I'm looking to buy my first quad. I've been a sportbike rider 5 years with limited ATV experience. Never been on a sport quad though.

All my sportbike buddies that ride quads also have 450+ quads. I was looking at the YFZ450R. I'm not all crazy on brands but I prefer Yamaha for my sport bikes.

Anyway for $1200 cheaper I could get a TRX400. I was wondering if that was a good deal or not. I know much is dependent on the rider but can the 400 hang? The TRX450 is the same price as the YFZ450R.

I'd hate to be the one everybody has to stop and wait for all the time on the trails and fields. Since I'm buying new, I wanna be sure I'm getting the machine that is gonna do it for me.

I probably won't be doing a bunch of mods and upgrades either.

So all you experienced riders let me know what's good? Any other quads in this performance range would be cool too.

Cool, welcome to the ATV family!

Are you looking at a TRX450 or a TRX400? You mentioned both... The 450 is obviously built for racing, so the bike itself is slightly longer, wider. It's also 40 lbs lighter. More adjustability on the shocks.

Head to head with stock machines (assuming you are talking 450 vs 450), there wouldn't be enough performance difference between the Honda and the Yami that anyone has to stop and wait on trails - not due to the bike at least.

Except - Big difference - Yami is fuel-injected!

When it comes to suspension, cornering, then only riding will you find little things that will make you love it or hate it, long term. Go to the dealership and actually sit on both. You'll find differences in fit. You may have huge preference in bar position of one over the other. As a new rider, you will likely spend more time sitting down than standing up, but check the bars at both positions. Make sure you can easily reach the levers.

We are long-time Yamaha fans and our son has been very happy with the 2009 YFZ450R, but I'd say a big factor few people consider is your dealer support. Which dealer is closer, do you have a relationship with, have you heard good things about? That would be a strong point in that mfg's favor. Nothing sucks worse than waiting for parts when you want to be riding!

This year we've seen great financing deals come and go from both mfgs - check out what the latest deals are. What "goodies" are they offering? $1,200 is a big diff, are their other moneys to consider?

I'd always be leary of any model's first year out, but with both you are considering, you are in year 2 and later, so we'd trust either equally.

Now you'll hear from 10 people that SWEAR Yami's are best, and 10 that swear Honda's are. In the end, you are probably just going to have to go with your gut. Neither are a bad bike, both have worked out the First Year Bugs. Personally, I'd vote Yamaha, if you are keeping count.

Both can kick your ass (and kill you) when you are just starting out, so don't do anything stupid and ride over your head, just to keep up with your buddies. They are plenty of machine for a first-timer.