Buying a Duner

[Burl Swift]

Howdy!

I've just recently gotten interested in riding quads, a friend of mine just bought a Pred 500 and took me down to Little Sahara(UT). Man did I have a blast. I had never ridden a quad or a motor cycle before so it took me a little while to get used to the shifting and the way a personal craft handles...but once I got the hang of it I was hooked.

So now I'm starting to save up a down payment for a quad of my own, but I have some questions. I know preference is all a matter of opinion but I figured you guys would be able to shed light from all angles.

Anyway...I'm going to be in the marked for a quad that is to be ridden mostly in the sand. I fell in love with LS when I was down there and I have a duning background anyway. I'm originally from California and used to take my Bronco down to Pismo(Oceano) Dunes often. Plus I have a bunch of neighbors who camp down at sand mountain every couple of weekends.

What I was wondering was what kind of quad should I look at? I know that Banshee's are the real dune devils but I'm really not interested in all of the maintenance that goes with the high performance two strokes. Maybe after I'm better at riding but for now I think I should stick to the four strokes. Are the EX400's dune worthy? Will I be able to have a good time riding with my friend and his Pred? Or should I look into buying the newer Yamaha or maybe even wait for the new Honda?

I don't need to be the fasted in the dunes, but I want to be able to keep up.

Thanks for your time, and nice to meet you all. :cool:

[JOEX]

The 400ex can be a great duner, heck, it can do anything if set up right:D Personally I think the 400ex is the best overall value out right now. And i'm really not brand biased ;)
A few little more info might be needed...
How big are you? If you're a bigger person obviously a bigger quad would be better such as a DS650, Raptor, maybe a V-force...
How much $$ do want to spend?
There is quite a selection of machines out right now and seems to be more to come;)
If you're not in a hurry wait for the new Honda.

Joe

[Chef]

My best advice, from my experience, is to stay away from the V-Force 700. Lean more towards The Raptor, The Predator, Maybe the DS650 if your a big guy. The Banshee doesnt take nearly so much maintenance as you might think. If you can turn a drain bolt, you will be fine for years.

[JOEX]

Just found this thread which may be of some help....
http://www.exriders.com/vbb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=65427

[Burl Swift]

Thanks for the replies guys, and thanks for the link Joe.

Note: I'm 6' tall and about 220lbs+. I'm not exactly small. I like the Predator, but I didn't really want the same quad as my buddy. And I'm looking to spend about $6000, or around that.

[Flip)(stick]

Get a 250r or Banshee or even a old quad zilla

[Burl Swift]

I'm looking to buy something new, so the 250r and Zilla are out of the question.

I like the way the Banshee's look, but I'm just a bit nervous about the maintenance. When my buddy with the Pred took me down to the dunes he had absolutly no problems, but our other friend with the Banshee was having a terrible time getting his bike to run correctly. He had a bunch of issues with his "needles", whatever that means, hehe. Sorry, I don't know the first thing about small engines.

Just from talking to people I've been told that the Banshee's are tempermental, and living here in Salt Lake with the altitude can be an issue for the two strokes.

[Chef]

He most definitely had a ton of mods then if he was having problems jetting it. Mine runs fine everywhere, but I dont really have any internal mods. Just pipes, a head, timing, reeds, etc. Like I said earlier, as long as you can turn a drain bolt to change the tranny oil, you will have 0 problems.

[lil400exman]

and the needle problems can be dismissed by the 1 into 2 carb setup it replaces the 2 carbs on it and it makes it alot easier to ride;)

[Burl Swift]

So you guys think a Banshee is ok for a first time owner? I know that brand new they are around my price range. Stock anyway.

[Flip)(stick]

Get a 2004 banshee Pure black *drools*

[wilkin250r]

You can always buy a used quad for $3500, and send it in to a shop for another $800 and have them rebuild it and tune it for you. With a decent rebuild, you shouldn't have any problems for at least a year, even with a banshee.

I'm not saying that you SHOULD buy a used one, the final decision is obviously up to you, I'm just presenting a different option. And it's still possible to get financing for a used quad.

For riding in the sand, the 2 strokes really are best. On blacktop, my 250r (when it was stock) was only 3-5mph faster than my girlfriends 400EX. In the sand, however, she couldn't hold a candle to me.

My personal reccomendation would be a 250r (obviously) but if you're thinking new, and low maintenance, I'd go with the Suzuki Z400.

[stiffy]

I don't know if you should get a banshee we had one and we just sold it a couple of weeks ago and we had nothing but problems we kept excellent care of it to. But then one of my friends has a banshee and she has kept it stock and never had any problems we may have just had a huge LEMON. I am partial to four strokes though it's cool when your just sitting there in the sand and the bike starts up and all the sand around just starts cracking from the exhaust it looks cool:D read up on quads don't be in a huge hurry every quad has it's pro's and con's see if you can ride some other quads besides the pred you don't want to buy something then go out and decide you you would have been better with something else. Where in UT do you live? Right in SLC? I'm from W. Bountiful.

