Dirtwheels Z500

[upstate rider]

It seem that the z400 is the main topic in the last 3 or 4 Dirtwheels mag. Where are you Honda?

honda is nowhere to be found

[NTPracing22]

if you've got a honda, ride it and don't complain. honda has had much sucess over the years. be happy they even came out with the 250r 300ex and 400ex. they will come out with something bigger and better. give em time. till then, run it hard and keep the rubba side down

[Nausty]

Originally posted by upstate rider
It seem that the z400 is the main topic in the last 3 or 4 Dirtwheels mag. Where are you Honda?

well duh, they put out the most ads:rolleyes:

[Z400central]

http://www.z400central.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=1348

[markeg192]

Where's Honda? Well quit reading Dirtwheels and go to a racetrack. There's Honda , They're right there winning races.
Why are dealers coming to a Honda forum and trying to peddle Z400s? Must be hard to get rid of.

[RiPPiNiTuP7]

Why is everyone asking "Whats Honda have to compete against the Z"....um what do you think the 400ex is? :rolleyes: I personally think the Z is WAY overated...

[bandit390]

Theres 400 ex's in racetrack? lol more like a 400ex that someone has spent another 7 grand to make it good, why does it take 7 grand to make one good? honda not doing a good job?

get over it more people ride for fun then race


saying that race 400ex beats everything else just shows how stupid people are, and in reality a race quad , nothing on it is left stock.

saying that race 400ex beats everything else just shows how stupid people are, and in reality a race quad , nothing on it is left stock.


Not exactly, and I think your missing the fact that other mafg's quads need mods to be potentially competitive.

[bandit390]

yaya, I know. Just that some people dont realize when 80% of the quads racing are 400ex, is why nothing else is winning. still doesnt mean the 400ex is the best.

same with nascar racing, gmc/chevy usually wins all the races,1 reason why is there more of them, but that doesnt mean that there cars at the local dealerships are better than the rest. thats like me saying that all chevy/gm cars and trucks are better cause they win races more often.

[upstate rider]

Originally posted by markeg192
Where's Honda? Well quit reading Dirtwheels and go to a racetrack. There's Honda , They're right there winning races.
Pass it on to Dirtwheels so we can read about it as long as they want to compare the 400ex to everything new coming out , better yet lets read about Honda new sport quad :D

Give Cannondale three years. They will have no competition.

[DEAL]

The Z400 is all hype, the only quad out there i consider being better than the 400ex is the cannondales.

FreeStylexrider The Z400 is all hype,

I got to agree that the Z400 has received a lot of hype just like the Raptor and even the 400EX b4 it, but it isnt just all hype.

I may have said this b4 but the Z400 is nothing more than a 400EX with a better engine.

They completely copied the chassis geometry of the 400EX and put a slightly better engine in it, and thats all.

Would you be saying these things if honda put a better (liquid cooled dual cam etc) engine in the EX chassis? Some how I think not.

As far as the whole power thing goes just think of it like this. Currently the only mfg to produce a 400cc range quad that is truely designed for performance is Cannondale. The others seem to design the machines more towards reliability than performance. This is why we have the larger bore Raptor and Ds650 etc.

So with same type mods and riders the Z and EX should perform closer than most would think.

And yes they compare very closely.

[NTPRacing#19]

all you guys need to stop b!tching about Honda. Yah they do need to come out with something bigger and better and we ALL know that! so stop talkin and crying about it. imagine if they rushed into something and it turned out to be as bad as the ol LT500's just because all of you want something fast and big. GIVE THEM TIME THEY KNOW WHAT THEY ARE DOING!!!! thats all that wins races are hondas. :

[beerock]

I already told you all what is going on with honda....just wait...

the z400 is such a copy of the 400ex that the arms from a 400ex will fit a z400 and vice versa, but the ball joint angles are a lil different, I looked at them...

[02REDEXRIDER]

Even in the article it said they went to a 400ex airboot, and even use cr high bend bars, must be something they liked about honda's engineering.

