I'm looking into buying a sport quad this summer. The reason being is the same camp I have for snowmobiling has an over abundance of seasonal roads and trails that you can use a fourwheeler on as well.

The reason I'm going sport quad is because I have all the other bases covered. My dad has a Ranger XP, I have a Sportsman 700. Both great, but I want something a little more aggressive and a little quicker. Following the true bombing tradition, I want something with a decent aftermarket following.

There seems to be so many good sport ATV's out there, that I don't know which to use. I do know it must be a manual, must be 4 stroke, and must be 2wd.

I've narrowed my choices to:
DS 650
Raptor 660/700
Honda 450R
YZF450
Polaris Predator/Outlaw

Doesn't necessarily need to be new, used is OK with me as well. Does anyone have any hands on experiences and recommendations? I've always had pretty good luck with polaris, but I don't really see the big differences between the Predator and Outlaw.

Thanks guys,
Shawn

 

Get the Raptor 700, my buddy has one that he lets me ride every once in awhile. Fast and a lot of power. I have a 07 350 raptor that I want to sell so I can buy a 700 lol.

 

Hey Shawn,
I'm partial to Honda's and Yamaha's. I’ve owned many over the years including bikes, three wheelers and quads. I still have a 1996 Honda 300ex and spank the dirt off my buddies that ride early 2000 400ex's, I believe it comes down to your riding ability. Any one of the units you've listed cost a pretty penny; I can only tell you that my Honda's and Yamaha's have never let me down. One thing I wish I had was a dual starting capability, i.e. kick start AND electric start. It's just a matter of time until the battery goes when I need it most! As far as the "after market", most have a great deal out there. Hope this helps in some way, ride safe.

 

Well, I've been riding since I could walk and like you have owned just about everything there is. I could attempt to buy and sell until I found one I was really happy with, but like you said all of those listed cost a pretty penny. Not exactly cost effective to play that game

I'm a big fan of Yamaha and Honda as well, thought my 700 has walked away from both 300 and 400 EX's If I were to go honda, it would definitely be a 450R.

Thanks for the input so far guys, keep em' coming!

 

Oh yea, the 700's are fuel injection which is very nice. My buddy has no problem starting his up in the cold.

 

stay away from the ds 650, it is too big and heavy. the yfz450 will still be faster and quicker than the raptor 700. since you listed the 450 you won't be happy with the 660. the polaris stuff is still too heavy. when they can get the weight down they will be worth the purchase. i have owned nothing but yamaha. but that doesn't make me biased.
oh, you forgot to list the lt450r suzuki. it is also a really good quad and i would have got one when it came out if it wasn't wider than my yfz450.
i have friends that have all the quads you listed and more. so while i may n ot have owned them i have ridden them and witnessed the reliability with them all.
i haven't been riding since i was 5, but i am 42 and have been riding for about 20 years. i ride everywhere from the dunes to the mountains to the track.

 

Have you ever lined up your 450 with a 700? I find it hard to believe its quicker and faster than a 700. The 700 went to a drag strip in the area and beat every quad there.

 

Everything you have listed is a great machine. A couple things to think abought are what are you going to be doing with it? Are the trails openand wide or tite and narow? Will reverse be an isue? Are the trails fast or slow? I have had a few machines over the last 5 years and currently have a 700 Raptor. My past machines where a 400ex and a DS650. If the trails are wide and fast and particularly rough look at the DS650. The suspension on the DS is second to none in the rough stuff. There where plenty of times while riding with budides on what were suposed to be faster machines could not ride as fast as I could because they where getting thrown around to much. The one draw back is that in tite woods they have no revurse. Personaly I have only ridden one 450 honda and while it was impresive it did not strike me as a great trail machine. It is more at home on the mx track. The suspension is afwull stiff and the seat is like a board. I would not want to be on one for a days worth of trail riding. The YFZ is a little better but still more of a MXer. A lot of people do trail ride them but that is not there intended use. A few budies have them and they are wicked fast and fun to ride but again would not want to be on one all day trail riding. As far as the past coment abought the YFZ beeing faster than the 700 Raptor that is partaly true. There is one guy who has a modded YFZ that I can beat in a drag race every time on my bone stock Raptor. Then ther is anoughter budie who has a mildly modded YFZ that is wicked fast. I cant even come close to him. It all depends on the rider. Personaly if I where buying a trail machine I would be looking at the 700 Raptor, Z400, Posobly the Ds650 if the trails are wide and rough and The Kawisaki version of the Z400. As far as aftermarket following they all have that so get the one you want and then start looking for the mods. They all have a great aftermarket so that is not an isue even on the DS650.

 

Trails are a combination of everything really. There's some tight wooded trails I ride, and there is A LOT of seasonal roads. Some rail road beds which are pretty rock and bumpy. Being able to ride the fourwheeler all day and not being totally uncomfortable is a big thing too. I'm defnitely looking for something very quick, and for some reason I just wasn't very impressed with my neighbors Z400. His brothers 450R however seemed like a rocket.

 

yes i have, do it every time we are at the dunes. either the oregon dunes or glamis, ca.
as it was said i an earlier post.... alot comes down to the rider not the machine. i have alot of experience at drag racing. been doing since 89 when i got the banshee. you don't ride/race a 510cc banshee if you don't know how to ride. remember this, there is always someone faster than you and they may have less hp.
this thread is about which quad to buy, not who can beat who. if you like i will let you beat me.

 

I would also look at maintenance issues on the quads you have listed. The YFZ's, 450R's, LTR450's require more maintenance than the DS, Raptor's, Predator's, LTZ400's, and KFX400's. They have a chrome bore which means periodic ring and piston replacement and frequent valve adjustments. The DS, Raptor's, Predator's, LTZ400's, and KFX400's are more "old school" 4-strokes.

 

look at that new kawasaki 450 , it's electric start and has reverse. And if you don't have that definatly look at the honda 450R , that's what i have and ton of parts available and cheap!!

 

i may beg to differ. i have to adjust the valves on my raptor's atleast once a year and the yfz which is #776 bought before they hit the dealers just now needed the valves done. it is easier to do the valves on the raptors. if you maintain it from the start it will last a long time.

 

Anouther thing I forgot to mention is the diference between the Outlaw and Predator is that the Outlaw has independant rear suspension. There is a new 525 Outlaw that just came out. It has the KTM 525 in it and is suposed to be crazy fast. I did some looking on youtube and found a bunch of drag racing videos of the 525 outlaw running with the YFZs in the sand so if you want real good power and 4 wheel independent suspension that may be worth looking into.

 

Raptor for sure, good aftermrket, good power, and reverse. A buddy rides one it's a good machine, for a couch that is.