[Burl Swift]

don't be in a huge hurry every quad has it's pro's and con's see if you can ride some other quads besides the pred you don't want to buy something then go out and decide you you would have been better with something else. Where in UT do you live? Right in SLC? I'm from W. Bountiful.

Good advice, thanks. I hope to ride other quads, but I only know one person with a Pred and one with a Banshee. Do most dealerships allow you to take quads for a spin? I doubt I'll be buying one until after the new year...which is good. I'm hoping all the 03' models will be on sale.

I live on the boarder of South Salt Lake and Murray, and work in North Salt Lake near the Airport. I've only lived here two years now, I got transfered here for work. I like it though, I think I'll stay.

:cool:

[stiffy]

Cool I have some friends that live in Woods Cross/NSL behind the airport and I think it was earlier this year when a plane just about crashed they had hydraulic fluid all over the place the landing gear fell off in someones backyard I think it was in the same week when out on I-80 there was that huge 50 car pile-up. Go to Jericho with your friends this fall and try to test out quads I don't think that dealers will let you test drive them but you could try Centerville Motorsports if you go E on 400 north then S on 500 west then take a right across the street from America First Credit Union they are down there by the freeway.

[own2424]

Originally posted by Chef
Lean more towards The Raptor, The Predator, Maybe the DS650 if your a big guy. The Banshee doesnt take nearly so much maintenance as you might think. If you can turn a drain bolt, you will be fine for years.
;)

[Burl Swift]

Originally posted by stiffy
I don't think that dealers will let you test drive them but you could try Centerville Motorsports if you go E on 400 north then S on 500 west then take a right across the street from America First Credit Union they are down there by the freeway.

I'll have to go check it out. I live pretty close to Plaza Cycle, they have Yamaha's, Kawasaki's, Honda's and Polaris.

I noticed you have a Honda in your profile pic, that looks sand ready. For a guy my size(220lbs) what would I need to do to an EX400 that would let me keep up with my buddies? Like I said earlier, I don't need to be the fastest, just want to be able to bowl ride and climb good enough so that I don't get left in the dust.

I doubt I'll get the chance to ride anything other than my buddies Pred or Banshee this summer. I've read a bunch about the Z400/Kawi but there seems to be some issues with the frames. And I don't like the way the DS650 looks at all.

[stiffy]

The DS is like a Jeep it's huge and ugly ( I think) If you got a 400ex you would for sure want to get some new shocks I have Works triple rates on mine I love em they made a huge difference and they are affordable ($360) a pair. You would also want to get an exhaust system my husband has the full Big Gun on his and I just have the slip on I can't tell to much of a diff between the two except for now he put on a Edelbrock Quicksilver carb and that gave it more HP you can take off the airbox and snorkel but make sure you keep your filter clean also we did the cheap ext. a-arm thing we just turned the rims inside out and drilled a new hole for the stem it made the front end 4" wider which helps when you are cresting the dunes. Get new handlebars I like mine they are Tag t2's CR high's they take alot of vibration out and are very strong and they look cool to. Also I have heard about putting the cam from the XR400 in and you can get bigger engine kits like the 416 and 440 but if you do that I would send your engine in to a good engine builder you can also get a complete 440 engine on Ebay for $800 sometimes. I love my 400 I can keep up with every one else except on Comp Hill it's jumps good too. Last time we went to Dumont the guys were teasing me cause I got smoked on Comp but then I ended up towing one back from the hill to camp, that day I towed 4 Banshees except for the stock one my friend has. My little brother got his old YZ and his new YZ250F, and my dad's jet ski from Plaza. Do you ever go to the Westerner my friend is a bartender there.

[CHAUNCY]

I say go with a banshee. They are great dune quads and dont require a ton of maintenence. We have had no problems with any of the banshees we have had. As long as you maintain them they seem to work(Atleast for us). My bro is selling his http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=6725&item=2422679123 and never had any problems with it:)

[Burl Swift]

Thanks stiffy, I'll have to keep the EX400 in mind. And I've never been in the Westerner, I'm not really in to country.

Thats a pretty sweet looking ride Chauncy.

[K2Snow]

Hey bro, that's awesome that you're gonna be getting a new quad soon. I just brought a brand new 300ex, and live 20 minutes from Pismo. I'm a small guy so the 300 will haul ***. I know the Honda's to be really dependable, and relatively maintenance free as long as you keep up on the basics (lube and tighten chain, change oil, clean filters) I'll be looking into buying a Predator next, I love the way they look, have only heard good things about them, and they pack a good amount of power. I'd suggest getting a 400ex, learn on the machine, get used to working on the engine a bit. You can always mod it out to make it go faster as you progress. The when you are ready and more adept at working with an engine, step up to something bigger. Good luck!

