this pathetic! z400? kxf400? ac400 sport?

ok here's my lil rant. as we all know the new suzuki 400 is a good bike with good handling and power . ok and they partnered up with kawasaki to build it. so enter the same bike with green plastic and call it kxf400 . now enter arctic cat who is basicly suzuki's lil' b@#ch. and sell the same bike with black plastic and call it ac400 sport.

three companies one bike what a cop out! where is is the different competative drives they put in to there dirtbike, sleds, watercraft, and motorcycle lines. the other lines are always doing the one up on eachother building better machines to beat one another.when they compete we all win because they have to improve or step aside.

even polaris came out with a all new sport bike and they are the cookie cutter bike kings. well mabeye i just need a beer or twelve so this will make sense.

am im the only one who thinks this stinks?:confused:

[Sandgod4]

No it's simply the best thing to capture marketshare since Suzuki is part of both companies...

[87Warrior]

IMO all the 2 stroke dirtbikes are the same, cr rm kx yz

they are all basically the same 'cept honda has an aluminum frame, and there are prolly other LITTLE differences that i don't notice. but i think they are all basically same

[Bean]

they are actually pretty diff, the suspension, tires, powervalves, porting, and everything on them is diff, resulting in a diff type of powerband

[CranMan]

One good thing about it though....if you bought the Zuk, Kawi, or A/C 400 you could get parts or service from any of those dealerships I'd think, so that would give alot more options....

[Zero Z400]

Why does everybody think its so bad that these companies r doing this? Car companies have been doing it for years and no ones complaining about that r they? They just want to give people different choices in color and to brand loyal people.


Later

[golikesnot250r]

car companies have never done this, and anyway you look at it, suzuki, kawasaki, and arctic cat, and even polaris will never be a reliable product. i have seen upfront just about every brand out there and it really seems like honda and bombardier have the best , longest lasting product. DS650 won the baja 2000, and 24 hour numb bumb race. there, it is the best in either extreme temperature, Honda 250r has won absolutely everything great machine, i have one. anmd you cannot show up aat a race without seeing a 400ex on the podium.

[YLW400]

What do you mear car companies have never done this golikes? GMC trucks, Chevy trucks.Mitusbishi Eclipse and Eagle Talon.Thats just two of them, there are alot more then that!

[Zero Z400]

Golike ur an idiot, look at the Dodge neon, the chrysler neon, there the SAME!!!! The Chevy avalanche and the Caddilac EXT, no difference!!! The Buick LeSabre is just a luxury Lumina, Lexus r just gold Toyotas! There r some examples for u t look at. Now about Suzuki and all them being unreliable, Suzuki is very reliable, guylt250r has only rebuilt three lt's. My step dad used to ride dirtbikes and he had some over 10years and then sold them. I also have a 1980 KDX 175 that still runs great, and it was sitting in my yard for 7years! I am part Honda man but until Honda gets off there *** and build a new high tech machine i'll be w/ Suzuki. I agree that the 250 is an amazing machine but the new thumpers r putting out more and more hp which means the 250r might be behind the competition in a couple of years.


Later

[worm]

you jsust made me realize...GMC yukon chevy tahoe.....chevy siverados and GMC sierras are the same.. yep its cool if they do it ..

[golikesnot250r]

you gotta be kidding.

you are the idiot

avalanche? cad ext. the ext only has, hmmm, i dunno, maybe 150 more horsepower, 200 more foo lbs of torque,, and maybe, hmmm , i dunno like 20 grand worth of extras. moron

[golikesnot250r]

and zero 400, i agree that yamaha and ford are ****, but of all the cars you listed there are significant differences between all those cars, frame , engine, and the interiors are nowhere near alike.

[dabombdale]

hey golikesnot, you have never been to an mx track and cant say anything about 250'rs and honda's being on the podium, the only thing you see it on is dirt wheels, get into the real world man, i will race you on an mx track with my blaster, we will go to westlock track and see who is boss, not dissing honda's, i just want to race him, he lives 2 doors down

[Guy400]

golikesnot, the automobiles that he listed are exactly alike underneath the skin. The Avalanche and Escalade are built on the same GM frame platform. The Chevy Malibu, Buick LeSabre and Oldsmobile Cutlass are all off the same platform as well. Remember the mid-80's Ford Thunderbird and Mercury Cougar? Yep, same platform. The skeleton of these cars are all the same, the only thing that differs is cosmetics.

