Its not how fast its how smart

[400exrider20]

Hey has anyone ever noticed that everyone is so worried about top speed of a quad? Its not how fast the bike is its more of the rider. I beat a Raptor 700 in a harescrambler on a 300ex with nothing more that a pipe tires and shocks. I mean honestly any quad can be beat. You have to have a good handling well performing bike. The guys that put the 30cc bore kits have to work all week to ride one time just so they can beat there buddies in the straight away. I want to here what you guys have to say.

[f4istunna]

I agree time after time i see people comparing top speeds of quads and just going out and buying the fastest rated one then hating it because it handles like **** or blows up twice a season lol.

[shok47]

speed ain't important in anything if you don't got the skills to utilize it ;)

[lil_watz_ex]

I agree, I have never hit top speed on a track and don't intend to.

[buck440]

i know cause my friend who has an 07 kx250f not stock is like oh ill beat you in a drag, huh, so, its not what its ment to do, its about the trails you chode and yah he beats me in the drag always :scary:

[shallow518]

i have admitted a bunch of time to guys that my quad is slow as hell. but it gets there quick, im not a top speed guy, i like acceleration, top speed is usless unless your in a straight line, and where i ride i never see them long enough to top it out. i dont understand why guys will up gear there quad to get another 5 mph but takes 5 times as long to get there. no brains no headache i guess

[rcatvrider]

I always gear my quads down. I don't care about top speed. It takes more skill to get the holeshot than it does to win a drag race with a faster machine. Obviously if given enough room a 450 will beat a 400 because it has a higher top speed.

[dunatic]

Originally posted by 400exrider20
Hey has anyone ever noticed that everyone is so worried about top speed of a quad? Its not how fast the bike is its more of the rider. I beat a Raptor 700 in a harescrambler on a 300ex with nothing more that a pipe tires and shocks. I mean honestly any quad can be beat. You have to have a good handling well performing bike. The guys that put the 30cc bore kits have to work all week to ride one time just so they can beat there buddies in the straight away. I want to here what you guys have to say.

I started out racing sports cars back in the 70's when I was just 16. MY dad always told me........"with better handling and better brakes you can keep up or beat most guys with more HP".

........and it's true. If you can get thru the rough stuff easier with better handling, lighter machine and better skills....those with the BIG bike and BIG HP wont stand a chance.

[duffman1483]

You see this all the time. Some guys go buy their first quad and buy a 450 and think they're bad cause the quad's fast. Those are the ones I love beating cause they seem to think because they have a "better" quad they should beat you. Then you have guys that put too much power into it and ruin it, and they never set up a suspension to handle that power. All people think about, the majority anyway, is they want all that power without spending time and money on suspension, and without spending time on their own practicing the different aspects of riding.

[outlaw319]

I agree 100% with everyone on here, I've been saying this for years! I gear my quads down for power and acceleration, I dont worry about top speed cuz I hardly ride anywhere where i get to see it anyways. Even on a bix mx track about the time i did hit top gear wfo it's time to shut it down and start down shifting!
Suspension and riding skill is where it's at, you can have the biggest baddest engine you want but if it isn't hooking up traction and handles like crap it's useless! For years untill recently I ran the pro class at the local HS series here on a 300ex(wasn't exactly stock) and I might not always got 1st place but was always in the top 5, I was 2nd in points overall for 5years in a row(coulda had 1st 3 of the years but I usually missed a race that dropped me out). I usually got laughed at when I pulled up to the starting line, and got critisized and told that I need a bigger quad! But they change their story whenever 90% i pulled the holeshot and led em into the woods or they seen where i finished...lol. I do have a 400ex but I still like to run the 300 at times just to whip up on other quads that are anywhere from 100-360cc bigger than me, I think it's funny and I like proving a point. I know some people will think I'm full of it! I'll try to locate some pics from the starts where I'm pulling the holeshot and post on here, or might be able to find the past points listing to post too! Or if anyone has raced at "South Fork Dirt Riders" about 2 years ago, you woulda had a trophy that had my picture laminated on it!

