Quad / Bike suggestions?

shawn_NJ

Chasing waves.
Location
Daytona Beach
My coworker has a yammy raptor 350 and everyday he is telling my to pickup a quad or bike, so we could ride. I have been holding out (cant miss a day of surfriding...lol) But once december hits, I know I will be wishing I had something to brap around on. We would be riding trails mostly. I have rode his quad a bunch of times and its a blast, but being that we live in jersey (lack of places to ride) and I would much rather buy ski parts...I really dont want to spend more than 1500-2k on whatever I get. I know bikes are cheaper than quads, but I think I will just injure myself...lol I know NOTHING about quads, dirt bikes, or anything mx related. I would not be modding it.

Anyone have any suggestions for some kind of MX toy? Doesnt have to be anything amazing, just something to tool around on during the winter months.... when it gets too cold to rip surf.

Thanks for helping a newb out!
 

b.lee

Team Cheeseburger
400ex is probably your best bet for $2000 and under.
I had one and i loved it.
If want something bulletproof and 4 stroke, 400ex.
If you want something a little faster, older, and maybe cheaper it used to rule the MX world back in the day, and its what i currently ride. 86-89 Honda Fourtrax TRX250R.

trx250r = more maintenance but worth it. (2-stroke)
400ex = gas and oil changes. (4-stroke)
 
get a used old 2stroke yz250 or something if its just for farting around/trail riding.. takes up less space, requires more skill than riding a land couch, people are practically giving away their 2strokes now

...and last but not least, its probably gonna be faster than your buddy's raptor :smile:

there is more of a learning curve than a quad, but, hey, we ride stand-ups right?

Agreed 100%
 

Vumad

Super Hero, with a cape!
Location
St. Pete, FL
If you're going with a sport quad...

300ex - ok power, has reverse, nice reliable bike
400ex - great power, NO reverse
Warrior/Raptor 350 - great power, has reverse, low seating postition (rides like a harley, very comfy but still very sporty)
Zazuke (sazuki) Z400 - great power, *liquid cooled* has reverse, seating position is kind of high (little more top heavy so it wont corner as nicely)
All of the 300-400 4-strokers require little maintence.

The 600-700 CC sport bikes are better drag bikes. They are very heavy and corner poorly. The banshee goes here too.

The 450 seriers of bikes (any manufacture) will be the most sporty bike you can buy. They are ready to race. They have twice the power of any 300-400 but are tricked out and will require a lot more maintance. They are liquid cooled, very wide, have adjustable suspension, no reverse, race bikes. They can be bought for only slightly more than the 300-400's can (because they are more work I think).

Personally, if I were to be able to buy a bike again... I would have a YFZ450. It would have only costs about $500 more than my warrior. The 400EX has a little more power than my warrior, but you give up reverse for that little bit of power. Not worth it to me. If you don't care about reverse, get a 450, or if you don't want any maintance, get a 400EX. The Z400 is nice, but I think it's too top heavy and wont corner well.
 

vitaly

Анархия - мать порядка!
Location
NY/NJ
My coworker has a yammy raptor 350 and everyday he is telling my to pickup a quad or bike, so we could ride. I have been holding out (cant miss a day of surfriding...lol) But once december hits, I know I will be wishing I had something to brap around on. We would be riding trails mostly. I have rode his quad a bunch of times and its a blast, but being that we live in jersey (lack of places to ride) and I would much rather buy ski parts...I really dont want to spend more than 1500-2k on whatever I get. I know bikes are cheaper than quads, but I think I will just injure myself...lol I know NOTHING about quads, dirt bikes, or anything mx related. I would not be modding it.

Anyone have any suggestions for some kind of MX toy? Doesnt have to be anything amazing, just something to tool around on during the winter months.... when it gets too cold to rip surf.

Thanks for helping a newb out!
You want an XR400R. That's it.
 
Location
Ohio
I've ridden a while and I would say 2005 (and up) 400ex. They are light and they are reliable as hell.

In 2005 they added reverse.

A warrior is nice but heavy and low. Plus I run out of RPM's in 1st and 2nd gear all the time.
 
My coworker has a yammy raptor 350 and everyday he is telling my to pickup a quad or bike, so we could ride. I have been holding out (cant miss a day of surfriding...lol) But once december hits, I know I will be wishing I had something to brap around on. We would be riding trails mostly. I have rode his quad a bunch of times and its a blast, but being that we live in jersey (lack of places to ride) and I would much rather buy ski parts...I really dont want to spend more than 1500-2k on whatever I get. I know bikes are cheaper than quads, but I think I will just injure myself...lol I know NOTHING about quads, dirt bikes, or anything mx related. I would not be modding it.

Anyone have any suggestions for some kind of MX toy? Doesnt have to be anything amazing, just something to tool around on during the winter months.... when it gets too cold to rip surf.

Thanks for helping a newb out!




you are in the exact same situation as I was about 6 or so months ago...Everyone else had a dirt toy and if the waves were ********ty then either ski alone or get left at home...

so, I had


NEVER ridden a dirtbike (nor any motorcycle for that matter)...

didnt want something else to wrench on...

dont care about mods...

hell, I had to get one of my buds to show me how to change the oil...


