yeh i understand what u want. if you get a z400/kfx then u will have a lot more sporty feeling bike, it will be ok for you and/or your wife to handle. i think a banshee is a bit more specific bike, they're most at home on mx tracks. the 660r is a good choice, its like a z400 with a bit more umph lol. raptors are very cheap though now so i would get one of them. a 400ex may not be as sporty as you think, but would still do the trick and never die, i have raced one and they are pretty quick.

 

well my little bro has the z400 and it seems to hold it own on the trails and stuff..if you don't want a crazy amount of speed but something with a clutch i will have to stick with my warrior on this.i know by far it's not near as fast as most of the quads out there but it is a blast to ride and they are a dime a dozen almost every where you look there is always a warrior around.

 

yeh, they're nice bikes. erm i dont know jus how fast your utility quad will be, but im sure that a warrior will feel different, but in a good way.

 

Thanks for all of the replies, guys. Yeah, those KFX700s look really tough, but I don't want to spend that much for a new one and haven't found a used one for a reasonable price around here (didn't they just come out a few years ago?). The Brute is plenty fast for a utility quad - it'll do 69-70 mph and gets there pretty quick for a 600+ lb beast! My wife hasn't had it going anywhere near that fast; she mostly rides it around out through the woods. I think it would probably scare the crap out of her if she got it out on an open trail or dirt road and opened it up! I'll just keep looking at the ads for used sport quads around here, maybe go look at a few and report back here what I'm finding to see what you all think.

 

if u plan on buying a raptor 660, u need to look at the bike before u buy, look for bends in the plastics ( indicating its been fliped) and on some years i heard that the raptor has problems with clutchs and such... maybe someone else can be more define abou this subject. i was looking for a used quad for about a year , and u just never know what kind of things the other person has done to it, what stress on the parts,what was broke, whatever. i finally said screw the used, and bought a raptor 700. i LOVE my bike!

 

Yeah, I hear ya Derrick, that's what I ended up doing when I was looking for a 4x4 big bore. There weren't as many of those around used as there are sport quads anyways, plus the decent (but how do you REALLY know?) ones I found were only a $1000-1500 less than a brand new one so I finally pulled the trigger on a brand new Brute. I just can't shell out another $6-7K for one right now though. Like I said earlier, if I could, or maybe I should say if I knew my wife would REALLY get into riding, I would be thinking pretty seriously about a 700 Prairie. . . . . team green, of course! That 700 Raptor of yours has got to be one wicked machine though! Maybe if I win tomorrow night's Mega Millions drawing. . . . .

 

the warrior is a beast, and for more power if you drop it a tooth in the front it will have nice power

 

For what you are talking of doing, about the only sport quads that wouldn't work would be the 450 race quads and maybe the DS650 due to no reverse and size. Any of the 400 or open class quads will do fine, especially if the clutch doesn't scare you(and it shouldn't.) I would make reverse a priority if you are trailriding with the wife, as it has the potential for saving you some headaches later on. I wouldn't necessarily rule out a new quad either, as this is a good time of year for deals on '05s. I have seen 400EX's going for low to mid 4K the past few years new...