Let’s talk about Quads. Which one to buy?

[D19]

Im considering picking up a 4 wheeler for the dunes.

Thinking of a 250r, Banshee or Qaudzilla; which one is the best and why? Should I go extended swing arm or stock?

Or am I crazy and should I just get a newer 4 stroke and call it a day?

 

[CLdrinker]

Quadzilla will be harder to find parts for.

Banshee is the clear power winner. I hated the handling and constant shifting and clutching it req’d.
250r handing is awesome. Stock suspension will be dated. Power is decent.

I would go with the newest 450 you can afford. Or a raptor 700.

 

[Gelcoater]

250r is nice and light. Handles better than a banshee and has better brakes.
Throw a 300 kit on it and and shred.
Newer 4 strokes have better suspensions but don’t have the cool factor of a 30+year old 250 or banshee.

 

[HB2Havasu]

Have you considered a Polaris RS1? It’s essentially a 1000cc Quad with a cage.

 

[Joe mama]

660 raptor was the most fun quad I ever had. I had an 86 250r and 88 250r quad

 

[calkid]

Had them all at one time or another, quite a few years back. Best handling hands down is the 250R but lacks power for "grown" men in the dunes. Banshee is fun to ride but handles for shit. My Quadzilla was by far my favorite in the dunes. The hot ticket is an 88 or newer with an 87 reed cage grafted on the cylinder. The 87 reed cage was considerably bigger than the following years but the top end had one less head bolt. Once ported and compression raised the extra flow of the bigger read cage was well worth the trouble. I hear that the guys running 87s these days are machining the head for an "O" ring to prevent head gasket failure. Mine ran on race fuel only and at the time was pretty untouchable. Have a blast out there with a bad ass two stroke!

 

[wallnutz]

Just sold my 250r was a sad day.

 

[Gelcoater]

660 raptor was the most fun quad I ever had. I had an 86 250r and 88 250r quad

The Raptor you just put in 3rd and go.

The obvious solution is Dennis should get a 660 Raptor, a Banshee and a 250r.

This way whatever riding style he feels when he wakes up that day, his bases are all covered

 

[rickym20]

All would be a different type of fun but if your group all had 4 stroke, then I would stick with a 4-stroke option. I personally loved the Raptor 700 cause of the reliability and suspension. I liked the yz450 when I was in my 20’s early 30’s but as I got older I looked for a softer suspension. Of coarse aftermarket suspension works fixes that but I’m married with kids and spending that much in suspension was not in my budget haha.

 

[c_land]

250r

I like the fuel injected yfz450r the best. It will be the fastest and beat handling you can get.

most of the mfg stopped making quads when the sxs became more prominent

 

[Joe mama]

The Raptor you just put in 3rd and go.

The obvious solution is Dennis should get a 660 Raptor, a Banshee and a 250r.
View attachment 1043495
This way whatever riding style he feels when he wakes up that day, his bases are all covered

Yep you put it in 3rd and the thing just keeps pulling. And comfy

 

[185EZ]

I started out with polaris and then the BRP DS650.
Got tired of shifting in the dunes
This was going out east of havasu
Arizona20winter (1) by 185 EZ, on Flickr
Then went with Kawasaki KFX 700s.
Just gas n go
029 by 185 EZ, on Flickr
007-1 by 185 EZ, on Flickr

 

[Bpracing1127]

700 for go anywhere, fairly quick. Super reliable and easy to drive. Banshee for hill shooter. 250r is soo dated. 450 hands down. Quick. Handles good but not a couch

 

[floatn turd]

I say Raptor.

 

[badgas]

I think it depends on the type of rider you are.

My Favorite was a TRX450R I had a kick start with the HRC kit and is was really fun quad and I "kick" myself for selling it. I have had a LT 250R, Trx 400ex, TRX450r and now a Raptor 700. I have ridden banshees, The power is epic and fun but not the ride. I have ridden TRX250r and they handle awesome.

The 450s YFZ, LTZ, TRX are much more fun if you like to slide the quad around stand up in whoops and race around etc. Much more agile and snappy than than a 400ex or Raptor.

We have two 700 Raptors now with Pipes and programmers. They are reliable and fun and have power for days but IMO they just don't have the geometry like the 450's. The handling is just different never feels right after having a 450.