I bought an 04 400ex for 3k with a BUNCH of extra stuff and coudnt be happier with my choice

the 05+'s do have reverse as well....









flame away flamers :highhorse:
 

ANT

Just ride
My coworker has a yammy raptor 350 and everyday he is telling my to pickup a quad or bike, so we could ride. I have been holding out (cant miss a day of surfriding...lol) But once december hits, I know I will be wishing I had something to brap around on. We would be riding trails mostly. I have rode his quad a bunch of times and its a blast, but being that we live in jersey (lack of places to ride) and I would much rather buy ski parts...I really dont want to spend more than 1500-2k on whatever I get. I know bikes are cheaper than quads, but I think I will just injure myself...lol I know NOTHING about quads, dirt bikes, or anything mx related. I would not be modding it.

Anyone have any suggestions for some kind of MX toy? Doesnt have to be anything amazing, just something to tool around on during the winter months.... when it gets too cold to rip surf.

Thanks for helping a newb out!

get a 125. you can pick up a 99-02 YZ125(twostroke) for right around 2k. they are the best 125's u can buy for that price range. a 250F might be a little more expensive but the only 250F (F meaning fourstroke) made was by yamaha up until 03-04 and those early yz250F's were JUNK they threw rods left and right.

a quick brush up when your looking for a bike. YZ=yamaha KX=kawasaki RM=suzuki CR=Honda SX=ktm

definetly go for a 125 they are an awesome starter bike they dont have to much power where your gonna be afraid of it but there is enough there to win a race if you get good enough. They are light so your not lugging around on some big a$$ trail bike and you can learn everything on it. they are very easy to maintain-change oil, clean air filter, and when you do a top end you can pick one up for $80. since they dont make a lot of power wear and tear stuff like chain, sprockets, tires, etc. will last a lot longer.

Def go for a YZ125, I used to have one and it was the funnest bike i've ever owned i definetly miss having it despite the fact that i have a 450F now.

It's completely different than ski's you dont need to mod a bike. the great thing about a bike is that they are perfect right from the crate. you can do anything/beat anybody on a completely stock bike. if you want a comparison, it would be like if a superjet came stock with an aluminum handlpole, footholds, a skat trak magnum pump, tubbies, lowered hood and a 785 lamey pv cylinder: thats how bikes are.

and dude there are tons of places to ride in Jersey you just have to talk to people and find out about places they ride. See about 20ft underground in jersey is a layer called silica sand, it's a very fine sand just liek what you see at the beach in south jersey and they use that to make glass. so there are a bunch of pits all over new jersey where companies dig for that silica which they sell to glass factories. a lot of the sand plants shut down so there are pits all over new jersey, more and more the further south you go, but people ride in them. there are probably about 20 pits within a 5-10 mile radius of my house and i can get to most of them by riding right from my driveway and goin by trail.

if you get a bike and want to rip let me know im always down to ride.
 

ANT

Just ride
in this picture i highlighted all the areas where there are those pits i was talking about. the green arrow is my house. the area next to my house i circled take me about a two minutes to get to and is prolly the best one. but all the woods have tons of trails too.
 

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Vumad

Super Hero, with a cape!
Location
St. Pete, FL
I've ridden a while and I would say 2005 (and up) 400ex. They are light and they are reliable as hell.

In 2005 they added reverse.

A warrior is nice but heavy and low. Plus I run out of RPM's in 1st and 2nd gear all the time.

I agree the only advantage of the warrior is it has reverse. Get the EX if you don't care about reverse (I think the newer EX has reverse but he had a budget).

I disagree about the warrior being heavy and low. I think those are advantages in some cases. The skid plate is lower so it can drag, but the seating position is also lower. I personally prefer a lower seating position at the cost of less ground clearance. People complain about my warrior being nose heavy, but I actually like it. It keeps the front end down but has plenty of power to get it up in the whoops. If you know how to ride YOUR quad, it will always have advantages over another.

I'd rather the warrior 350 over the 400EX. Just me personally. Many would disagree. I just believe that if power was the reason to get a 400EX, then I'd have a YFZ450 instead.
 

shawn_NJ

Chasing waves.
Location
Daytona Beach
Guys thanks again for all the advice!

ANT,
Up here its open season for cops on riders. If you dont own the land, you will get F__ED with! My cousin had his bike impounded and held for weeks because he stopped to help an "injured" person in the woods on a popular trial. The "injured" person turned out to be a cop with 3 others hiding close by. They lost 2bikes and a quad that day. Cost lots of $$$ to get everything back. This was in Old Bridge, nj. The deal breaker if I pick something up, is going to be if I can find some solid ride spots that are not too far. No joking around, all the sand pits in middlesex and monmouth counties, that I used to go ride/paintball at have been turned into townhouses or big house developments! I know there are supposedly a bunch of places to ride in Ocean cty, thats where I am going to start looking.
 
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brett

-------------
Location
Ventura,ca
get a used old 2stroke yz250 or something if its just for farting around/trail riding.. takes up less space, requires more skill than riding a land couch, people are practically giving away their 2strokes now

...and last but not least, its probably gonna be faster than your buddy's raptor :smile:

there is more of a learning curve than a quad, but, hey, we ride stand-ups right?
x2
 
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