ATV RIder Magazine answered your question in its December 400 class shootout. And the Winner is - Honda 400AT - not commanding in any "one" category - but good in every category! But they are all good bikes. I did find it interesting that they "dissed" the Kodiak 400 in favor of the bigger 450, which should really go against the 500 class.

 

Hello,
I have got just about 2600 miles on my 03 AC 400. Had pretty well no problems (just had to replace 2 cv boots because I poked them in the buck brush). I would buy another one any day...
cheers

 

try 24000 km on a 400 kvf 98... now that's something too bad Kawi went to the 360. I feel the 400 kawi was the best 400cc however I had a chance to ride the kodie 450 and liked it very much.

 

my old 350 Fourtrax has over 20000 miles with very little down time but the engine is now totally worn out and the ride was so rough that I kind of don't wanna rebuild it...lol.

 

"Rotax engines are in BMW, Aprilla, and ATK motorcycles not to mention they are the only engines that were approved by the US military for our flying drones."

Not true.... IAI's Pioneer short range UAV uses a Sachs motor and the Hunter UAV has two Moto-Guzzi 750 powerplants with milli heads. (UAV = Unmanned Aerial Vehicle)
[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

kckcjam, they also used to put the 350 Rancher in the 400 shootouts, and it is only 329cc. It actually faired quite well. And surprising enough, it wasn't the slowest either. That award goes to the SP 400 every time.

"Rotax engines are in BMW, Aprilla, and ATK motorcycles not to mention they are the only engines that were approved by the US military for our flying drones."

Lincoln put a BMW Diesel engine in their MK VI too, not a good car. Winnebago put a Peugeot 4 cylinder turbo diesel in some of their smaller motor homes. Not a good motorhome. You could also get that same Peugeot 4 cylinder turbo diesel in a Jeep Cherokee in 1985 or 86, not a good jeep.

Putting a Rotax engine in an ATV does not make it a good ATV. It makes an ATV with a good engine.

I don't have a 400cc quad, but if I bought one I am sure it would be the best one out there.

 

I had to join this site just to put my .02 in on this....

The looks of the Outlander are a matter of taste... I think just about all the other quads look the same... I wanted to get a quad that was different....I did a lot of looking and test riding and bought a outlander...

I have had it now for 8 months and couldnt be happier with my decision.

I hang in there with a Kfx700 Vforce and a 660 raptor without a problem on the trails and they only pull away on the long straits... and I paid almost 2000 less US for mine when you figure in the sales tax etc... both of thier quad are new and now out of warrenty... mine still has about 2.5 years left...

And honestly, I have had several problems --- but that is expected on a brand new model with anything (obviously)... and I knew bombardier is excellent for customer service (ski-doo etc)... and everything has been fixed in a timely manner at no cost to me...

As far as against other 400's forget it... my brother in law has a 400 rancher at and that cant hang with my lander on any obsticle that we have found... except that his came with a winch and I havent found the extra money to put one on mine yet...and its noplace near as comfy to ride on at high speeds on rough trails..

I would say this... hondas are probally the most reliable machine out there and I am not knocking them... but after 20 years of making the motor etc with barely any changes to their equipment it should be reliable...

As far as "change" ---change is good....otherwise we still would be driving the model A fords from the 30's? right... why not?? because there was a better idea...-- somebody thought outside the box... etc.etc. you get my point... and the banshees that yamaha makes are awesome... but they havent changed those ugly things in near 20 years either... and they are ugly too... personally I like the look of my outy.. even if you think it looks like a power wheel... I like it... I might think your wife is ugly [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

as far as toughness I put my lander off a 20 ft cliff (I luckily was ok) and the only non-scratch damage was a bent a-arm knuckle and rim and strut... Im sure with the tubular frame on other quads there wouldve been irrepairable damage but the way the outy frame is built just had to unbolt the old and bolt on the new...and its as good as new.. that is tough.

The posts were supposed to be about what 400cc class is the best. The outlander is best by far.. if you disagree you have been misinformed... Its also sportier than the other utility quads and can hang with the best even of the big bores.. cant wait till they put a bigger motor in them next year...


You people appear to be bickering about looks etc- I dont care how my quad looks--- im not putting it in a car show Im riding it on the trail--- if you want to see how it would look to you (out on the trail) --- you would definately be looking at it from behind because the other 400's wont be passing me on any trail no matter how hard...

 

Well said Buffalobill, I totally agree. I love mine and the fact that a saved so much money compared to the big bores. The group I ride with are totally impressed with them. Two of them actually downsized from a Grizz 660 and a 650 Prarie to get Outlanders. They said they miss the power but can go faster on the Outlanders (technical and tight trails) due to it's handling, traction and stability. I read in another forum (ATV Fontier) that a guy raced his Outty against a 650 Rincon and beat him by 3 bikes up to 50 mph then the Rincon got him by 3 bikes from 50 to 57mph. Impressive! These are some good reasons Outlanders got 2 ATV of the year awards and win most shootouts. Did you here the latest rumors of a 500 HO being released first then a 800 V-twin fuel injected Outlander, WOW!!!!!! Starting to save now.

 

I think the Outander is also the "Best in Class".

 

I have heard the rumors about the big bore outlander--- I guess someplace they were talking about bombardier scrapping the 500HO... which I guess I can understand because it wouldnt be much different than the 400 and would only appeal to the same "group" of riders... and they opted to do a 700 v-twin EFI (Im still tossed up about the EFI...more high-tech usually means more bugs to work out...I see EFI on cars works - sure - but people usually dont put their cars 1/2 way in the water daily..and all them sensors and tons of mud and water hmm I dunno)

this is just what I have seen on some other forums..

Needless to say I need to stop thinking about mods and start saving for the extra its going to cost me for the 700 minus my trade in...

I think there will be many 03 and 04 used outlanders for sale if thats true and that 700 hits the market...

Im really only disapointed with the fact that with the 400 you cant do a wheelie without the clutch kit... I top out at about 60 and it takes a while to get there after 50... I would like to be able to pull an easy wheelie and have a maybe 70mph+ top end or so to keep up with my buds 700kfx if need be (not all the time... just to have it there when I want it)..to me that would make it worth it... and maybe some better/more agressive tires stock on it would be nice... (if you are paying 7k for something they should at least team up with a aftermarket tire manufacturer to get you some nice rubber)

I know my buddies Kawi Vforce came with holeshots (I think?) Stock... thats a nice perk..