When I stand up on my Raptor it feels like i'm going to go over the bars it just feels odd unless you are sitting. When I would stand up on my TRX450r it felt like standing on dirt bike to me it was very comfortable and confident position. Also if you like run up a dune and slide the bike around my raptor feels like a couch it just sticks and feels top heavy. The 450's just feel lower and more controllablle to me.

I will be 53 in November and did most quad riding in my 30's and early 40's. I don't ride a quad all day so when I do I want something fun and sporty to play on and for me the 450 would be the most fun.

 

[Headless hula]

I really like the quad 400’s. The 450’s are super nice though.

 

[teded]

Had 2 Suzuki 400’s. They had plenty of power and a very smooth ride.
Sold them to someone on RDP, maybe they’ll chime in?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[OCMerrill]

I have owed all three also. 250R with a 300 kit for the win. Quadzilla I was unimpressed with and spent the absolute most money on trying to get it to turn and run properly. My Banshee was my favorite but you have to know what your doing because if you lug them around your going to kill it. I built a 370 long rod and that thing hauled the mail. The Honda will be the easiest to deal with.

That said we currently have a 2006 Zuki LT450R my daughter rides. That thing has a nasty beast of a motor but fun none the less. Right now it needs tappet buckets as the valve train is noisy. All high performance 4 strokes are fickle IMO.

2 strokes just go and go, especially the 250r.

 

[Ziggy]

I still have 2 banshee's. '88 & '97. You just find anything that sounds better than that twin 2stroke.
No idea what all you guys saying about handling I could keep up with my friends on bikes on a MX track

 

[SJP]

I have a Suzuki LTR 450. It does the job.

 

[badgas]

No idea what all you guys saying about handling I could keep up with my friends on bikes on a MX track

Every group has that guy sometimes it's the archer not the arrows.

I remember a boys ride back in Glamis in 2006 I was on my 450 and there were 4 banshees and two LTZ 400's. I only new one of the guys on the banshee. The leader was on a Suzuki 400 and NOBODY had a prayer keeping up with him thru the dunes.

 

[Danger Dave]

A thread about quads? Is this a cry for help?

 

[riverroyal]

Plenty of quads poppin wheelies in downtown LA last week. Funniest yet most 'fuck you" police thing ive ever seen.

 

[endobear]

Had 2 Suzuki 400’s. They had plenty of power and a very smooth ride.
Sold them to someone on RDP, maybe they’ll chime in?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Wife rides a suzuki 400. I've been known to rip it on occasion. Smooth power, and handles great. Very forgiving ride but can s

till be ridden hard and keep up with most bikes with the right rider.

 

[cakemoto]

Had them all at one time or another, quite a few years back. Best handling hands down is the 250R but lacks power for "grown" men in the dunes. Banshee is fun to ride but handles for shit. My Quadzilla was by far my favorite in the dunes. The hot ticket is an 88 or newer with an 87 reed cage grafted on the cylinder. The 87 reed cage was considerably bigger than the following years but the top end had one less head bolt. Once ported and compression raised the extra flow of the bigger read cage was well worth the trouble. I hear that the guys running 87s these days are machining the head for an "O" ring to prevent head gasket failure. Mine ran on race fuel only and at the time was pretty untouchable. Have a blast out there with a bad ass two stroke!

I have a buddy that has twins a quad Zilla and the 250. Both are worked.. the 500 has 95hp.it’s a 86 internal reed cage though

 

[Happy Smitty]

Hardest part about riding a quad is telling your parents you are gay.

 

[Boatymcboatface]

I had a Suzuki quad sport back in the day and my brother had the Honda 250r both fun bikes but the 250 is dated compared to even the 400 posted above. I’d take that Suzuki 400 from above for a all around good time. I’ve ridden or drove everything possible in the dunes all the way from a kx80 to a Dejong monster Manx. One of the best times I ever had was on my friends parents farm style 4x4 quad don’t remember what it was but they had two and my friend and I took of for Oldsmobile around 2am and didn’t get back until about 5am. With that said nothing for me will ever beat ripping around on my KTM 525exc or any motorcycle really. Even my old XR 350 back in the 80s was more fun than any quad I’ve ever ridden.

 

[DLC]

Raptor 660 with gytr pipe it wakes it right up!

tons of power and torque! Shoot down a dune and turn around half way and ride right back up!

electric start and reverse, runs on gas and add the all important cooler rack!

 

[rivermobster]

Im considering picking up a 4 wheeler for the dunes.

Thinking of a 250r, Banshee or Qaudzilla; which one is the best and why? Should I go extended swing arm or stock?