Zero Z400, get your facts straight. I've owned 4 LT's and only one of them was rebuilt :D Honestly, my '92 LT250R was rebuilt by the person that had it before me. I owned it for 2 years and never rebuilt it again. As for the 2 1988's and my current 1987 LT's, none of them were ever rebuilt while I owned them. Suzuki's reliability has been nothing but stellar for me. Now, my KX250 was a POS. It was very fast when it was running but when the water pump wasn't dying the head gasket was, when the exhaust wasn't leaking the gas tank was. This was just my personal experience and I don't run around shouting about how Kawasaki sucks based just on my one experience. Do you really own a 250R even? You're always attaching that pic of the '86 250R that came from a Honda brochure. I've got the same pic but I made a button out of it for another forum but you get the point...

u have a point guy but look at it this way. look at how many diff kinds of cars there are out there of course there are going to be some ther are the same .i do this that those quads are retarted tho. o yea and guy the 400ex and the z have just about the same frame. or at least the same eagornomice ( i think that is how u spell it)

well i see what you guys are saying bout it having been done by car companies but i thinkthe best example is the ford ranger and the mazda truck. it is only a sheet metal difference between the two. same with the chevy s-10 and the isuzu truck. these are two examples of corporation's selling the same machine with nothing but a cosmetic change. and you know what???????? I THINK IT'S A CROCK OF $HIT TOO!!!!.

instead of designing a better machine to beat the competitor they just buy there's and change the name. and instead of us getting an all new machine we get optional colors.......

side note the avalanche and escalade ext are the same machine. the chevy and caddilac brands just tell you how many options it has. it is all made by the general motors corporation.

[Zero Z400]

Guylt250r, thats impressive record for rebuilds especially being a 2-smoke. Why is that a "Crock of *****"? I don't really think Kawasaki bought the machine, they merged so why not? I can see u complaining about Artic cats version of the Z cuz its just fugly.


Later

[PismoGuy400]

another one is ford ranger and mazda pickups...i dunno about the engine, but the body is the same....

[aproy]

someone already posted the mazda ranger thing.

if you understand anything about the business world you would notice that it is exponentially cheaper to use someone elses design. Most big companies dont even do their own engineering, its cheaper to pay someone else to do it. As far as all the sister cars and clone cars, It still offers other companies a share of the market which is what business is all about. Companies usually use that as a chance to make money while they are working out new ideas for their products. Case in point: Chevy and GMC trucks. They were pretty much the same forever until 99 or 2000 when the sierra started coming out with new features (4 wheel steering) and options.

IMO there is nothing wrong with the 3 bikes being the same. If anything it will make more companies come out with aftermarket accessories faster being as they well appeal to more riders.

[Castor-426ex]

i think its ridiculous
3 quads..two of them identical minus color...and the other has different plastic but same motor...
i dont know...but kawa coulda built something better...lazy Bast****

[aproy]

im not sure that they are lazy. . . Kawasaki doesnt have a sport quad in their lineup previous to the KFX (no offense mojave riders, i know some of those bikes are pretty awesome!)

why not use a partner company's design and make some money, get people used to looking towards Kawasaki for performance, and then come out with an original design. Does it make sense this time?

[NTPracing22]

well what's going to happen is going to happen. there will be 3 quads, almost identicle, (sp) it's fine with me, they can all loose the shootouts together when honda brings in thier new quad

Honda, represent

[aproy]

Originally posted by NTPracing22
well what's going to happen is going to happen. there will be 3 quads, almost identicle, (sp) it's fine with me, they can all loose the shootouts together when honda brings in thier new quad

Honda, represent

you guys just dont quit huh?:D

[DESDAK4]

One big thing it will do is expose the people who are only interested in these brands to high performance quad thus causing the market to grow and force other companies to produce.
Jay

[MOFO]

Originally posted by golikesnot250r
you gotta be kidding.

you are the idiot

avalanche? cad ext. the ext only has, hmmm, i dunno, maybe 150 more horsepower, 200 more foo lbs of torque,, and maybe, hmmm , i dunno like 20 grand worth of extras. moron


LMFAO! WRONG....

Look in the mirror..... I bet you'll see a moron...

150 more HP!?!? 200ft/lb more tq!?!? What engines do you think are under the hood? Please, oh please enlighten us.... <sigh>

[aproy]

well it depends, the 1500 Avalanche can have the 5.3L V8 with 285HP and 325ft/lbs abd the 2500 can have the 8.1L V8 with 340HP and 455ft/lbs. The EXT gets a 6L V8 with 345HP and 380ft/lbs.

and there is a 13,000 price difference.

golikesnot your are more wrong than right.

