Thinking about a new quad.

[redrider420]

I'm thinking about a getting a new quad around november or december. I recently went to a kawasaki dealer that had a Lakota Sport 300 and a Mojave. I sat on both and they fit me pretty well. I'm about 5'3 120 pounds. I looked through my magazines to see what i could find out about both quads. I decided that i would like the mojave better but what do u guys think? I've never had experience with a manual clutch and i've never owned a quad before. I would mostly be riding in the woods and open fields. I just looked at the july issue of DirtWheels and read up on the z-400. I would love to have that quad but i don't want to get one right away because Suzuki may make changes on it next year like yamaha did with the raptor. What changes do u think suzuki will make to the z? would it be worth going and getting? what should i do? should i go ahead and start saving for a mojave or should i save for a z? thanks alot for any replies.

[Guy400]

Redrider, you're right up the street from me. I live here in Massillon. Anyway, here's the best advice I can give you: throw away the magazine and never look at them again except for the sweet pictures. Every new quad is the best and then after 6 months it loses it's luster and the mags end up contradicting what they said earlier. The Raptor was the best when it first came out, 2 months later it was losing to the 400EX, 2 months after that it's winning their shootouts again. It's tiresome trying to make heads or tails of these articles. How old are you? That will play a huge factor in determining which quad is right for you. I'm going to guess you're 13-14. I'd skip right over the Mojave or the Lakota. While there's nothing wrong with these bikes I just feel that people grow out of them far too quickly and the aftermarket support just doesn't seem to be there like on the 300EX. Don't sweat the manual clutch. You'll be stalling it the first day or two of ownership but after that it'll become 2nd nature. If I were you I'd go straight for a 400EX/Z400 sized quad. Ride them responsibly and there's plenty of quad to grow into.

Any changes to the Suzuki will be based on 1st year reliability. If nothing goes wrong than expect no changes (just like the 400EX). Any problem areas will be addressed if they arise. Just taking a complete shot in the dark but if I were to guess any changes to the Z400 right now I'd guess that Suzuki goes to a round housing swingarm down the road.

[VegasEx'r]

Originally posted by GuyLT250R

if I were to guess any changes to the Z400 right now I'd guess that Suzuki goes to a round housing swingarm down the road.

Guy,
In another thread you (at least I think it was you) said that the boxed swingarm was a stronger design than other designs. Why would they change the swingarm to a round housing later on? Isn't that similar to the ex swingarm? Or am I just totally confused?

BTW good info on choosing a quad. RedRider, Start saving for something, and by the end of the year, there should be some good info on the Z. Then you can decide between it & the 400.

[Guy400]

The boxing I'm referring to is the aluminum plating they used across the top and bottom of the swingarm. Rather than 2 aluminum beams down the side like a converntional swingarm (leaving the center open), Suzuki uses these double beams and then plates the top and bottom. Suzuki could still use the boxed swingarm but change to a round, Honda style carrier out back.

[Zero Z400]

I agree with Guy. If your going to get a manual clutch machine the least should be a 400ex. Don't let the Banshee come into ur mind here. I think it would be to hard to learn for a beginner. I'm am waiting for my Z but I won't be surprised if has problems like the cannondales, crapturd and bombardier. But they have said they did a "Study" on other quads to make sure they didn't make any mistakes so they have a good a good chance of coming out like the 400ex. I don't think the 400ex is the best for your conditions, open fields and woods-woods the 400ex willl be awesome in, but not the open fields. But that is only comparing it to other high-performance quads.


Later

[redrider420]

Thanks for the replies guys. I decided that i'm gonna save up to buy a z-400. Hey guy, how far is Massillon away from here? Where do u usually go riding at? I have a bunch of woods behind my house to go riding in. I agree with u on the magazines because I read one test on the mojave that completely dissed it. It said it had bad suspension and so on. After that i read another test that said the mojave was a good machine and had decent suspension. I think i'm just gonna start looking at the pics. lol.

[Guy400]

Massillon is about 15 from you. I'm about 10 minutes south of Canal Fulton. I do riding on a bunch of private land I've got in Dalton, Tappan Lake and Stuebenville.