Or am I crazy and should I just get a newer 4 stroke and call it a day?

All are cool. But all are super dated quads.

An extended swingarm will make it hard to turn. Going in a straight line all day is boring. It also depends greatly on what paddles you run. That is a science all to its own. Basically...

Straight paddles don't turn well. V paddles don't hook up (but turn Real well). I run v paddles, that have all the rubber buffed off between the paddles. The best quad rider I know, runs straight paddles, with the paddles shaved down. Rim width will change the behavior of a paddle too.

Back to engines...

My Z400 slightly modded, will take my buddies Tomie Banshee easily. My LT-R 450 will leave a Shee in the dust.

The 450 is EFI. I can run that bitch at any altitude, and it runs exactly the same.

Raptors are heavy and break a Lot. The 700 is a couch to ride, but it's Way heavy to try and throw around.

You'll need to reshock pretty much any used quad you will buy. So keep that firmly in mind.

I love my 450. In stock form, you'll have more than enough power for any dunes. Even St Anthony's.

 

[stokerwhore]

i have a yfz513 i'd love to get rid of. it never gits ridden. needs a clutch, battery, rebuild on the elka shocks and you have 20k banshee killer. 2k. i need the space.

 

[highvoltagehands]

700 Raptor for the win. YFZ450 if you’re a more competitive rider.

 

[bk2drvr]

I started out with polaris and then the BRP DS650.
Got tired of shifting in the dunes
This was going out east of havasu
Arizona20winter (1) by 185 EZ, on Flickr
Then went with Kawasaki KFX 700s.
Just gas n go
029 by 185 EZ, on Flickr
007-1 by 185 EZ, on Flickr

This right here! If you are over 45 than for sure get a KFX700. I followed a guy on one of these in Glamis on my brand new at the time KFX450 and I could barley keep up with him. I couldn’t move move the next day. I was so sore from running on the edge following him. He stepped of his quad and was barely breathing hard.

 

[Gelcoater]

All are cool. But all are super dated quads.

An extended swingarm will make it hard to turn. Going in a straight line all day is boring. It also depends greatly on what paddles you run. That is a science all to its own. Basically...

Straight paddles don't turn well. V paddles don't hook up (but turn Real well). I run v paddles, that have all the rubber buffed off between the paddles. The best quad rider I know, runs straight paddles, with the paddles shaved down. Rim width will change the behavior of a paddle too.

Back to engines...

My Z400 slightly modded, will take my buddies Tomie Banshee easily. My LT-R 450 will leave a Shee in the dust.

The 450 is EFI. I can run that bitch at any altitude, and it runs exactly the same.

Raptors are heavy and break a Lot. The 700 is a couch to ride, but it's Way heavy to try and throw around.

You'll need to reshock pretty much any used quad you will buy. So keep that firmly in mind.

I love my 450. In stock form, you'll have more than enough power for any dunes. Even St Anthony's.

Raptors break a lot?
Other than my wife breaking the rear brakes and a couple brake slave rebuilds my 02 has never failed.
Other than a battery that left me needing a tow to bump start.

 

[Ricks raft]

All around best quad, suzuki/Kawi/can am 400(all the same built by Suzuki). later years with the piggy back shocks.
Dunes and track, ltr 450. Cherry bomb and exhaust, outperforms all other 400/450 unless they spend a bunch of money with mods. But on rough trails it’s low ground clearance is difficult over rocks, trees, mud…

 

[RCDave]

Yamaha 450r with efi. Great at everything. Amazinfg handling and suspension..

With a pipe and efi tune, it will be hard to beat

 

[CLdrinker]

I still have 2 banshee's. '88 & '97. You just find anything that sounds better than that twin 2stroke.
No idea what all you guys saying about handling I could keep up with my friends on bikes on a MX track

lol your friends should peddle faster.

 

[Ziggy]

lol your friends should peddle faster.

Lol
Truth is I could keep up but couldn't maintain it after 5-6 laps, my forearms would be so pumped up by then
This was in the early 90s. The other guys rode bikes like ATK, Husky, Honda, etc.

 

[CLdrinker]

This is what I used to ride.
I was super slow...

 

[rivermobster]

Raptors break a lot?
Other than my wife breaking the rear brakes and a couple brake slave rebuilds my 02 has never failed.
Other than a battery that left me needing a tow to bump start.

Key words...

Your wife's quad.

All my friends busted theirs up!

