im new to the yamaha forums but i post alot on hondas forums and right now i have a honda recon 250.....so, im 15 years old and ive had my quad for over a year now, and i have gained tons of expierence, seeing ive gone out almost every single day....and i think its time for me to get a bigger better quad so i was thinking 2wd/4wd, 400 cc and of course utility. i see the that yamaha has several different 400cc quads like the grizzly 400 which i like and the big bear, as well as 2006 kodiaks...so any input you guys might have for me would be great, also if one of those quads have optional front locking dif could you let me know...thanks a bunch...tyler

 

What kind of riding do you usually do? Faster paced riding, slow trail riding, tricky technical trails, mud, etc? I had a recon for 4 or 5 years myself, then moved up to my warrior. If you're looking to move up to something with better performance than your recon, the only quad in the 400cc class that I would even consider would be the older wolverine 350 4x4's (before they became automatics). Other than that, I would go straight to the big bores, because for the most part, the rest of the utes in the 400 class are just as heavy as the bigbores, with much less power, so you'll be getting minimal performance gains over your recon. I have a couple buddies with suzuki eiger 4x4 5 speeds, and they can't even hold against my brother's 250ex in a drag race, much less in the trails, and the recon's performance is only slightly behind the 250ex's. So I'd say most utes in the 400 class are only going to be about as quick your recon, but about 15mph higher top speed. The big bores (600cc+) only weigh slightly more than the 400 class machines, but with sooo much more power and features to work with. That's just my 2 cents.

 

well, i ride trails hard, and i do like mud and water and stuff like that, but im 5'9 and only 135 lbs so im pretty light but im am phsically fit, i just think a 600 would be to big for me and wouldnt even a 400 have more torque than the recon .. plus i really just want 4 wheeldrive

 

If you think a 600+ cc ute is going to too big for you, then most of the 400 class utes will also be too big. They're very similar in size and weight. I haven't rode many 400 class utes, but I rode the eigers enough to say that i'd much rather have a recon in most conditions because of how light and easy they are to throw around. The 400's are like tanks, and don't really have enough power to make them do what you want sometimes. It's nearly impossible to slide one around a corner or pop a wheelie over an obstacle. The 400 may be slightly faster in a straight line, but there's no way you're going to be able to ride one as fast as you can get a recon going through the trails. 400s and even the big bore utes have a tendency to be a very unstable, unforgiving, downright dangerous machines when you're riding them hard.

In my opinion, the older yamaha wolverines (i think 2005 was the last year) were the best sporty 4x4's ever made that are actually reasonably light compared to their competition. They have the same engine as the warrior so they have some get-up-and-go, they weigh less, and of course they have 4 wheel drive. They didn't come from the factory with selectable 4 wheel drive, but warn makes a device (think it's called the 424 select) that allows you to disengage the front wheels whenever you like.

 

yea ive heard of the warn 424. but i really couldnt tell you what i think of 400's and 600's because ive never ridden a 600 and ive only ridden a 350 rancher and a 350 big bear and also a 350 wolverine w/424, the wolverine i must admit was ok, however my friend beats it so i dont know what its really like, and yes i have to agree that they are big and heavy but if you have 424 and are in 2wd it can be pretty fun....also i do belive that the honda rancher is like 512 lbs or something and the recon is 400 only a 100 lb difference

 

one other question, your old recon, did it have a lift? and what size tires did you have on it

 

The recon was the stock height. I think the front tires were 22-7-11 Trail Wolfs and the rears were 22-11-9 Sur-Traks.

 

cool, mabye i really should just keep this quad and mod it

 

Sounds like a good plan. I really liked my recon, and hated to get rid of it, but I was to the point that it just wasn't enough power anymore to keep up with the other guys I was riding with, and because I was starting to get into mx. Recons are totally indestructible. I put barely any money into repairing mine in the time I had it, and it got beat pretty bad from everybody riding it.

Just a few simple bolt-ons can get the recon pretty nice. K&n filter, jet kit, slip-on exhaust, good tires, and you should be set up pretty good.

 

I would seriously recommend that you get a new quad... I have a 250 beartracker (similar to the recon) and have 25" ITP 589's in the rear! Yes i can go throught alot but still not pleased! If i were you i would do what i am about to do... I am going to get the 2007 big bear 400! it is perfect! comes STOCk with ITP mudlights winch mounts 3 way 4 wheel drive (2wd. 4wd. 4wd locked) and has no belt!!! yes the perfect mudding machine! of course i will have to get rid of the mud lights and put swamp lites on but the mudlights will hold me over for a while... But if your like me and love to ride the muddiest trails of all then i would sugest this! The good thing about no belt is you can go in deep water with no worries and if you do snorkle than only one pipe not 3 or more!