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400 Ex or Raptor

801 views 17 replies 0 participants last post by  **DONOTDELETE** 
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#1 ·
After mutch delabration, I have naarrowed my search to 2 2wheel drive (I think) machines.
My questions are with the raptor's 6,500 + price tag is it worth it for a verry little more speed (from what I read) that is very narrow (first time quad owner) and reverse (do you really need or use reverse) how often do you use it trail riding ????
.. down side to the 400 EX is it's missing reverse (which do you need it ...) and your not the fastest although from what I read it has a ton of low end take off acceleration big plus from the riding I have done you seem to stop and go a lot, but right now a 4,999 $ seems very tough to beat...
opinions please ????

 
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#2 ·
I don't know but everything that I have heard about honda racing four wheelers have been great. And with that price difference I would definantley have to go with the honda.

~*Red Rida*~
 
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#3 ·
400ex's are sweet machines, how much trail riding you gonna do?? With bein a beginner, i think the EX would have enough power for ya, Raptors are sweet too though, but like you said, 6500 bucks... I would love to have a 400ex, or 250r, or raptor, that would be sweet. Although, i like dirtbikes too, well, this post was about OFF the subject, sorry.

WARNING
The surgeon general has determined that motorcycle riding will cause: Swelling of the TESTICLES, shrinkage of the BRAIN, and severe trauma to the EGO.
 
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#4 ·
ok i own a raptor but have ridden a friends 400ex quite a bit. i live in colorado and do 80% mountain trail riding and 20% i quess you could call it desert riding (loose gravel, dirt, steep hills and long open runs, no grass or trees) with the "desert riding" there is absolutly no competition, the raptor wins hands down. it is all about tire speed. now in the mtn. trails it becomes a little harder to decide. The EX does handle a bit better but you can learn to overcome that. let me rephrase that the EX is easier to handle. the raptor just takes more effort to do the same, but once you learn the machine you wont even think about it. as far as the power, on the tight trails both are comparable with the raptor "possibly" only being slightly better. Now since i do most of my riding on the tight trails the thing that sold me on the raptor is reverse. anyone that says you dont need reverse on the trails is either full of sh*t or just likes getting off to turn it around when you come to a dead end! I grew up riding 3 & 4-wheelers (by the way this is my first non-honda if that says anything) in the woods with and without reverse. i wont own another without it.

ive noticed you asking alot of questions in your decision making. you are down to two great machines, actually the two that i had to chose from. now you need to put all the opinions behind you and work of the facts. get all the "real" data you can on both quads, not opinions from any forum. i would suggest getting a dealer brocure on both and just compare the info and you decide which will be better for you for where you want to ride. all of our opinions are what is best for us for where we ride.

hope this helps a little.

D.J.

Dave

01' Raptor
01' Scrambler 500 4x4
85' CJ-7
96' Grand Cherokee
 
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#5 ·
I have ridden a 400 EX alot and I have a Raptor , the big dif. to me is the low end grunt of the raptor, the Honda cant hold a candle to the Raptor, I widened mine and it will out handle the Honda HANDS DOWN, REVERSE, a must , I do 2/3 of my riding on trails, you cant imagine how much you use reverse, I was just cussing my Banshee today,NO REVERSE, I do like the 400EX I'm going to get one (for my 13 yr old)I'm also getting another Raptor (for the 95lb. wife) does that tell you anything?

Ride hard, Lifes short
 
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#7 ·
I had a 400ex and got rid of it to get my Raptor. The 400ex is a great bike, awesome on the trails, but lacks power in the sand. Most of the riding I do is trails, and the Raptor does as well as the 400ex, plus you can back out of trouble. Trust me, on a night ride in the mud, the last thing you want to do is struggle to pick up your 400lb quad, plus the weight of the mud, and turn it around. No amount of upgrading will get reverse on a 400ex. Although I did live without it for 6 months, I cant imagine not having it now. Dont let anyone tell you the 400ex and the Raptor handle the same either, that's a load of......you know. The Raptor sits higher, is narrower,has way more power, and can be a handfull until you get used to it, then look out!

 
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#9 ·
My son would love to have a Raptor but I think 11 is kind of young for one if I could get this $@#&* scanner working I could post a picture of him with his ankle cast on flying over jumps on his lt250r. I know this is a quad/3 wheeler forum but what would be a good dirtbike for someone who is 6'1" and 270? My husband has been talking about a dirtbike for a while and his birthday is coming up and I'm thinking about getting him one, we have a lot of sand around here as well as dirt trails.

86 lt250r, 88 lt250r and 01 300ex/wwwthreads_images/icons/laugh.gif and son's xr80/wwwthreads_images/icons/smile.gif
 
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#10 ·
Sounds like you have tons of money around there too!!!

WARNING
The surgeon general has determined that motorcycle riding will cause: Swelling of the TESTICLES, shrinkage of the BRAIN, and severe trauma to the EGO.
 
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#11 ·
deepnsteep, poor??? You have a '96 explorer...that isn't poor dude...student?? What grade, or college?? What sucks is when you parents gain 3200 bucks out of selling puppies that your dog had, and your bike breaks down, you have $150 to spend, and they won't pitch in $200 extra so you can send it to the shop, so it just sits in the garage...But like a lot of people say, have to work for everthing, and i guess that is that.

WARNING
The surgeon general has determined that motorcycle riding will cause: Swelling of the TESTICLES, shrinkage of the BRAIN, and severe trauma to the EGO.
 
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#12 ·
Nah, that't the old ranch four wheeler. I guess I should update that to 2000 Sportsman now but it still ain't mine. Heh, should be, I ride it a lot! Oh ya, finished freshman year of college.

If it don't go Vrrrooom Vrrrooom, I don't want it!!
 
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#15 ·
300ex gal, if you ride mainly in the trails, a 2 stoke probably won't be what you want. I was out with a guy on a cr250 in the trails and he had to ride the clutch alot and spun alot tire, now hill climbs are a different storie. If you ride trails go with a 4 stoker, like and XR400 (if they make them) or any other 4 stroke bike from the various companys.

 
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#16 ·
I think a 250mx bike would be sweet for my woods, we don't have barely any tight sections, just hillclimbs and wide open trails with little jumps here and there. EX, like kingquad said, the XR400 is a nice bike, good suspension, and isn't really THAT heavy.

WARNING
The surgeon general has determined that motorcycle riding will cause: Swelling of the TESTICLES, shrinkage of the BRAIN, and severe trauma to the EGO.
 
G
#17 ·
I just went through this decision myself. I chose the 400ex because it's wider and longer with a lower center of gravity. My 2002 comes in tuesday.. i'm psyched. Id urge you to go sit on the raptor and muscle it around a bit. For me... it was a turn off compared to the EX. Now... if i had the money and time to put wider A=arms and a longer swing arm on the raptor, + new tires, i'd definetely like to give that a shot. Still a higher center of gravity, but unless your trying to climb a hill that's nearly vertical at the top it *shouldnt* be that much a problem.
400ex is a proven machine, 660R has new tech, a great look, more nut than a jar of skippy. Cant go wrong either way your going to go crazy having fun on either machine.

Good luck

 
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#18 ·
I had an y2k XR400 before I got my 400ex, and it was a great bike. But it is a little tempermental to start when it's cold out. I can just imagine how the 650 is. Another thought is a Yamaha YZ426. It's a 4-stroke so it would work well on the trails, and I have seen them in the dunes climbing whatever they want, so the power is there. A riding buddy has a KX500 that he really likes, and claims it's not bad to trail ride with, but two strokes usually are more work than they are worth on trails. Good luck!

 
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