 

[Gelcoater]

Key words...

Your wife's quad.

All my friends busted theirs up!

No. My quad. I flog the shit out of it.
My wife’s is the 250, but lately she’s liking the electric start

 

[rivermobster]

No. My quad. I flog the shit out of it.
My wife’s is the 250, but lately she’s liking the electric start

Truth be told, I've busted pretty much Everything on my Z400. Even broke the swingarm bolt in Dumont one year.

Everything on that quad has been replaced. I got a whole new frame from Suzuki, and gusseted the shit out of it. I think the only thing that is still original is the swing arm and plastics! But it lived most of its life as a trail bike. Big Bear every weekend, Dove Springs all the time. And a couple trips to Utah and shit.

The 450 has only been to Utah one time, and has lived most of its life in the dunes.

Sand is a whole lot more forgiving that rocks and tree stumps!

 

[CLdrinker]

This is what I used to ride.
I was super slow... Here are a couple articles my roommate and riding buddy Larry Hayes. He was a privateer racing with the big boys. I was good enough to stay close to him on a motorcross track for 2-3 laps. I didn’t have the strength to run the pace he put down.
In the dunes I could stay with him until I ran out of balls.

View attachment 1043680 View attachment 1043681 View attachment 1043682

 

[Gelcoater]

know what your doing because if you lug them around your going to kill it. I built a 370 long rod and that thing hauled the mail.

Trinity deal?
I ran that setup for a bunch of years. I ran some Sudco 28mm Kheins. Had a good power range, not as pipey as my friends running 34s but had better range, and because it wasn’t as pipey I could hold on to it longer than they could before the arm pump factor started.

 

[OCMerrill]

Trinity deal?
I ran that setup for a bunch of years. I ran some Sudco 28mm Kheins. Had a good power range, not as pipey as my friends running 34s but had better range, and because it wasn’t as pipey I could hold on to it longer than they could before the arm pump factor started.

I really liked the tq of that motor after. Yes Trinity, they did the bottom and I assembled the top and used Keihin 30's. I would have liked to run it on their dyno but never did it. If I remember right I ended up getting rid of the boost bottle bullshit and that actually killed a little torque but made the powerband smoother.

I'll ad the Quadzilla was a novelty and a disappointment really. My wife rode the 250R and I loved the Banshee. Had that thing for years.

 

[Deckin Around]

Kidding, I was raised on quads until I saved up for a dirtbike (mom's rule)

 

[D19]

Thanks for all the input so far. I’ve rode dirt bikes and owned a few. For the dunes, I’d much rather have a quad with a cooler rack that I can let friends and family can ride too.

I’m thinking a newer 4 stroke with electric start is the better option. I’ve spent a lot of time on a 660 raptor; it’s powerful but wasn’t a huge fan of the way it handled.

 

[OCMerrill]

Thanks for all the input so far. I’ve rode dirt bikes and owned a few. For the dunes, I’d much rather have a quad with a cooler rack that I can let friends and family can ride too.

I’m thinking a newer 4 stroke with electric start is the better option. I’ve spent a lot of time on a 660 raptor; it’s powerful but wasn’t a huge fan of the way it handled.

Whatever you do don't buy a Honda 400ex. Its not the 250R of yesteryear with its 14 HP. They have no HP for sand use.

 

[rivermobster]

Whatever you do don't buy a Honda 400ex. Its not the 250R of yesteryear with its 14 HP. They have no HP for sand use.

This!!!

Although the 450 ain't bad at all.

 

[COCA COLA COWBOY]

I would go with a Raptor 700....with that said, I have a couple good old Bombardier DS650's and love them for the dunes. They are heavy, tanks, and not very nimble, but they just soak up everything. I also have a KFX700 for the wife. None of my quads are the best, but I think all quads are going to be collectors items some day.

 

[Gelcoater]

Thanks for all the input so far. I’ve rode dirt bikes and owned a few. For the dunes, I’d much rather have a quad with a cooler rack that I can let friends and family can ride too.

I’m thinking a newer 4 stroke with electric start is the better option. I’ve spent a lot of time on a 660 raptor; it’s powerful but wasn’t a huge fan of the way it handled.

With that said I suppose it would depend on the experience level of your friends and family.
The LT 400 would be a good all around use machine for those less experienced yet still have some ass to sling around for those that can.
If there’s any beginners in the group a banshee would be the last machine I’d choose to let someone start on. Well, except an ATC 250r