[MOFO]

Originally posted by aproy
well it depends, the 1500 Avalanche can have the 5.3L V8 with 285HP and 325ft/lbs abd the 2500 can have the 8.1L V8 with 340HP and 455ft/lbs. The EXT gets a 6L V8 with 345HP and 380ft/lbs.

and there is a 13,000 price difference.

so your are more wrong than right.


I still dont see the 150 HP difference and 200ftlb difference. 325+200 would put it in the Duramax area of power. 285+150 would put it in its own league. Anyways, the original comparison doesnt make sense that I pointed out.... just my $0.02. I was trying to correct someone that had a large mouth and was tearing up a member with false info....

[aproy]

i meant golikesnot was more wrong than right.

i was agreeing with you

[MOFO]

Originally posted by aproy
i meant golikesnot was more wrong than right.

i was agreeing with you

cool beans.... I read it wrong. :D

here's an idea what if every car was a ford escort and we just relabeled them . no more chevy cavalier's. no more honda civic's. no more dodge neons. no more toyota camrys. etc...............

each car is the same because all the companies wanted a share of the market with out having to compete. now i dont see how that can be a good thing. we get the same cookie cutter machine every where we turn.

i know the new zuki is a nice bike dosent this pi$$ off any kawi guys that you get the same machine and not a better bike because they competed. i want new bike's! better bike's! NOT CLONES!

[QuadTrix6]

SUZUKI, SUZUKI, SUZUKI, SUZUKI, SUZUKI, SUZUKI, thats all i ever hear in every magazine....they all have something on that stupid quad im so sick of the newest quads always being the best just cause their new..ex's still will dominate the race classes

RIDE RED

[Zuki]

Originally posted by rick350twin .

am im the only one who thinks this stinks?:confused: [/B]

Definitely not the only one who thinks that! I agree to an extent. Suzuki isnt a part of both of them though. Suzuki owns 25% of AC and make 100% of their motors, cut and dry. Suzuki's limited partnership with Kawi is just sharing engineering and concept, and allowing them to share in the "glory" of the Z. As to the Suzukasaki/Kawazuki deal, i think it was probably in their best interest to share in the engineering (mostly just sharing in the $$$$, Kawi poured serious cabbage into having the ability to share in joining the Sport Quad industry). As for AC, i do believe that idea was a poor one. Sharing the concept of a single quad between 3 mfrs. merely confuses the public, and doesnt help to perpetuate confidence, nor competitiveness. Just my opinion.

[RideRed04]

Yeah, it is a bum deal, but get over it! This was done about 2 months ago (dont quote me on that date) way way into the ground. If you dont like it, show that by not buying a z400/kfx400/ac400. Simple as that. Now, someone tell me how the preditor is a cookie cutter? Or better yet, name one polaris that is a cookie cutter. One thing polaris is not is a copy cat company.

[Sportrax10]

i didnt feel like reading all that^..... all i have to say is would we all rather have 3 differant sport quads, rather then the same quad with 3 dif color/ plastic choices?

[Sparky416ex]

yeah i don tlike the idea of that myself

I think it is cool that Suzuki got back in the market. I think they have made a good attempt to put a good product out there; however, this crap that Kawasaki and Arctic Cat have done is lame and stupid. They need to develop some different stuff. I can kind of understand Kawasaki, but Arctic Cat too. That is just too much. What is even more stupid is that DirtWheeels will have a shootout between the three........

[Nausty]

are you kidding? lmao omg, just when I thought atv action and dirt wheels couldn't get any worse.

[VooDuu Child]

Y'alls are so hard to please. Whining and complaining about bikes you'll never even own. What's the purpose? I hear whining about cloned quads being introduced AND I hear whining on quads not being introduced at all (HONDA), I mean dang. I have a Z and so does my girl. They are awesome. The ex is awesome. And the Predator, well, if it had reverse, I'd trade in my Z for one, but it don't. So what if there's clones, I'M ALL FOR IT, IT JUST MEANS CHEAPER MORE PLENTIFUL PARTS FOR ME, THE CONSUMER. When was the last time Honda or other manufacturers did this for US, the consumer? Food for thought. Ride whatcha love, love whatcha ride, we do.
peace

[stupid driver]

u think suzuki is doin this for the consumer? open your eyes vooduu child, the only reason they gave the ok for kawasaki and arctic cat to do that is to put a few quik buks into their pocket. im with everyone else, suzuki is goin ova the edge. they finally come out with a quad that could put them at the top, and they sell it to 2 other manufacturess.

