Is This A Good Quad.

[Elyk]

I am trying to decide what to get. 400EX OR TRX450R. This is my first quad, but I have heard it has so much power it can throw you off the back if you are not experienced enough. Is this true and what is your opinion.

[DJJ450r]

did you read that in dirtwheels by any chance?lol if this is your first quad i would go with the 400ex it has reverse and isnt has fast as the R. ive never ridden an 06 450r but it cant be much more than my 05 but what do i know:confused:

[400exMO]

depends on how big of a guy you are. If you have the money get the R. Because if you buy the ex you'll want the R in acouple months. But if you're small, trail ride only and aren't to worried about great performance the EX will be a great compromise.

[Elyk]

I am 6 foot 225 pounds. We are goin to be doing a little bit of every kind of riding.Trails, flats, dunes.

[MR.BIG]

I would go with the 450. They aren't great in tight trails though because of the stock gearing. The 450's are quite mellow in stock form but install a cam and a pipe and it's a totally different machine,way more power!

if you have never ridden before, the 450 may be too much machine for you...it is not a beginner bike...the same was said about the 400ex when they first camce out also...ultimately the choice is your...both will serve you well, but the 400ex will be easier for you to learn on

[Insanity18]

i would get the 450r, try and find an 05 even to save you money, like stated before the 400ex will be boring in a few months. get a 450r and always ride to your ability. fun bike, if you ride alot of trails a 13t front sproket will do wonders. hope this helps. tj

[Ridin' Jesse]

Get a 450r...all you really would have to do is EASE into riding..like start off around little places learning the gears and such and the power delivery..then work your way up...dont go straight into hardcore riding if its your first ride on an R...its a great bike though...a little mroe maintenance then a EX but i think it would suit you as little more...im 6'1 n the quad feels great when im riding it so i think it would be pretty comfortable for you.

[remmyTRX]

Get the R.

This being your first quad, you will be surprised how much power it has. If you get the 400EX, you will wish you had gotten the R.

Although, I have seen 440EXs blow away a stock R.

[TRXDresh]

I have a similar story to yours. One of my buddies was new to riding, so he bought th 400. After about 3 months, he was ready for the 450. Good luck.

[hsr]

you are a big guy, get the 450 , but respect it...it will bite back

[911]

def the R. remember it only goes as fast as u want it to;)

[Pepto_Bismol]

I'm going to have to go against the grain here, only because I have had both. Here are my thoughts:

Ergonomics:

Don't be fooled, the 400EX will definately accomodate your size. I'm almost 6 ft, and weigh 190, and my friend is 6'1" and weighs 220, and neither one of us had ergonomics issues with the 400EX. It was a very comfortable ride all of the time.

The 450R is not much different as far as ergos is concerned.

Power:

Of course, the 450R has quite a bit more power. It is a different motor. But again, don't be fooled into thinking that if you choose the 400EX that you will suddenly be feeling like you have a lack of power. Especially if you have never owned a quad before. Here's why:

400EX:

For it's gearing and power, it probably has one of the smoothest power / shift / ease of use quads on the market today. It has been proven, and the engine is rock solid. The gearing is spot on, and the tranny compliments the engines power. I had so much fun at the trails / track / and desert (dunes) with it, I never regretted owning the bike. It had enough power and torque to have great all around fun. Pipe and jetting will get you a tad more power, (a bit more torque), but not like it will for the R.

450R:

This bike definately has more torque to get you accelerating faster. However, it takes a lot more finnese to get the power out of this bike and work it with the gearing. This means you need to have some experience with riding to figure out how to get the power of the engine to work with the gearing ratios to get your butt down the track the fastest way possible. But that is what is needed if you are trying to race. This bike also has higher top end speed, about (on average) 78 MPH, and opposed to 64 MPH on my 400EX (yes, we clocked it).

Handling:

Stock for Stock, I liked the handling of the 400EX way better. It held the line better at full throttle, (the front end of the R twitches back and forth at full throttle). The 400EX also jumped better (more even in the air, less work to get it to fly), and did not feel as tippy in corners (In stock form, the 450R definately feels taller, and actually does tend to two wheel in corners, which I did not like). But again, that is stock for stock.

I put on after market suspension on both the 400EX and the 450R, and now my 450R handles just like how my 400EX did with it's aftermarket suspsension (except it cost me a lot more to get the 450R to handle the way my 400EX did).

When I got aftermarket suspension for the 400EX, it was a kick arse bike to ride.


Most poeple use the power as an excuse to keep up because they have not developed good riding skills. There are some who try and use the power (and are successfull for a while) to cover for their poor riding skills. Eventually, they develope bad habits, and that leads to potentially dangerous situations.

Case in point, most people don't know how to ride the power of the 450R anyway. For example, I have a friend who has a piped and jetted 400EX, and the rest of us have 450Rs. Since I have the most experience, I always take point. But guess who is always behind me. It's my freind on the 400. Why, because it handles well, and top end speed and gobs of power don't help when you have no experience with it.

Perhaps one thing to consider, you could find a good used 400EX for an extremely great price. It you really outgrow it to fast, or just feel the need for some more power, sell the bike, and then get a 450R. If you end up liking the 400EX, you saved yourself tons of money. If not, you might loose a couple hundred re-selling the 400EX, but you could chalk that up to a few months rent on the bike.

So, I hope this information helps you out some. My opinion (and it is just that), speaking from experience having owned both bikes, if you are a beginner, I would recommend the 400EX. If you feel you are going to go all crazy, do mass drags at the dunes, and will get into racing, a 450R is what that is good for, but I still don't recommend it to a beginner, period.

Pepto:cool:

[Pepto_Bismol]

PS. This is a small clip of me dinking around on a local supercross practice track with my 400EX (I did have after market suspsension at this time). I was the only quad out there.

http://members.cox.net/peptob/short_clip.wmv

On the main track, I out-performed almost everyone out on the track (don't get me wrong, there are much faster riders than me) with similiar bikes in it's class.

But for the majority of those with the 416s and 440s etc, they did not keep up with me, because they didn't know how to ride. I strickly focused on technique and tried to get better at riding. I never did do any engine work to my 400EX, but I was still very competative. It really is 90% rider, 10% bike.

Even so, when I went from the 400 to the 450R, I had to learn some new things about the special quirks on how the 450R handled (like rolling it a couple of times to realize it is tippy, and that I need to adjust my riding style to match the bike, or get aftermarket parts, which I also did).

Good Luck!

Pepto:cool:

[Elyk]

I decided to go with the TRX450R.

[4ABURN]

pepto GREAT ADVISE !!!!!!:)