Okay, well i posted this to help somebody to decide what kind of quad they wanted and it took me so long and i went into so much detail that i thought it might help somebody else. we get tons of questions about bike comparisons that this post might answer. anyway, here it is, i hope you like it, and if you disagree with it, either tell me and ill fix it, or write your own encyclopedia.

HONDA

250R - Very fast bike when modded. A little overrated unless pretty heavily modified. great drag bike, mxer, or duner. very large aftermarket. they were discontinued in the very early 90's.

average rider - 18-25, moderate to high levels of riding experience. usually used for drags or even more often for mx.

450R - its a fast bike, its designed for motocross, to compete with yamaha's yfz450. good handling, slightly more comfortable seating than a yfz, also slightly less powerful. meant for mxers but isnt a bad dune or trail bike.

average rider - 20-30, moderate to high levels of riding experience.

400ex - moderately fast, designed for trails, its a very nimble bike and will run faster lap times in trails against larger displacement bikes due to its handling. not a bad duner, although slightly underpowered. commonly modified for either mx or dunes. it can be a good sport bike or a good transition to a more powerful bike.

average rider - 14-25, low to medium levels of riding experience. okay duner, good mxer, very good trail bike.


KAWASAKI

KFX700 - fast on top end, supposedly good acceleration (i dont know for sure). 700cc twin 4-stroke. very torquey, very powerful, its a good full size bike for someone who doesnt want to or hasn't learned to use a manual transmission. Good bike for someone who just wants a cruiser to keep up with friends who have more experience. Great cruiser in the dunes, okay in trails but can get iffy in tight trails because its a very tall and wide bike.

average rider - 25-40, 0 to medium levels of riding experience, with the exception of a very experienced rider who is just tired of a manual tranny.


SUZUKI

LTZ400 - pretty fast, slightly faster than an ex, built to tap into the mid sized sport quad market that the 400ex had saturated for years. benefits over ex include reverse, more power, and slightly higher top speed. Better duner than an ex because of the power, good jumper that can be used as an mxer if properly set up. well balanced and suited for stunts and tricks. many people just getting into the atv scene get an ltz as a first bike. (kawasaki and artic cat have LTZ400 clones, the KFX400 and DVX400, basically an ltz with different plastic.)

average rider - 20-30, 0 to medium levels of riding experience. dunes, trails, tricks, mx. sort of a jack-of-all-trades.


POLARIS

Predator - quite fast, not up to par with banshees and raptors, but close. during the first year of production there was a problem with notchy shifting, but to my knowledge that has been fixed in the newer models. they are pretty powerful because of the 500cc engine, but they lose a bit of quickness because they weigh substantially more than they need to. the plastic is a little weird, theres a point that meets up on the tank that theres a gap and an edge of some of the plastic rubs on riders knees, a little annoying. its kinda low and wide, ready to be modded into being an mx bike, or into a very stable duner. a design with the way the steering stems are set up eliminates bump steer, one of its pro's.

average rider - 25-35, low to medium levels of experience, or medium to high if its bought by someone for the sole purpose of mxing. okay duner, okay trail bike, good mxer.


YAMAHA

Raptor - Very fast, designed for a slightly larger rider. Comfy ride, but the suspension is a little too soft for jumping anything too big. great dune cruiser, and with certain mods it can be made into a very fast dune shredder, where it gets worked hard and climbs the steepest hill you can point it at. also a good dragster when modded right. very torquey, handles nicely, but a little top heavy and tends to roll up on two wheels in a corner if you turn too sharp at high speeds. Some of the earlier years have had major transmission problems that can be a big hassle, but the newer ones dont seem to have any major problems.

average rider - 25-40, medium to high levels of riding experience, some younger kids get them as well, (14-18) but usually with substantial experience on another atv prior to the raptor. okay mxer if modded right, better duner, good trail bike.

Banshee - Extremely fast, king of the dunes. more modifiable than any other bike with the exception of a 250R. Very powerful, probably the most powerful quad when modded to its limit. some kits available offer over 100 hp. a very tempermental engine, as expected from a 2-stroke. on/off powerband. screaming top end. THE dune shredder. not well suited in trails though, because its geared very high and requires a lot of clutch work and high rpms to extract the right kind of power to move slowly.

average rider - 18-30, medium to high levels of riding experience. can be modded for mx, drags, or dunes. of all the bikes you can buy new today, a banshee is probably the one that requires the most attention to be ridden safely.

YFZ450 - very powerful, very lightweight. nimble handling and leaves the ground like it was a plane. best power to weight ratio that i know of in an unmodded bike. made for mx, great in dunes. top speed is close to rappy and shee, holeshot is unstoppable compared to any other stocker. suspension is set up a little too stiff for recreational riders, but it can be tuned. the seat is made for mx and isnt particularly comfortable for long rides. a good sized aftermarket is already emerging.

average rider - 20-30, medium to high levels of riding experience. made for mx, great duner and amazing jumper.

Blaster - Very fun, but slightly small for a rider in the area of 6' tall. very powerful for the size, blows away its competitors in power and speed (250ex, LTZ250, Mojave, etc.). tons of fun to use as a trick bike, pretty good balance, and if its not too small for you, it can be a great bike for a long time. perfect introduction to a larger sport quad, especially a banshee. great bang for the buck since its only 3200 brand new. can be modified pretty well, and is a good small duner and trail bike (dry, fast trails).

average rider - 10-16, 0 to medium levels of riding experience. duner, trail bike, tricks, and there is even a special racing class specificaly for the blaster.

 

Very cool, though I think you missed a few sport quads. Such as the 300EX, 250EX, LTZ250, Mojave, and Warrior, could include Raptor 350 in its place, but they just came out I guess.