Newbie advice!

[Chris41586]

Hope the year is starting off well for all! Trying to get a quad, and having a hard time determining what's going to be the best for my use. I'm 5'6" and 145 pounds. I'm in Oregon, and we have sand and lots of trails here, so I'd like to get a bike that's going to be good all around, and preferably not have to work on it every time I take it out, as I don't yet have the experience to just know what needs to be done. Initially I was set on a YFZ450, but honestly that choice had more to do with seeing what people riding at the dunes like. Now I'm reading that they don't like going slow, which could be a bad thing for some trails? Real quick, my girlfriend's 8 year old is getting a dirt bike at the same time, so I'm going to be going slow some times. I don't need the fastest bike around, but I do want something zippy for when I need it. Lastly, prices seem to be pretty high right now, seeing used quads costing more than a brand new one. First time getting one, I was hoping to only spend a a couple grand, but ones in the 450 range seem to be quite a bit more expensive than say the 300 range, although I don't want to go too small and end up selling it in a year. Please give me some input!

[Mech]

On sand a two wheel drive honda would be my pick. They have a crawler gear, below the normal first. They are low maintenance and relatively light and nimble.

[Chris41586]

12 hours ago, Mech said:

On sand a two wheel drive honda would be my pick. They have a crawler gear, below the normal first. They are low maintenance and relatively light and nimble.

Do you think the 400-450 range is appropriate for all around fun?

[Mech]

Yeah they're all fun !! The later models with the crank running forward and aft, as opposed to the early ones which had the crank across the bike, are much easier to do work on.

[Chris41586]

After lots off looking at the market and what's available at certain prices, I found a 2008 Suzuki z400, that looks new, has both sets of tires for trails and sand, and only has 87 hours. Everything still stock. He's asking $4,500, which is a little more than I wanted to spend, but the bikes I'm seeing for the same price have a good amount of rust and are older and beat. The market sucks right now, but I guess all I can do is take the best I can get

[Mech]

I don't know a Z model. Sounds sporty..haha.

I reckon Honda and Suzuki make the best dirt bikes and quads.. Both really reliable and nice to ride, good controls. Dependable, and the farm model Suzuki seem to last  forever.

Quads with those round tyres are just the best thing/fun for sand dunes.. Hope you enjoy your ride whatever it is..

Unless... are you meaning a DR400Z.. ?  I know those.. All the smaller DR models were legendary for the miles they did. My son's got one of those dr400z, had it for about five or more years now and it's been absolutely reliable.

[Mech]

Yeah ok I googled..   Yeah that looks like lots of fun. For open terrain that would be great. You can also get real tractor model suzuki quads. They are good for places/terrain that need a bit of careful negotiating..

[Chris41586]

Yep, looks like a great all around toy, and I've read a lot of articles praising it as such, so happy with my find! Well, I guess I'll know for sure Sunday when I see her in person haha. It's located a little over 4 hours away, but the guy agreed to meet me halfways. I told him that I sure hope it's as nice as it seems, because that's a far drive for nothing! Now I need a starter dirt bike for my 8 year old, that is cheap enough for when he bangs his way around learning haha

[thrasher7811]

The only rule I have is that I need to be able to move one end of the quad at a time.  I like to get stuck and getting a mean monster unstuck can be problematic.  That my rule though.  Tones of other do not share my idea.  That said, I have had several Kaws and never regretted it.