[juicedz]

Just like in the 1/4 mile. It dont matter how fast you go it matters how fast you can get to how fast you can go.

[katch26]

but in all fairness if someone of the same skill as you was on a faster bike wouldnt you still lose?

[rcatvrider]

I would agree with that. Machine power does come into play. Some people say it's 100% rider which is downright stupid. A drag banshee is always going to smoke a 400 even if you give the 400 a head start. But with quad's within 50cc's of each other, rider skill has alot to do with it.

[katch26]

absolutely.....Ill agree with that and also what the other guy was saying about people buying past their skill level....its all about having the next best thing

Want speed buy a banshee their cheep. If I remember right a banshee with a exhaust can hit 86mph.

If your quad dont bounce off the rev limiter in top gear then gearing it up will only hurt your performance. Most quads if not all dont even have enough power to even top their engines 5th gear out. Thats why 5th gear never bounses like it can in 1st gear and is why your engine rpm might be limited to 9000rpm but in 5th gear you probably only make it to 7000rpm when you top out cause you dont have to power to pull top gear.

[outlaw319]

Originally posted by katch26
but in all fairness if someone of the same skill as you was on a faster bike wouldnt you still lose?

Ohh it can happen and has happened! I was just trying to state that the bigger and faster isn't always better! In a woods race/trailride it dont matter if you had a 1000cc quad you're only gonna go so fast in between tree's and turns, handling makes you faster than motor. Now in a drag race it's a combination of motor, rider, and a bit more of the right gearing combo....whether its a short drag or a long run. My cousin and I had the exact same fourwheelers years ago except I ran 20" tires and 1 tooth smaller sprocket, and he had 22" tires and factory gearing...it was like night and day difference! My 3rd gear was like his 1st, in the woods I'd run him over and I can power wheelies out of the turns where he'd bog it. But in a drag race I'd smoke him off the line and in the race in a short run, but if we're in the fields where we had a long run I'd still have him until the top gear I'll be topped out and here he'll come and cruise right on by.
Drag racing does take alot of skill too, knowing when to shift and using some body english to control traction! I use to laugh at these people that rap the ***** out of the motor thinking they're going faster just cuz the motor is screaming...actually you're going slower because each gear is on a ratio meaning it's only gonna turn so fast before its maxed out. Same thing with spinning the tires! might look cool but you're moving slower.

[rcatvrider]

Originally posted by ltr450fly
Want speed buy a banshee their cheep. If I remember right a banshee with a exhaust can hit 86mph.

If your quad dont bounce off the rev limiter in top gear then gearing it up will only hurt your performance. Most quads if not all dont even have enough power to even top their engines 5th gear out. Thats why 5th gear never bounces like it can in 1st gear and is why your engine rpm might be limited to 9000rpm but in 5th gear you probably only make it to 7000rpm when you top out cause you dont have to power to pull top gear.
This is what I always try to tell people, most quads don't even have the balls to top out in fifth.

[f4istunna]

i remember when i bought my R before i regeared I used first in the woods most of the time until i bought new chain set. I didnt even know i had 6th gear :eek2: it had like a 30t and 18t f :huh not quite but it was tall. It still was pulling but it woulda took a long straight road . id bet it woulda done 100 on flat pavement prob. take over 1/2 mile though.

I put a smaller front and stock or close rear and woke her right up

Top speed is cool but unless your dragging or in the desert its useless.

[outlaw319]

Originally posted by ltr450fly
Want speed buy a banshee their cheep. If I remember right a banshee with a exhaust can hit 86mph.
Ok, 1 last comment from me:D The ol famous BANSHEE! I remember when everyone back in the day had 1 of these that ran 100+ m.p.h......lol And it used to really bug me when people that didn't even ride a quad swore these was the fastest thing that cant be beat cuz it's a 350 cc twin cylinder. I had an 88 thats was built and scary fast, but my built Honda 250R was faster and handled better. I still have the Honda but the Banshee is long gone and is probally somebodies duner right now where it belongs, it's about all it was good for along with the Quadzilla 500 I had too. Great for open areas but sucked on trails,and mx tracks...poor handling and to heavy I.M.O.

