Not all of us have the $$$$ to be able to afford the more expensive quads, and to modify the crap out of them, which is why Yamaha continues to make the cheaper priced WARRIOR, and which is why it remains one of thier best sellers. People view the Warror as a reliable machine and it has proved itself over the years. Alot of people who have had bad experiences with thiers, usually thier own fault, like to knock on them, and say they're crap. Its a great starter quad, and definately not the fastest, but we'll see how many of the current models will still run like a top in 16 years like my Warrior does.

P.S. MR350X- There must be something wrong with either you or your buddies Warrior, Because it takes little effort to get mine up.

 

Yeah, people pick on warriors alot. But its been Yamaha's best seller for years (that could have changed recently). I had a warrior and it was nearly indestructable. I liked it. But after riding a 250x/300EX, the handling of the warrior wasnt as good. A warrior tires the rider out faster b/c of the front heavy weight bias. Yamaha tried to fix this on the '90 model - they moved the engine back in the frame a few inches. It helped, but it didnt solve the problem totally. I agree with the other dude on here - I think if yamaha bumped it up to more engine and adjusted the frame a little, they would have a great trail machine! They were the first bike (1987) to have a reverse you can use in any gear.

 

A Chevelle is an old car but everyone loves them. It's not the same situation, but it is similar. Heck, if they would just give it a bigger engine, perhaps a DOHC 4-valve like everyone else [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img] and move it back a ways, the frame seems just fine to me.

 

I think that I can be fairly objective since I own a Warrior, but have knocked it on this forum before.

My experience with my Warrior has been hot and cold. When the bike was new to me, I thought it was the greatest thing ever. A lot of this had to do with the fact that I hadn't ridden much else in ten years. When my buddy got a 300EX, my Warrior felt large and clumsy by comparison, but much more powerful so I still felt pretty good about it.

My Warrior has had a lot of mechanical problems and has let me down five times in a row (ending or shortening rides with friends which is both aggravating and embarassing). This has led me to dislike the "reliability" of my bike. Not all Warriors in general, just my particular Warrior has had poor reliability.

Now that I have a V Force, the Warrior feels like a really clumsy, slow uninteresting quad by comparison.

What this all means is that my attitude towards the bike has changed over time and yours probably will to as you move on to better machines. That does not mean that the Warrior is not a good bike. It is. My bud has a brand new one and can go virtually anywhere my V Force can go and it cost much less. Just not as much fun in my opinion.

Ride what you like and don't lose any sleep over someone else's opinion.

 

I have owned a 97 Warrior and had a great time on it except when power is really needed like in the dunes or cinders. When you look at what you can buy these days for near the same price, the 400ex and Suzuki 400, the Warrior is not up to the same calibur of either of these two machines. The power and suspension are not up to the competition. The warrior could also go on a diet. Regarding reliability, I can speak from personal experience. I had carburation problems with the warrior, the frame split in several places (not from crashing) $500 to repair, neutral switch consistently went out, and its air-cooled requiring more frequent oil changes because of hotter engine temps. I own a 400 ex and Raptor. If the 400 ex or Raptor were out when I was considering buying a warrior, I would never have been a Warrior owner. Im glad you like your Warrior but a simple review of features, performance, and handling clearly shows how Yamaha does not update a machine over time, be it the Warrior or Banshee.

 

I personally like the warrior even though I've never owned one. As far as people saying it's the same quad as it was years ago so is the 300ex. Yamaha did change the warrior somewhat this year. A little atv range here where I live sponsored a trail race (crosscountry) it wasn't a real long race anyways I didn't know about it or I would have entered. It was $15 a person and I think first place got like $500 a pretty good little chunk of spending money. Well a 18 year old kid on a warrior won it. I'm not sure who all entered but I know there was a 400ex and a banshee and a bunch of sport utility quads. I guess this kid was a pretty good rider but hey the warrior was representin down here that day, peace.

 

Well, they did lower the price now, so you cant complain it isint competetive with the competition. Since it undercuts them on price by alot now.

 

I have ridden 300ex's 400ex's, sure they handle better and have more power but i will throw down some cash on mine against just about any 300ex and a stock 400. People come ride at our flattrack we made, and ive had a couple guys look and kinda laugh at me before we started the race..... all i got to say is they wuznt laughin when i passed them on the outside of the corner ..... I think warriors are great, you just have to be good enough to ride one. People buy 400ex's and such but im kickin there a$$ on a 1988 warrior...... I think it has alot to do with the rider myself..........

 

You just have to take the Warrior for what it is and no more. Its not made to outrun the bigger quads, its not setup to run MX with a 400ex. Its just faster than utilities and sportier, with a pretty solid engine for reliability. Kind of an inbetweener or something. I don't know why it gets knocked either, and I sure don't know how the 300EX beat it out in the shootout a few years ago. It practically smoked the 300ex in every category and then lost. Didn't make sense.

Warrior has been a solid quad, still around since 87. Not too expensive either for what you get with it.

 

yes the warrior needs more power,but i couldn't afford a new quad so i modified mine a little at a time and ended up with a warrior that will easily smoke a 400ex, as far as reliability goes the only problem ive had is a blown rear shock. ive owned it since 1995 and love it !!!