Looking at a Quad [Archive] - Australian LS1 and Holden Forums

Bombaman

22-06-2008, 04:37 PM

Hey,

I know its not exactly a Motorcycle, but its in the same league :P

Im looking at getting a Second Hand quad soon and am looking at some opionons.

First up a 2001 Bombardier DS650
A 2002-2003 Yamaha YFZ (most available are 2004?)
Or looking at a 350cc-ish Banshee/Raptor.

But the thing is they have these 'Karts' now that are running around the 250cc Single Seater, just wondering if anyone has any experience with these. Also looking at some capability on soft sand (dunes etc). Im not a little guy so need something with some grunt.

Basically im looking to spend about 4-5k, which I know isnt much, but I dont want to go all out as it will be a holiday ATV. Also if you have any experiences fitting the above ones in the back of a ute (VE) it would be helpful too!

Cheers
Karl

MANHYPERSS

22-06-2008, 06:05 PM

Bashee's are great fun, but my advice is to keep away from the 2 strokes if it is going to be a holiday quad, they dont like to sit around and reliability is not as good as four stroke, also the new 450cc four strokes are unbelievable.

03 SV8

22-06-2008, 06:16 PM

my old man has a YFZ450 and wow. that thing flies. no drama to be in 3rd, hit the throttle and its up on the back wheels. i wanna buy it off of him!

MANHYPERSS

22-06-2008, 08:44 PM

Yeah i want one, but i got to sell the R1 and get a wr450 first, then a yzf450 for the mrs lol "thats the excuse he he'

Road Warrior

22-06-2008, 09:10 PM

I'd avoid those 250cc buggy type things that are on ebay - they look like cheap Chinese made things like those Loncin bikes and the rest.

You could pick up a good 2nd hand Banshee for that price, awesome fun. The 400-450cc 4 stroke quads are bred for competition and are mental, unless you're really confident on a quad I'd be giving one of those a miss as your first!

OPPYLOCK

26-06-2008, 10:21 AM

Bombardier are huge heavy things, plently of poke but not very nible, I don't like them. Won't fit in your ute.
As the rest said, Banshee's are fun but you have to be prepared to put maintenance into them. PITA.
The new 450's YFZ,KFX,TRX,LTZ are incredibly capable out of the box but probably out of your price range.
For that money you could pick up a 2nd hand KFX/LTZ 400 or Raptor 660. Not quite as wild as those above but more than enough fun. Raptors are a little top heavy but make up for this with huge torque. The TRX 400 are a good thing but lacking in power compared to these two.
Buggies, you would need a 600cc plus road bike engine to get the same performance as these quads. 250 don't bother.
All of the above should fit in your ute apart from the Bombardier. You need to wedge a bit of foam between the nudge bar on the quad and the back of the cabin as you will get a dent there otherwise.
Its a shame, my KFX 400 is coming up for sale soon but you're on the wrong side of the island. Good luck.

WH_IKID

26-06-2008, 10:38 AM

I had a Banshee. Loved it, espescially the Power Band of the 2 stroke. But my next one will be a 4 stroke. Fuel up and you're away. More reliable. Also when in deep sand the 2 stroke used to heat up very quickly.

But in general, Quads are mad fun.

cross8 pat

26-06-2008, 11:52 AM

go a 4 stroke, i have a kfx400 and love it to death,plenty of poke but not too spastic, 450's are mostly for the motorcross tracks and genarally dont like to be idled around. especially the yzf 450, if you just wanna ride for fun, go a 350 or 400.

Bombaman

29-06-2008, 04:25 PM

....

Cheers for the info Oppy, I was starting to lean towards the Bombardier but If im going to have to get a ATV Trailer its definaley not going to be an option.

I am still ~1-2 months away from buying it, but want to put the extra legs of research in, It isnt my first quad, but will be my first 'performance' quad. (Use to use 100-250cc 'farm' quads a few times a month). But being able to load it into the back of the ute and drive up to Lancelin for a good sunday is the best thing. Even though I will need to pick it up from the Old's place in Mandurah!

