Looking at the Honda 400ex and the Suzuki z400 for my daughter. LA Cycle prices for new 05's, 400ex is 5,699 & Z400 is 5,799 OTD.

Can better prices be had and if yes, where. Waht pipe and paddles would you run?

Z400 all the way man.

Z400 is water cooled, has more power, looks better(IMO), and the suspension is way better. The new 05' Z's have a new carb, front shocks with rezzies, new cam, and other little stuff.

400ex is air cooled, and is slow compared to the Z400. thats all i know about the 400ex The 05' does have reverse like the Z, and also has the new 450r look to it.

For pipes there are quite a few to pic from. Yoshimura, Sparks, HMF, and alba are at the top of my list. I have the old style alba pipe and it is very loud but makes lot of pwer. I love my alba pipe no matter what others say i will go get another one if i need another one. I believe chummin had a yoshi pipe so you may want to ask him about that, oh and the yoshi pipe is not as loud as the alba.

Neither - get her a 450, otherwise you will be trading again in less than 12 months. My daughter is 13 and handles it well. You can loosen up the shocks for a smoother ride. Plus the pride thing has to factor in there, after all, she is BOHICA'S daughter....

I've heard Pro Circuits are the way to go on the z400s for pipes. And I love my Skat Trak paddles-they hook up wonderfully and roost everyone behind me

And I would go Suzuki over Honda.

Everything I've read says Z400 all the way... there's no comparison stock for stock.

Suzuki released their 400 several years after Honda had the 400ex out. The Z/KFX/Arctic cat 400's are all the same bike and I like to call them updated 400ex's. They are fairly light, water cooled, quite a bit more powerful than the honda, and have proven reliable. The only problem I can remember hearing about is a weeping waterpump seal. Never leaked bad, just enough to leave a few drops of antifreeze on the ground.

The 400ex is a great bike also. It is very light due to no cooling system. It handles excellent, jumps very well, and the simplicity of a bulletproof drivetrain is very well liked.

I would say the honda has handling, lightness, and reliability over the zook but the zook is no slouch in these areas. The honda is just a bit better.

The zook has more power and water cooling to keep the bike cooler in hotter weather (Though I've never heard of a 400ex over heating).

Both bikes have strong aftermarket support with the honda having the greater amount of choices.

You won't find anyone that will beat LACycle prices on new bikes. You would do well to find a dealer that will get you $200 in the ballpark. Any dealer will do the warrenty work also. I haven't heard good things about LACycles service center.

As for performance, I hear that the Suzuki/Kawasaki is the way to go. The only complaint I ever hear about them, is that the frame is weak. I guess it's not hard to break or bend them. If you get it, I would look into a gusset (SP?) set for it.

owning a honda, i can vouch for reliability, about 50 hours of trail use and no maintenance yet(except adding a winch) not to mention i have been on the trail for as long as 8 hours and never got past half tank

this was on my rancher 350, not the 400

Luckily i havent had the coolant leaking problem, and i also havent heard aot of complaints, only a few.

For the frame, unless she is jumping huge air and racing she doesnt need it. For dune riding and small jumping the Z will have no problem.

For paddles i run sandstars. I love them, they were cheap and they work great.

one more thing, putting on a 13t front sprocket, even with pipe, filter, and jetting is the way to go. I put one on my bike and it really ripped good. I didnt loose much top end either. I switched my gearing to 13/41. stock gearing is 14/40. I beat a coupl bkes at the drags, but i dont think she will need the top end anyways.

450TRX or YFZ 450. Don't think she's be able to kick over the Honda. How much heavier os the YFZ over a 400ex/z?

Actually I think that the YFZ is lighter than the 400ex/z. I know when I picked up my buddies 400ex, it felt like a tank compared to my YFZ.


EDIT:
I got this off of Honda's site

Dry Weight 386 pounds

The YFZ is only 350 pounds

04 honda 400ex $5299 I got 375 weight
05 450r $6649 350lbs manual start
05 yfz450 $6899 (suggested) electric start, 350 lbs

and this is info from alba action sports where they put a pipe and stuff on if for the price listed

scroll to the bottom they sell all 3 brands, honda, yamaha, zuki


http://www.albaaction.com/atv/index.htm

The 04 sport trax is 375 pounds, but the 05 TRX (which took place of the sport trax) now weighs 386 pounds. I guess its the added weight of the reverse.

well my dad was thinking the same way you are now he was going to get me a 400 ex. then he said i want to get you a bike that will last and be fun so he was gonna go with the rapter. i talked my mom in to talkin my dad to get me the yfz and he couldnt be more proud of me he's thinkin about letin me race. and im only 15 just to let you know.go with a 450 she'll love ya forever

A raptor would last any longer then the 400ex. If he wanted to get you a bigger bike a 450 would be the way to go. With the raptor you would want to put on a pipe and filter then suspension since its kind of tall. For the 400ex you would want to put on a pipe, filter, cdi, carb, and then do suspension.

