Sure you would beat them all [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

The 400ex is nothing more than an old design from the late eighties with an overweight 2 valve engine and big ole heavy frame, and sad suspension, oh wait thats the warrior LMFAO

Hey I am busting (its easy when people are being unrealistic) but as much as I can understand wanting to make what ever machine you happen to own now better or faster etc there is a limit to what is worth the effort.

Like would anyone be doing this (work or posting a thread etc) if they owned a 90? Would you want to waste money onthe 90 trying to make it better than a yfz or 450R?

If your intentions are beating a piped 400ex then you should consider finding a new dream or goal since there are much faster models out now, and either way I would suggest you use a different model to modify etc as you are at too much of a disadvantage up front with the warrior (I have owned both of them and its not secret how much better the 400ex is compared to the warrior in most every aspect).

Hope that didnt come across too harsh but I am really starting to feel bad for the many riders I see trying to make the old school warrior (and even the one with the new plastics) into a machine that can "beat" the newer stuff, and these guys are throwing out some serious $$ too.

If you want to really be able to see some serious results from your investment try and consider a more current model to work with. I dont think many would argue that it would be better in the long run to invest that $$$ into the 400ex so many are trying to beat or a Z400 or other similar model that can be had used for a great price.

Just saw a bunch of 400's (honda and zuki) for sale recently with all kinds of mods and a couple even had suspension and all were between $2500 and $4000 and with the $$$ one could gain from selling their current quad it would be less expensive in the long run to just trade up than mod the life out of the warrior.

Just my .02 but being I am a current owner of the next obsolete quad (and the last one too lol) I can relate to this very well.

 

The warrior can beat 440EXs and 400s it just takes more money; often the person who wins is just that - the more wealthy person. I'm about $3,600.00 into my warrior and I can beat 440EXs. Really the 440 kit for the EX adds more torque then anything; the person I ride with all the time has a 440EX this is how I know. Some people say warrior owners throw a crazy amount of money into their quads (yea we do lol) but I don't know I like my warrior and I like to ride and it just comes down to that.

 

that's true i just like spending money on my warrior i spend about 3000 dollars on it and i just like to drive it and it's yamaha i'll bet ya a warrior is better in the snow then a 400 ex

1999 yamaha warrior
dyno jet kit
dg bumper
dg nerf bars
dg baja skidplates
itp mudlite tires
cobra megaphone exhaust
mbrp powertech 4 header
shock covers
3 ich wheels spacer
k&n air filter

 

Dont forget not all 440's are done right and thanks to wiseco and JE many are not making much more than 9:1 compression. Point is everything is relative and I have seen mostly stock 400's (intake and pipe etc) out accelerate 440's. I know from the one I have and how totally wrong the engine was set up when I got it that there are some simple mistakes that will cause that to happen, but they do happen.

Also please tell me you dont have $3600 into the engine alone. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

[quote]
Originally posted by: mywarriorripps
i think a warrior could keep up with the 400ex if it has a couple of modifications but the 400ex is really light but not as reliable as the warrior

400ex less reliable than a warrior? NO WAY...Honda reliability.

Thou this is a Yamaha forum, therefore there are going to be many biased opinions. In no way his the Warrior a hardcore MX bike, more of a trails, play bike. Throwing such money into this machine is not worth it, even to try and beat another trails bike. For the money being spent on your warrior, you could sell it and upgrade to a bigger bike, such as a 660 Raptor. Now when you get bored of this modified warrior, good luck selling it. Personally if i am looking for a used anything, I look for something stock. Modified bikes are harder to sell because most people arent sure if the modifications where done right, and wondering if they buy this bike is it going to be nothing more than a headache. The money you spend on your warrior, you will never see a return on, and end up losing money in the long run when you do eventually upgrade, but enough about that. Warrior is a dated bike with dated suspension. The 400ex is a newer bike with newer suspension. You can have all the motor you want, but with bad suspension your going to beat yourself to death on it. Good luck racing the 400ex tho!

 

Why not spend 3600 bucks on Warrior mods? Yeah, it might not be able to beat your modded up 400ex's but thats not the point. Anyone who spends that much money on their ATV knows they could just buy a faster quad. Maybe they just got tired of fact we can buy an 89' shee and walk all over you or pick up a new 05 YFZ and do the same.

I believe Yamaha has a rich history of standing behind their designs and letting time show the true winner. That winner is not always based on races, its based on pride and solid engineering. Before computer designed engines and frames, before hundreds of after-market parts, the Warrior was there and it's still here. It's something you might not understand with the 400EX around for only 6 years.

 

Heavy frame?! The stock steel swingarm and carrier make up most of the unwanted weight. Even if the frame is that much heavier at least a 20mph impact on the arm wont rip the arms off like on a z or other models, I've experienced that one before, only a minor tweak in the frame as a result and still perfectly rideable. My friend did the same and ripped the arms and brackets right off the frame. Maybe not as fast as some of the new models, but the warrior sure can turn much sharper!

 

I hope you guys defending the warrior are trying to convince the others of your points and not yourselves [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

Lets not forget that the very title of this thread is pitting one atv against another, and most all the posts I have read that were not 100% positive towards the warrior or its ability to compete against the EX were mostly accurate and not an attack on the posters or the atv itself. The points made on the dated design of the warrior and how that hurts its performance seem to be done in more of a helpfull or concerned way etc.

Well I kind of thought that the question of if a warrior could beat a modded EX actually was the question or point.

I know for a fact that I could build a faster racer (xc or mx etc) from the YFZ but I would have to argue on the banshee though. If that were true we would have seen more of those screaming twin cylinder 2 strokes in the winners circle.

I didnt see anyone question the longevity of the warrior, and to me at least its a well built and fun to ride machine, but by design alone it has many limitations when modding it for race use and will not respond as well to those mods as other models would. That doesnt make it a bad quad or even a bad design, and it just makes it less desirable to invest in making it a racer.

The warrior has been yamahas largest selling atv for a reason, and thats a combination of features and peformance that are attractive to a large group of riders. The yfz's and 450r's may be all the talk today but in the long run there are many more non racers and riders looking for a more reliable and lower maint model with reasonable performance but more of a util or better rounded usability etc. You have to remember though there were a lot fewer choices before the 400ex sparked the sport market back into existence there were still other choices beyond the warrior, but the model still out sold them.

Maybe because the warrior was the first atv I had owned and was what I rode when I learned both how to ride and even wrench these things I hold it in a different light than many others, but that experience did allow me to learn most everything about it too. I have to admit that it never let me down and got me where I wanted it too, but I also can not even begin to compare it performance wise to the 400ex that replaced it.

There just not made or designed the same and though both are good quads that will "do the job" when the job is racing one just does it better. No shame in that and when you consider they were designed at different times for a different market etc its pretty simple to understand why there different.

So enjoy the warrior and even modding it as it will respond well to many different mods, but dont waste your energy be fanatical and trying to out do one certain model from another mfg as there are just other things you would be better focusing on.

Cant think of how else to put it and hope you can grasp onto what I am trying to say and understand this isnt brand biased at all, but just what I have learned and truely believe.

 

First off, jetting isnt a mod, jetting is something you do to make it run right so look forward to doing it all over again. Not to mention how well its done could subtract 10% or more from your gains, or possibly make it run hot or even melt. Will you be able to beat a piped 400ex? maybe. Keep up?, probably. If you do manage to beat one though it will only be on top end, they will still have more torque and midrange so they will be faster in everything except drag races, unless you work your tail off with the shifting.