How reliable is the z400 anyone having any problems with them. Does the z have very much lowend for hillclimbing. does it have more or less than the 400ex. What about the limit on the stock front shocks how well do they hold up for jumping and agressive riding.

 

EX has more go slow low end. As far as climbing hills, this bike does all them with ease. And as far as problems with this machine, some people have bent axles, but not mine or my girl's. The motor is tried tested and true right outta the dirt bike, just with different cams and carb. It is an awesome all around machine, and right now, there isn't a single quad out there I'd trade it for. I jump the heck outta mine and have my shocks up front set to the second to stiffest setting and it seems to work real well. I weigh in at around 165 to 170. We love our Z's, if you can't tell.

 

Stock, the Z doesn't have as much low-end grunt as an EX, BUT $32 in mods and it won't be a problem.

I was out jumping this weekend on a dirt ramp. I got 2+ feet in the air and nothing bottomed out. My rear brake is squeaking significantly more, even though I barely used it,so I'm going to check the axle for bending *sigh*

 

i think the 400ex stock suspension is better or just the rear shock becuase stock for stock i like jumping the 400ex and in the whoops on my z the rear end really swings side to side, iv been told its cause the shock isnt the greatest but maybe its just me or the settings im at becuase it doesnt happen everytime. plus the whole 400ex quad sits lower so i think its a little less tippy in the turns. also the paint is chipping off my frame near the welds i dont know if its just a bad paintjob or the frame is stressing. my brake is also squeking in the rear as well. o yea and while im at it i think the spark plug is real paint in the *** to get to on the z and i like how the rear fender and seatcome off the ex. but for some reason i still like the z over the ex. the motor especially, but the are both great quads im tired of everyone hatin on the ex

 

me too. how come everyone is saying how great the z400 is and how its sooo much better than the 400Ex? frame, swingarm, a arms, rims, are all the same. the engine on the z is a little faster, but why do people think that maybe 3-4 mph is gonna make much diffrence on a track or in the woods. im sick of everyone dissing the ex cuz its supposedly "outdated"
who else feels the same way i do?

 

I just checked my plug for the first time and it's not that bad. From what I'd been reading online, it's a pain, but when I did it myself, had no problems and was painless. Ya wanna not hear people trash the ex, go check out ex-riders forum, the Z is constantly trash talked in there. That'll make ya feel better. The ex is a good bike, I just prefer having reverse and a 9,000 rpm redline with water cooling. It's also real easy to get real power out of this machine, and that means 50+ ponies. Heck, just with a CT Racing pipe+header adds 8 horsepower which just goes to show how technology makes it easier and cheaper to add ponies. I can't wait to see what honda brings out and if it has reverse, and all those people out there who are die hard ride red and against reverse just cause they ain't got it. Wanna see how long it takes them to change their minds on that issue.

 

dont get all offensive im just sayin dont hate on the 400ex cause in mx and xc it definetly holds its own. the only thing i hear you talking about the engine and trans. the honda engine is simple but also can take real beating and is very reliable along with most of everything on the ex exept the swingarm.
im starting to question the zs reliability just the other day the metal clip that holds the airbox bolt in place ripped right out of
the airbox now the airbox is hangin to one side, got a warped rotor, and the axles starting to look a little bent. stock rims get bent up real quik and everytime i ride it hard the plastics pop out around the gas tank and thos little black clips that hold the plastic break all the time.

 

I like the EX for trail riding (more low end grunt) and the Z for open country (more high end rev). On hillclimbs, because the Z likes to rev, I am sometimes spinning my wheels and wasting horsepower (but nothing like say a Banshee does). Where on the EX, the power is more "tractable" even though there is less of it. The stock shocks are pretty similar. I would pick the Z for jumping.

 

<< me too. how come everyone is saying how great the z400 is and how its sooo much better than the 400Ex? frame, swingarm, a arms, rims, are all the same. the engine on the z is a little faster, but why do people think that maybe 3-4 mph is gonna make much diffrence on a track or in the woods. im sick of everyone dissing the ex cuz its supposedly &quot;outdated&quot;
who else feels the same way i do? >>



AMEN!

 

In my opinion, the 400EX and Z are great 4-wheelers. The EX has to be awesome for Suzuki to want it's frame geometry for their newest hi-performance quad. All Suzuki really did was put in a more powerful motor, new Raptor-ish plastic, and Raptor tires. And by copying partsfrom the 400EX and Raptor (before the Z, the2 best quads available in my opinion) and made the new high mark for an ALL-around sport quad. Without the EX and Raptor the Z probbly wouldn't have come to be. So, I believe the old saying is true, imitation is the best form of flatery. I myself would LOVE to have any 3 of these, but the Raptor is too expensive. The Z is what I want most except that now I am hearing a lot of complaints about things going wrong which will happen on 1st year machines. The EX is the one that as of right now I would pick because of reliability, and if the dropped the price a few hundred dollars it would be the machine for me. I will wait until they get all the kinks out of the Z and I will probably get that though.