My z00 wil llast me a while. A couple more motor mods to get me up with the 450's and ill be set. I can run with the 450r bu not the yfz.

all I can say about that is that my girlfreind (115) pounds rides a Z : piped, no airbox lid, 13 tooth sprocket, and the comfort of this bike lends to her having a good time. IMO this bike is set up very well for low and mid level riders plus the engine is very hassle free.

my .02

Bohica and Tron, Just curious, how much do your daughters weigh? You don't have to tell them you told us

My almost 13 year old daughter currently rides a blaster. I have thought about
another bike and would put her on the 450R. This bike is lighter than the 400s
and the suspension is much better. I rode mine one trip at Glamis before doing
the cam,HRC kit, and exhaust. In stock form it is still pretty mild. You would
probably just want to bump the main jet. http://www.trx450r.org/ is by far
the best site for info on this bike.

Mine's only 12 yrs. old and maybe 80lbs wet.

in that case I think having the reverse is a good idea.

Yeah 80lbs is pretty light, i think she wuld be fine on a Z. Plus if you have even younger kids you can move them up when she moves up.

I say Z400. Very comfortable for a girl. She doesn't need a 450. The Zuki would be plenty for her and the new ones are blue and white. Would look good with the funco Don't want to give her to much power, she doesn't weigh anything.

My son is 4' 11" 104lbs an awsome offensive lineman, will be 11 yrs old next month, and a very mature, responsible young dude, anybody on this site that knows him can vouch for that, I could not imagine putting him on my 450. I find it hard to believe that under 100lbs can muscle around a 350+lb bike if it gets hairy. Maybe I am just too overly protective of my kids. he will be stepping up to a Z250 or 250EX from his LT80 next season for at least a few years. I have a good friend that has his 80lb 10yr old son on a Raptor 660, just so he can tell people "my son is soo good he is on a bike bigger than yours". I just want to be cautious and error on the side of safety, but maybe I'm wrong. This is all new to me. Good Luck and be safe

I would buy hear a clean used 2003 Honda 400ex. Good bike for her. Only draw back is no reverse and I wont go 400 below asking.........Yet.

Just my .02

She is 12 and weighs 80lbs. Is she tall enough to ride the quad correctly. Don't get carried away with she has to have at least a 400. I know my son is 12 and weighs about 110 and he barely fits on my Z. I occasionally let him put around camp on it. No way he is taking it out and riding in the dunes.

What happens when it gets stuck. If she can't get it unstuck or move the quad around IMO she shouldn't be riding the quad.

I bought my son a Kasea 150. A little more than the 90 and fits him well. I will just buy him another that fits him when he is ready to move up.

That is my TOP of the line information

What complaints does she have about the 300ex she has now?

If you go new, I'd lean twords the Z400. The bike has plenty of power...mine hauled my butt all over glamis, stock except for sandstar paddles. And no one was ever waiting around for me on the group rides either..

If you go used to save a couple bucks, I'd consider the 400 ex's, as they can be found for better price than most used Z400's.

Dang guy. should have bought my bike.. it was all done and ready to go..

If you do buy new and want all that jet and pipe shiz on it - Just buy the alba bike or one like it. Used is the best bet with all the bolt on stuff already there.

Z400 is a way better bike period (stock on stock). Water cooled, reverse, easy thumb throttle, etc..

Hey Bohica...Nice meeting you the other weekend...

I bought a Z400 for my wife and daughter this past Xmas and they are having a blast with it. My wife is all of 5 foot and 100 pounds and my daughter is just a bit taller...and just turned 13. Both of them are handling it fine. I ran a thread on here asking for suggestions for mods and such. I bought the ALBA pipe, jet, K&N filter kit (best performance at a nice price... ) and went down a tooth on the front sprocket.

A couple of guys in our camp have Z400s and a couple have 400EXs...the guys on the Z400s seem to do a little better duning.

If you are near San Diego, Fun Bike center still has a few 04's in stock that the are selling for $4900 new. That's what I got mine for...

One big thing to consider is that the Z400 has reverse...That's HUGE!!! when someone boxes her in or if she get's stuck. My wife and daughter swear by it.

Heck i use my reverse al lthe time. Its there so why not use it?

The new 05' 400ex's have reverse, but IMO they look like crap. The 450r look on the ex doesnt look rihgt. The front fenders have a dumbo ear look ot them. IMO

Besides what the 05' 400ex goes for is a rip off, its priced high like the new 350 raptor.