yet. We are equal riders...

 

Is the story posted on line or only in the mag?

 

The 80 vs 400 is niether,just madeup comparison usung DW's logic in the shootout they did with Z and dale.It is not meant to down any quad,just to make folks think really hard about the mags shootout winners.

 

I don't see a problem with the shootout. DW said several times that the Z was best all around machine. The Cannondale was best for racing. One of the truths in the world is that what works best for racing often does not work the best for day to day use. That is true in any venue.

The Cannondale is a nice quad but it costs a lot more, doesn't have reverse, and was not head and tails the Z for trail riding. That is why the Z won.

 

I believe very little of anything I read in the mags. Whatever is newest and hottest and has spent enough money in ads is going to be the hottest and best thing ever. As for the Z, we totally love ours! They're fast, nimble, forgiving and I can't get enough fourth gear wheelies.
peace

 

I think you have to take most of the mags with a grain of salt. However, the shootout was on the money. I ride with two Cannibals and one Speed and the performance is not worth $2000 and $3000 more than my $4954 OTD Z400. I have a pipe and they are stock but performance is equal with equal riders. I dont power from them and they dont power from me... At all. In the woods they and I feel like I have the advantage. Jumping, the Speed is the best. Reverse, Ease to Maintain, OTD Price, Company History and Aftermarket Parts Availability... (cough, cough) no comments.

But the fact is, If I still raced I would own a Blaze. No question.

 

I have not read the article but have read a lot of whining about the article.
Seams to me from all the posts I have read that the Z was actually faster with an average rider on it. It was only beat by the Cannondale with an Expert rider, and that would seam to prove the Z is a faster machine for 90% of the people that ride them.
Truth of the mater with the Expert title is, most think they are an expert, but unless a large sponser with lots of money has called you lately and asked if you would like to race on a team, YOUR NOT AN EXPERT.
Most fall in the moderate to novice group, and with those people the Z was faster. Not sure why there is so much whineing about that.
And thats before you throw in reverse, cost and the fact that most of them are weekend toys ridden on trails and in the dunes.
Unless the shoot out was titled "BEST MX SPORT QUAD - NOTHING ELSE MATTERS" Then the Z should have won.
I'm not Suzuki biased by any means, I've owned lots of Yamaha and Honda dirt bikes and quads. This is my first Suzuki dirt toy, but so far its about everything I could possibly want in a Sport quad.

 

I will read the reports and take some information from them, but I would NEVER buy a machine based on what a rag says. I see this everyday in the snowmobile world. Sure it is nice to have bragging rights, but that is all they are. Not to mention, when a rag puts you at the top everyone is gunning for you. There is no doubt a better rider could beat me through the woods (or on the track) with a 400EX. As soon as some one beats a guy like me on a Z the switchboards light up with "The Z sucks, I just killed one on the trail". Put the Z in a better rider's hands and the story is different. There are just too many variables for the rags to be totally unbiased. When I was looking for a quad I looked at the Raptor, the 400EX and the Z. The Raptor was too much money, the 400EX was $300 more then the Z here and the Z has more power, liquid cooling, and reverse. The choice was easy for me.

 

Nowdays it is seem to be very hard to be an overall winner of a shootout.Evey quad performs with superiority in some aspects and is inferior in others.I assume from all theposts I ve read that the dale is a little like a banshee,as far as having to be 100% in sync with the quad,vey little forgiveness.But since alot of us fall in the novice catagory,does not it seem logical that( magazine logic anyway) average joe would be able to run faster times on a very forgiving auto quad.No I am not saying a sport 400l is better or worse than a Z,I just have no doubts that the sport would out perform the z on a track with a "novice" rider at the helm of each one.Now as far an more experianced rider goes,I'm sure he would be able to harness the Z's superior suspension and handling and would run faster.I don't know why I care,It all boils down to what you want and are you willing to learn your quads strengths and weakness.Please don't start the polaris bashing,I am merely putting my thoughts and opinions out on shootout winners,and since the Z is new and on top of the world right now it makes for good examples on what to believe and what not to later.


98 Sport 400L
RCR pipe
HPD clutch
HSP 42mm flatside
V force delta reed cage
Wiseco piston
MY secret mod(You know you have have a sleeper to lull a raptor or shee into a drag)lol