[Nausty]

Originally posted by bandit390
Theres 400 ex's in racetrack? lol more like a 400ex that someone has spent another 7 grand to make it good, why does it take 7 grand to make one good? honda not doing a good job?

get over it more people ride for fun then race


saying that race 400ex beats everything else just shows how stupid people are, and in reality a race quad , nothing on it is left stock.

BULL S--- is all you need is a nice pair of shocks! I saw a guy win a local a class race on a stock raptor vs fully modded quads.

[01TRX300EX]

Actually at our local track, an old Lt250 is winning all the races, followed by the C-dales then the 400EX's. There aren't any Z400's here yet, but I think they will probably end up beating the 400EX's also. You guys say the Z400 is just a copy with a better engine, that may be so, but as you said, it does have a better engine, and that all you have to do is add an exhaust and you will be right with the Z400, well guess what, since they retail the same, the guy with the Z400 can do the same thing, and be faster and more powerful yet again. I know you can find 400EX's cheaper now days since the dealers are having a harder time getting rid of them (they are around here), but more than likely someone can find just a good of deal, or pretty close of one, on the Z400. I don't know why you people can just admit that there is something else out there better than the 400EX, since it hasn't been the best since the Raptor came out. I give the Z400 a couple years and they will start winning races as more people switch over to them. Right now the 400EX has been out a while and a lot of people have them, therefore it has more aftermarket parts, and probably better racers on them, so give the Z400 the same amount of aftermarket parts, same riders that are winning with the 400EX's, and I garuntee the Z400 will start winning races.

[billyblaster]

Originally posted by 01TRX300EX
Actually at our local track, an old Lt250 is winning all the races, followed by the C-dales then the 400EX's. There aren't any Z400's here yet, but I think they will probably end up beating the 400EX's also. You guys say the Z400 is just a copy with a better engine, that may be so, but as you said, it does have a better engine, and that all you have to do is add an exhaust and you will be right with the Z400, well guess what, since they retail the same, the guy with the Z400 can do the same thing, and be faster and more powerful yet again. I know you can find 400EX's cheaper now days since the dealers are having a harder time getting rid of them (they are around here), but more than likely someone can find just a good of deal, or pretty close of one, on the Z400. I don't know why you people can just admit that there is something else out there better than the 400EX, since it hasn't been the best since the Raptor came out. I give the Z400 a couple years and they will start winning races as more people switch over to them. Right now the 400EX has been out a while and a lot of people have them, therefore it has more aftermarket parts, and probably better racers on them, so give the Z400 the same amount of aftermarket parts, same riders that are winning with the 400EX's, and I garuntee the Z400 will start winning races.
I agree!!!.......all these people that ***** about Z400's..well i bet half of them have never ridden one...or even raced one......i have a Z400 and i have drag raced a stock 400ex I WON.....by about 3 atv lengths. and if you actually look and get out the old measuring tape.....the a-arms are NOT the same...the 400ex width between the a-arm mounts is like 9.5 and the Z is 10...I think 400ex's owners need to stop *****ing......so what if suzuki actually made a better quad then the honda 400ex......get the **** over it......im sick of hearing people say "you got a susuki"....yet it beats the 400ex.....but o well....w/e

[BoMbEr416]

i got an idea, if all you guys would ride as much as you guys argued about quads, you would all be pro's. big f*uckin deal if the suzuki is faster, or honda wins all races, well guess what racing is almost all rider. for god sakes, i own a FREAKIN DS 650!!!!! it is supposed to be the biggest, heaviest POS out, or so what everyone sez. well i just laugh at those guys with honda's/yamaha's/suzuki's when i look at there face as i pass them goin around a berm at my local racetrack and clearing the 60 foot table while the guys on the other quads are stunned to see the bomber clear the same jumps they were. i have never ridden quad i have not liked, so instead of all you guys arguing, JUST F*CKIN RIDE!!!!!!!!!