[WyoDuner]

If you really do plan on riding mainly dunes you will be happy with a Banshee the longest. As your skills and knowledge increase you can build the Banshee faster and faster. You can get more power of a Banshee dollar for dollar than any other quad. Maintenance is a non issue. Mine is almost 4 years old with a lot of duning miles and runs perfect, good compression, no problems. I'v replaced the chain and sprockets a few times (sand is tough on them) and rear axle bearings once. Other than that I change the plugs one a year and the tranny oil once or twice a year and it works great. I have the typical bolt on mods and it has plenty of power for the dunes and is still very reliable. Banshees are not perfect and expect to put pipes, filter, filter flange on it at least. They also don't like to go slow and will overheat if you lug them around too much. You really can't beat that 2 stroke hit!!!

Don't get a 250R, Quadzilla, etc. They are all old and mostly beat and high maintenance.

A DS650 is a nice duning quad with lots of suspension and decent motor plus they are very tough. Hop-ups can start costing past a pipe & filter though. They are big and not the best hill climbers because of their weight. My personal second choice for a duner after the Banshee.

The Raptor is not bad but they are so tall, narrow and short that they need suspension mods to be decent duners. They will get you around OK and power is decent but they are more of a do it all quad that is OK at everything but great at nothing.

Z400/KFX400s are decent and ride and shift nice and have reverse. Not the fastest but a pipe, cam and filter really wake these machines up. Weak frames are an issue if you ride hard. Most people have no problems with the frames but the hardcore riders seem to. These are OK duners but a little low on power comapred to the rest.

The 400ex is a nice machine but sorry, it is no duner. It will not climb the moderately steep hills without a lot of mods plus the air cooling is a disadvantage in the dunes. They have limited hop-up potential. Not a good choice.

Predators are pretty cool. Good handling, perform about the same as a Raptor but they are made by Polaris who is not known for their reliability. Still, they seem to be doing OK despite some tranny issues and other less important problems. I would buy one over a Raptor and hope it is reliable.

YFZ 450. Bad-***** machine. Most power of all the current quads and very quick. More of a MXer than a duner but it does well in the dunes nonetheless. A little expensive at $6900 but has nice components and a killer motor. A little small for my liking but otherwise I like it a lot.

That pretty much covers everything.

[Burl Swift]

Wow, thanks Wyo, nice review of bikes.

I think that I've narrowed it down to three bikes:

1. Banshee
2. Predator
3. YFZ450

But I've got a while still, plenty of research still to do.

[beyer05]

YFZ 450.

[310Rduner]

The Predator is deffinately a QUICK handling quad, i rode one while in glamis and one of my buddy's in our group..

It almost seems twitchy because of how quick it turns.. pretty fun.
Kinda funky shifting under power.. deffinately a disadvantage to dragging.

I would personally get the Yfz450.. it reportedly revs to the moon, has the kind of power perfect for the dunes, is wider than most.


Raptor has some deffinate torque and power, and makes it up almost any dune you point it at. I would widen it immediately tho and drop the hight.. it deffinately feels tippy and theres no way you will not notice the feeling.

I think it would be in this order

1)Yfz450 or banshee- banshee if you want a 2 stroke.

2)Predator

3)raptor

4)z400/kfx400

4) ds65 (if you arent a big guy... Higher on list if you are)

And 250R is at the top of all of that if you want a fun project bike or dont mind getting it into tip top shape.

[BADASSBOMB]

dude at 6 foot and 220+ the only quad for you is the ds ..

i bet if you ride any other quad for a good amount of time your going to feel cramped up ..
on the ds you have room ..your knees arent up against the fenders when riding hard like every other quad out there ..

also the ds was just rated the fast stock bike out of all the quads that have be mentioned ..



just my 02.

[wilkin250r]

Originally posted by BADASSBOMB
dude at 6 foot and 220+ the only quad for you is the ds ..

i bet if you ride any other quad for a good amount of time your going to feel cramped up ..
on the ds you have room ..your knees arent up against the fenders when riding hard like every other quad out there ..

also the ds was just rated the fast stock bike out of all the quads that have be mentioned ..



just my 02.

I'm 6ft, 210 and I love my R.

I can't even fathom the idea of trying to jump a beast like the DS650. I bet that thing jumps as well as a 1972 Chevy Van...

[Burl Swift]

I think I've decided to go with the YFZ450...

*Starts saving money*

I should have one this time next year...or hopefully a little earlier. Hopefully my tax return is kind. :devil:

[Str8Wicked]

Originally posted by Burl Swift
I think I've decided to go with the YFZ450...

*Starts saving money*

I should have one this time next year...or hopefully
a little earlier. Hopefully my tax return is kind. :devil:


The thing don't love you back thou... my neighbor broke his frame jumping his R and he's about that size...

[kgbg]

Do your self a favor and avoid PLAZA CYCLE at all costs. CROOKS. Try South Valley, Steadmans, or Vesco's. Plaza sucks.

[Burl Swift]

Where is South Valley? Is it down in Sandy?