[VooDuu Child]

yup, it's the American way, just Japanese style. And it's not just the Z, the manufacturers are also swapping other quads too, this one, just happens to be the one under the scope. I believe Kawi also gets the LT 80 in green and there's other stuff involved too. Very smart business move, especially when Honda's dropped the ball and the other big manufacturers have shown us, the consumer, who cares about the atv sport/racing market. I believe it's the hostility towards their own beloved Honda being taken out on Suzuki. It's jealousy, and the fact Honda once again, let those waiting for another 250r to come along, down, and hard.

[VooDuu Child]

and even IF this wasn't done for the consumer, it DOES benefit US, the consumer. Either way, I'm very happy with my Z.

[Red400exGirl]

All I have to say is
I WILL SMOKE YOU ALL!!!!!!!!!!

haha jk I'm sure about 99.9% of you are more skilled than I am but I wanted to be competitive too dammit!!

*grins* :D

[Nausty]

Originally posted by VooDuu Child
and even IF this wasn't done for the consumer, it DOES benefit US, the consumer. Either way, I'm very happy with my Z.

no way suzuki cares more about the conumer than cannondale if you wanna look at it that way.

[VooDuu Child]

who's talking about Dale's? I think they are awesome too, it's honda who's under the scope.

[Rastus]

But you have to think about it.

GMC and Chevy are both COMPLETELY owned by GM, not 20 % , so they can do something the same.

As far as the avalanche and the caddy go, the caddy has like 8 grand more in extras, etc. Thats a BIG diffrence, and each one is diffrent. But artic cat just putting on diffrent plastic doesnt change alot...

My main point, all cars are the same to an extent right? They have 4 wheels, have an engine, steering wheels, etc. So every car is going to be alike in some ways.


But for 3 diffrent companies to have almost the exact quad, thats retarded. All its gonna do is confuse people on what to buy. I can imagine it now, "should I buy a ac400,a 400Z,or a kx400"? thread in here....I doesnt make much sense.

But everyone has their own opinions i guess.

[Guy400]

But that's 3 times as many chances to take sales away from the competition and each time Suzuki gets a piece of the pie.

[bandit390]

all the cars/trucks are the SAME!!, THERE ALL MADE BY GM!!!

gmc and chevy trucks ARE THE SAME, the only difference is one says gmc the other one says chevy, and the same with all the other cars they make.

and there one of the leading car makers.

So by saying there doing something stupid, just makes you look like you make no sense and are stupid yourself. Leave the important stuff to the pros. They dont need your help!

[Sick0]

Ford and mazda is a good comparson. Chevy and gmc are the same compny. Ford and Mazda are two diffrent companys.

[VooDuu Child]

This is so darn funny. The only people upset with this merger of companies and quads are THOSE WHO DON'T OWN THEM. Ride whatcha love. Don't be blinded by brand. If honda had come out with something to compete with the Z, when the Z had been introduced, I probably would be a red rider, (if it had reverse) but they didn't, so suzuki it is. Love whatcha ride. Isn't that what it's all about, or is everyone still in grade school where if you're different you're going to be picked on and left out? Instead, just realize we all have one great thing in common, the love for the ride. I'm done with this thread.
peace

[ryewith]

I finally got through this whole thread and was going to post a reply but Voodoo said it all

[lildude]

i like my 400ex better than anything but this past weekend we went over to a suzuki kawasaki place to get a headlight for a kawasaki 220 and they had 2 zs one of each color and a kfx and even though it basically looks the same except for the headlight area the kawasaki i think looks a lot better than the z i like the green and the difference around the headlight and if there was no 400ex that would probibly be the next quad on my list but as long as everything goes right with honda i dont think ill ever switch brands of quads

[Sick0]

The Z ares starting to grow on me, but I think Would buy a cannondale first.

[lil400exman]

Originally posted by golikesnot250r
you gotta be kidding.

you are the idiot

avalanche? cad ext. the ext only has, hmmm, i dunno, maybe 150 more horsepower, 200 more foo lbs of torque,, and maybe, hmmm , i dunno like 20 grand worth of extras. moron



is that a new way to measure morns? must be goe like snot made it up........:p just kidin man!