I think for the moment Ill start having a more in depth hunt around for a 600 Raptor, and see I if I cant get a test ride.

OPPYLOCK

30-06-2008, 12:53 PM

I know it sounds obvious but try to buy the latest model possible. The earlier ones had issues with the rubber boots around the intake ports blowing off or cracking and a few minor issues with the gearbox that were rectified on later models. If you're looking at an earlier one, ask the owner if he has had these things fixed.
Pipe and a jet kit will give you plenty of white knuckle, heart in your mouth moments. Just don't push too hard too early, they do have a habit of putting carless people in wheelchairs.

Cheers.

Road Warrior

30-06-2008, 01:28 PM

Just out of interest, have many (or any) of you quad bandits converted the throttle from the thumb lever to a conventional motorcycle twist-tube?

Knawful

30-06-2008, 01:54 PM

Just out of interest, have many (or any) of you quad bandits converted the throttle from the thumb lever to a conventional motorcycle twist-tube?

I did, and most guy's that raced at the time did. (and still do afaik)

Agree about the Bombardier, very over-engineered/read heavy, 2x the weight of the yfz....Had an '02 DS and couldnt kill it though, was more fun to ride around than my banshee, that thing you had to keep on the pipe all the time.
Go the yfz...or for 5k (it'd be abused) Suzuki LT450

Big_Valven

30-06-2008, 02:01 PM

One word of advice, especially if you get new, is break it in carefully. We have several agricultural hondas and yamahas at a time and they always seem to get thrashed from new, now the valves sound like they're bouncing around in the cylinder itself.

OPPYLOCK

03-07-2008, 01:59 PM

Just out of interest, have many (or any) of you quad bandits converted the throttle from the thumb lever to a conventional motorcycle twist-tube?

I find it easier to modulate the throttle over rough ground with the thumb. It took a while to get use to but now I wonder why dirt bikes don't have them.

chrism697

05-07-2008, 07:22 AM

bacause you get most of your grip strength through your thumb!

can you imagine trying to go hrough a whoop straight wih a tumb throttle, it would be hard to hold on, and i think you would have a 1 in a million chance of keeping he revs consant

Bombaman

10-08-2008, 12:30 AM

VX2VESS

10-08-2008, 02:18 PM

these things were in todays paper look cool...

http://www.duneguide.com/ProductReview_Polaris_RZR800.htm

http://www.duneguide.com/images/RZR-Fireball-14.jpg

MANHYPERSS

10-08-2008, 02:48 PM

just cars do bikes, or swannn motorcycle insurance, there was also a few advertised in the back of ADB magazine i was reading at work the other day, maybe nick into a newagent and grab a copy of ADB

OPPYLOCK

12-08-2008, 09:10 AM

Been looking at the 250 Raptor (YFM250RSE) this weekend, can pick up one for just over 6k new, but am going to go into the Midland and Joondalup Yamaha stores on Wends (RDO) to see whats nocking around in the 06'ish higher displacment Raptors, otherwise there was a nice looking 350 Banshee, but dont know if I will have the time for the servicing on a 2 stroke.

Anyone have any companys that they would recommend for Insurance? (Just Fire/Theft)

Cheers

I don't want to turn you off but if you get a 250 you will be searching for more power within a month.
Its not just the servicing with the Banshee, the stock suspension is crap so you won't be doing much jumping or rough trails.
Try the OZATV forum. Plenty of members from WA and quads for sale.

http://www.ozatv.com/forum/index.php

If not, buy mine for 4.5K and ship it over :stick:

FPVkiller

13-08-2008, 08:14 AM

do yourself a favour stay away from polaris.

Bombaman

13-08-2008, 06:21 PM

...

