I think you guys are over-reacting a little. It looked to me like the Raptor had better acceleration, top speed, and maintenance ease; and the Suzuki had better handling, ergonomics, and cost less. On the road, the Z400 was better in the trails and on the track, the Raptor better in the dunes. Nothing surprising in any of that. But, two factors were considered especially important by the testers: trail-worthiness and price. The Suzuki was slightly better in both categories. The testers said that considering the price difference, the Suzuki was their pick. I'd say that's a pretty fair statement.

I think Raptors are very cool, but I'm a Suzuki guy. And just as you guys are don't care about the fact that yours costs more than my Z400, I wouldn't have cared if the new Suzuki cost $1000 more than Honda's 400 -- I'm still not going to ride Red.

Moto on.

 

lateapex pretty much summed it up for me. I ride deep woods where we stay under 4th gear 90% of the time. The Z will outhandle a Raptor on this terrain and there is no power difference between the two down that low and even if there was you couldn't use it on the Raptor because it would wheely to easy in the woods unless you lengthened the swingarm and done some other suspension mods. Both are good machines and I rode both in the conditions that I ride in and chose the one that worked for me. Oh and the 5099.00 price out the door wasn't bad either. And when my son gets to be around 13 and starts wanting to race MX and XC he will be on a Cannondale.

 

I think that the shoot-out was bunch of BS!!!The Raptor should've killed the Z! Oh well that's just my .02 cents!![img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

blaster19[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

 

I try and stay out of these but when I hear that ol Z out handles Raptors in the woods thing I have to jump in.

I ride the woods of the San Bernardino mountains. These are 99 miles of designated trails with half of that 50" wide. Trees, rocks, stumps coming out of nowhere with a few Rattlesnakes thrown in for good measure. My Raptor handles like a dream. Its smooth, turns great and powers out of the turns great. I know you didn't say this but, many have, where do people get off thinking the Raptor doesn't handle well in the woods?

 

OK guys here I go and it may get long but I am being honest.

More power = more skill to drive. I own a Raptor and have to say I probably would not smoke a Z simply because I cannot drive the Raptor to its limits. Most of us here are sport riders, not Professional (Paid) riders. I am sure all of us differ somewhat in our riding skill/capability, so it may not be unusual to here of a “Z beating a Raptor”, “Raptor beating a Cannondale”, “400EX beating a DS650”, so on and so on. Some of you have swapped driver and still had the same results. That may be so, the both of you being equally talented but could still use a little more skill/practice to handle the bigger quad.

Example: Racecar driver running at a local race track winning most of the races running in the same class for 5 years. Everybody assumes he is one hell of a driver until he moves up a couple of classes and then he cannot stay out of his own way. Get the picture.

Given the fact that the Raptor has more power than the Z and they are real close on all the specifications, you put a very talented driver on both the Raptor will win.

If this offends you, then you may need to look real close in the mirror for it is not meant to offend, just taken honestly.

 

DW Mag. is a joke. Their comparisions are a joke. The Z shouldn't even be put up against the Rap. Everyone knows the facts. The Raptor is faster, given. The z more comfortable, and lighter. Ok Both are good bikes for certain people. The Raptor for people who want to go fast and can handle a bike. The Z for people who want comfort and a lighter bike to load. Just be careful not to bend the frame.

And I will try not to tip over. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

 

When I first got my Raptor I thought it was tippy also. It's really not , it's a combination of wrong tire pressure, junk rear tires that hook up too much, and not knowing how to work the throttle properly. To say I can hang with my buddies 400ex, and z400 in the woods would be a lie! I don't hang with them I smoke'em. I might have to work harder at it but I'm the one in the front and if we see a staight stretch see ya I'm gone.

 

ClutchOlds,

You read me like a book. Those are exactly the reasons I bought the Z400: to be comfortable and have an easier time putting my quad away. I didn't want to go fast and can't handle a 4-wheeler. It's been great reasoning with you.

 

It is a given that DW is a joke. A couple years ago they could find no fault with the Raptor, and a couple years before that the 400EX could do no wrong. Just wait a couple more months and they'll be writing how the Predator is the best of all of them. Then all of a sudden the Z400 becomes underpowered, bottoms out too easily, etc, etc. Every knows how it goes.

There are ATV mags out there with creative articles, honest unbiased comparisons, and correct spelling and grammar. Unfortunately, Dirtwheels is not it!!!

 

hey lateapex im from fedway matbe we can ride are easy loading underpowerd zs sometime[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]