[f4istunna]

i almost picked up a zilla earlier this past spring pretty cheap but after i thought about it they dont really do as much for me as they did when i was a kid w/ my face in 3 &4 wheel action or dirtwheels :D

Id rather put the money in the honda

[trailrider894]

i have a freind who always says. "the best subsitute for power is skill!!!!" man i'm totally with u if i'm racing on gravels roads and stuff i lose everytime. but take me to the track and i've taken down many 450r's on my little 400ex

theres no replacement for displacement is totally wrong, the more skilled operator can change a lot. The 400ex can do just about everything the 450's can but I see a lot of people try to make up for lack of skill and still get raped in a race lol Top speed is more of bragging rights. Most things are bragging rights. Why build a car to be fast in the 1/4 mile? yeah its a lot fo fun to drive but people continue to try and be in the top spot for fastest or most power. Why build the fastest Civic, Supra, Evo, Skyline? just to say you did it and your greater than everyone else. Top speed is hardly ever used unless your racing baja or down a aspalt track. I fine with my 400ex and its top speed i hardly hit it. The only time I have actually reached top speed i touched the rev limiter in 5th testing my jetting WOT down the road. Offroad its pretty hard to tag the rev limiter in 5th

[odog]

i love top speed myself i have a tall gearing 16/38 even with that gearing i do good in the trails sometimes gearing does come into play like on the road trying to get to the trails and on long dirt straight aways when your riding with about 14 more quads and three or four dirtbikes with all the bikes being 2 strokes and out of 15 quads its like 3 400s about 6 raptor 700 3 banshee s and 3 450s u will appreciate taller gearing because in the trails the 400s handle better anyways so the only advantage the other bikes have is on the long straits and with taller gearing u will be right there with the pack.

and oh yea when my quad gets out the shop with the 460 kit i will be dropping my gearing in the rear to a 36 to compensate for the extra torque.

[rdstoner]

i have a buddy who also thinks bigger is better. he used to own an 03 z400 but when me and my other buddy came along with our two 400exs and started beating him in the drag races and through the trails he was like im gettin a new quad this is a piece of junk, and i told him that it wasnt the quad its the rider and he said no its the quad. so the next weekend he goes out and buys a brand new yfz450 right out of the crate and puts a full system CT racing system and jets and knn and asks us to come ride. so we did and ofcoarse ya he beats us in the drag race but get us in the trails and i eat him alive all day long and he still thinks he is better cuz his quad is newer and bigger.

[250x_kyle]

i have a 450r yes. but if u throw john natalie or chad winnen on a 300ex and race me on a track there gunna smoke me.i could care less about speed i want a quad that feels good to me and has the power and throttle response i like.

The Quadzilla 500s the most powerful quad ever made factory.

If you want speed you got a build one of these for like $2000.

140mph
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[3or4HONDA]

i have this debate all the time with my roomate. he has a banshee i have a 400 and my other buddy has a yfz450. well the only place my roomate ever wants to ride is on the road, because he smokes me. i smoke him off the line while he trys gettin that pos to the powerband, but when we head off the road hes smoked. but he swears i have a slow quad and his is so much faster. i just laugh cause i know the next time we go trail riding he will be pissin and moaning, and sucking down gas faster than he can put it in. and the yfz...well thats just a shop fixture.

id much rather have a quad i am comfortable riding and is reliable than one that will go 80 down a paved road. after all they are ATV's not PRV's.

[rcatvrider]

Those zillas sound more like streetbikes than quads lol

[katch26]

Originally posted by rcatvrider
Those zillas sound more like streetbikes than quads lol

yeah it says r1 on the vid tags..I think he was saying you could build a streetbike hybid for that price.....def confusing though :)

[rcatvrider]

Ahh, that makes more sense.