Thanks again Oppy, I went back down to Cully's Yamaha and had another look, I have pre-approval for a 350 Banshee, I know you say about the suspension, but it has the look im after really. The price I got him down to was $7900 (new), after looking around at the second hand stock in WA I am abit turned off towards it, as most of them looked like they have been thrashed, or neglected. Being new to the 'sports' side of ATV's I doubt I will be doing much Jumping etc for at least a few months, but is there any major problems with them? Also is the price good?

Cheers

lux_06

13-08-2008, 09:21 PM

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Yamaha-Raptor-660-Quad-Bike_W0QQitemZ330260801450QQihZ014QQcategoryZ32626 QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

or this... http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ATV-Yamaha-Raptor-250-new_W0QQitemZ110278547981QQihZ001QQcategoryZ32636Q QssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Bombaman

13-08-2008, 10:12 PM

lux_06

14-08-2008, 11:14 PM

yeh but its an example of whats out there for the money, id be going 4 stroke without a doubt... seriously was a different world when i switched my 125 for my 250f

chevypower

15-08-2008, 02:01 PM

a 250 is not just lacking power, but the small size will give you a sore butt after about 15 mins, the bigger Can-Am Outlander and Polaris Sportsman just glide over bumps in comparison. You can ride them all day. If you want something not so big, but comfortable, and not going two-up on it. Then maybe the Yamaha Grizzly 700.

OPPYLOCK

19-08-2008, 08:45 AM

Thanks again Oppy, I went back down to Cully's Yamaha and had another look, I have pre-approval for a 350 Banshee, I know you say about the suspension, but it has the look im after really. The price I got him down to was $7900 (new), after looking around at the second hand stock in WA I am abit turned off towards it, as most of them looked like they have been thrashed, or neglected. Being new to the 'sports' side of ATV's I doubt I will be doing much Jumping etc for at least a few months, but is there any major problems with them? Also is the price good?

Cheers

My brother-in-laws was always overheating. Was a big problem for him in the dunes and I know he ended up spending quite a bit trying to resolve it. I've heard of this issue from other owners but maybe later models didn't suffer from this.
Basically if you want something that you can leave in the shed for a month, decide to go for a ride, chuck it in the ute and go, buy a four stoke.
Second hand quads are always going to look pretty used, don't let that turn you off too much so long as it has been mechanically maintained. Remember, your brand new quad will look the same after a couple of outings!

MANHYPERSS

19-08-2008, 07:17 PM

It second hand as soon as you sign the line and it willl look second hand after the first good ride.

-GTS-

19-08-2008, 07:36 PM

Mate i had a Raptor 700 for a couple of years!!! Bloody good fun :) Like my car now, the mod bug bit and did K and N filter, Full exhaust (HMF) and tune.... So fast, sooo much fun!!! I would defineitly go a 4 stroke over 2 tho, which ever way you go, 4 stroke alot easier to maintain... Good luck!!

Knawful

19-08-2008, 07:51 PM

If you buy second hand, be sure to check the air filter, a dirty filter is a sure sign of owner neglect. :soap:

Which ever way you go, be sure to get nerf-bars and a lanyard killswitch.
Nothing worse than running over your own foot 'cos you think your going to roll (as you WILL do for a couple of turns, if you've ever ridden an MX bike, the habit stick's for a while).
....and the lanyard for when your quad run's off on you when you come off on the dunes. :eyes:

Bombaman

28-08-2008, 10:36 PM

Ended up getting a 3 month old Banshee

http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn312/bombamanwa/Banshee/27082008001.jpg
http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn312/bombamanwa/Banshee/27082008.jpg
http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn312/bombamanwa/Banshee/27082008002.jpg

Probably had 2 inches between the wheel wells and about 1 inch on the front and back to get her in! Doesnt run bad but going to have a crash course (phun intended) getting back into riding this weekend.

As for riding gear ended up getting a set of AlpineStar Tech 3's (apparently suppose to be good?). Set of Scotts Goggles (made to have prescription glasses underneath), pair of Shift Barrier gloves with the CF knuckle guards and a THH helmet (was $100) because it was the only one that fit my f-ing head!