[flyin#5]

i agree bomber. i saw one guy on a 650 on a racetrack wasting on everyone it was funny to look at there faces. heck ive beaten some very fast quads with my 200sx and there faces were even funnier. who cares what kind of quad you have? just ride it and learn where to get the most power out of it and i will garautee you will win at least on race. just my .02

hmmm so what about the Z500 or am I in the wrong thread:huh

[trueblue450]

I can race a 480EX on a local track and stay with him on every turn and every jump.. its all about the riders skill. I think the Z400 is hype. I know its faster than the 400ex but the Z400 owners think its the greatest quad ever made. But if you look at it, Honda still owns the ranks. The 250R will always be on top until they fade out because all the engines are all S#()@(ed out... Power comes second to the acual skill of the rider.

[Bean]

true that, a decent rider on a 250ex can whoop a sucky rider on a Z, dale, R, or whatever else, so power means exactly 2% of a race, jus ride and whoop em on the track guys, dont argue wit em on here

cannondale

[markeg192]

A 400ex with 7000$ in add ons? That just tells me you don't go to many racetracks. At any local track guys will be winning on exs with few mods in the b and c classes. Isn't that where most of us race?
You z400 guys are all the same (quoting Dirtwheels). There is one of them here in town. After listening to him talk smack a couple of months we finally got him to take his bike to the local 1/8th mile asphalt. Him or his buddy couldn'trun faster then 58m.p.h.. A stock ex run 60, my 416 runs 70.

[01TRX300EX]

From what I see the Z400 guys don't think there quads are the best. I have seen so many of the 400EX riders who act like your quad is god or something, all you ever say is, if its not a Honda its sh*t, well guess what, the piece of sh*t is starting to beat 400EX's. Honda still wins most of the races because there's more of them out there. If pro's switched over to C-dales and Z400's they would be winning. Its all about the rider, if you were to put equal riders on the Z400 and 400EX, I garuntee the Z400 would win.

[freakystone]

I cant believe we are having this conversation. It is like asking who is hotter, Katie Holmes or Anna Kournikova... Who cares, we would all ride either one and have a ball.:D Quad or Chick!

[Z400central]

Originally posted by 01TRX300EX
From what I see the Z400 guys don't think there quads are the best. I have seen so many of the 400EX riders who act like your quad is god or something, all you ever say is, if its not a Honda its sh*t, well guess what, the piece of sh*t is starting to beat 400EX's. Honda still wins most of the races because there's more of them out there. If pro's switched over to C-dales and Z400's they would be winning. Its all about the rider, if you were to put equal riders on the Z400 and 400EX, I garuntee the Z400 would win.


Nicely said! Now stop arguing people! sheesh!

[airheadedduner]

The Z is what the new honda should be. It is a 400EX with a better motor. Sure in stock form it don't belt out the ponies, but it can be made competitive motor wise for half of what it would cost to make an EX competitive. At least suzuki has made an attempt at makeing a better quad. WTF has honda done for us in the last few years.

Where is Honda?? Eating suzuki's roost.

YOu all can go back and forth on this argument all you want, i'll just keep riding my R. At least till I got enough money for a Moto:cool:

[suzukidzrider]

the z is the bike on top right now,i have owned almost every atv out there,,,250r is still the best mx bike and banshee is the best dune bike
but the z has stepped up and i have spent several hrs on it,and would rather ride it then anything else
the z is a great bike,suzuki did a good job this year,with the rm,gxsr1000,and the z400,now they even have a z250 lets see how thats compares to the 250ex

honda was supposed to release a sneak-peak at the dealer show that just went by,,,they pulled the release but
rumor is they have to move out the 400ex that are all backed up since the z has taken the sales,,,put a z400 next to a 400ex
the 400ex feels like a peice of stone,the z like ,very new technology for what it is,light..and sharp nuff said.....stop hating on it

next time you see one ask the person if you can take a spin!!!