Blasphemy!!!

[kawdude]

All,
I know this is Blasphemy on this site but I need your help. For the last year or so I have trying to talk my wife into buying a motorcycle for her without any luck. Today she came to me and said she wanted a 4 wheeler. I've tried to talk her out it but no dice.

Anyway, I need suggestions or information on what to buy. I'll buy used to keep it cheap. My first thoughts are of the Yamaha line. Banshee, Warrior or Blaster. Anyone know any about these? Looking for some reliable, and something I would enjoy riding. I assume that the Banshee is probably too fast and probably too expensive. What's everyone think would fit the bill?  What should I stay away from?

 

[CaNaDiAn,Eh?]

The blaster is a good quad that won't scare the bejeezus out of a beginner if they take it slow, and will progress with them. They are a nice size to learn on, and aren't gutless like most starter quads out there. I read a review on the new blasters and they loved them. I think a banshee might be to intimidating to start out on, I guess it depends on if she has had any prior experience.

 

[CaNaDiAn,Eh?]

Oh, and there is also the Honda TRX 250, it won't go like the blaster does, but it's still going to be a fun little quad. However, unlike the blaster it has an automatic transmission.

 

[kawdude]

There's a vote for the blaster. Thanks! I think thats what I'm leaning toward but what about reliability? How about handling? It sure has a short wheel base...

 

[woodsy]

Hey Kawdude - I am a "kawdude" too.. Any friend of the MIGHTY KX500 is a friend of mine so I will help you out here..
Blaster - Yamaha's REAL GOOD shot at a low cost VERY fun sport quad. Pretty dependable but seem to like top end work more then most (I think it has something to do with air cooling). If you are looking at used, it is VERY hard to tell by listening to it run what shape the top end is in - they ALL seem to rattle... The Blaster is a manual clutch, NO reverse, kick start only, oil injection (no mixing!). Lighting coil is ample for grip heaters. Suspention is good on it.. YES, it is a VERY short wheelbased quad but this pays off in the woods - FUN little trail quad!
Banshee - Yamaha's AWESOME RD350 in a quad!! FAST and REALLY a riot!! Not for the faint at heart (I cnat say not for women cause I sold 2 of them recently to women..). Water cooled twin, manual clutch, gotta mix gas, no reverse (it is a race quad for crying out loud), kick only. I have owned several of them and can vouch for their ABSOULUTE dependablity - just leave it stock!!! THere is NOTHING like the MIGHTY Banshee in sound or in POWER (I have a 86 Honda TRX250R right now - close, but not a Banshee!).
My daughter rode a Warrior for 5 years and she LOVED it once she fiqured out the manual shifting routine.. It is a 6 speeder too (like the Banshee) and, for an "old school" 4 stroker, pretty peppy quad! The warrior has reverse (you can actually put the thing in reverse from ANYWHERE in the tranny - meaning if you are climbing a hill in 3rd gear and need to back up you dont have to find it on your shifter - just pull teh lever and go backwards - COOL!! The warrior can handle racks and is closer to a utility quad tehn the other two.. IF you get a Warrior you will want to spring for a set of "spider tracs" for the rear. YOU WILL BE SHOCKED WHERE THE THING WILL GO!! Warrior starters like to "biff" pretty easy if over cranked. Pretty costly repair too.
IMHO, Stay away from Kawasaki Mojave's, Polaris 325 trailboss, Polaris 250 2 stroke 4wd's and Yamaha small Moto 4 shaft drives.
Hope this helps - good luck in your search..
Oh, by the way, there are NONE of them (quads) as much fun as your KX500 :)
Woodsy

 

[Dogman5]

The Blaster is deffinetly an incredible value for your money. However, its more of a quad designed for teenagers that want a good quad for their money. It rides like an agressive teen would want it to, it wants to be ridden like an agressive teen would want it to, and isnt going to settle for less.

Three people around here have Blasters and one has a Warrior. The Warrior IMO would be a better choice. It doesent have such a harder hitting powerband like the Blaster does, so your wife would like it much more. Its a 4-stroke, so it will ride smoother without the hard hitting powerband, you dont have to worry about the mixing (allthough even though it is injection you still have all your two stroke maintinance) The Warrior also seems to control a whole lot better from my experience.

But as mentioned, Blasters don't have much resale value at all, so this could be your gain here, being able to find them nice and cheap. My friend recently cried when he gave his 2002 Blaster sold for 1900$ But personally, I think a warrior would be a better choice for anyone, expecially a woman. I just couldnt picture a woman riding a blaster with that horribly annoying engine sound! :p

 

[kawdude]

Thanks I appreciate the feedback. It sounds like both the warrior and the blaster are worth looking at. If anyone has any other suggestions please let me know.

 

[Michelle]

Ditch the wife, get one who wants a bike ;) j/k

Dogman, a friend of mine used to ride a Blaster & loved it. The one hassle we had with it was the fact it had four wheels & no reverse. Manouevring it around tree stumps & in trails was often a pain. I remember one ride we went on, where it was real tight, lotsa stumps & we watched some guy reversing his quad - we were envious ;) (we were picking it up occasionally to move it to wherever).

With some trails, I'd go through & come back & tell her if it was suitable for her or not. It's much easier these days as she's on two wheels, too. She does miss the blaster, but then I remind her of some places we went & ask her how much fun she had.

Kawdude, good luck. Your wife may never go on two wheels, but she's heading in the right direction. :)
Michelle

 

[JWW]

If I had to choose between the warrior and blaster I would go with the warrior. She would really appreciate the electrice start and reverse.

 

[Lutz]

My first thought was a Warrior. That is the wheeler I learned to ride on - my friend's family owned it. It was mostly stone reliable, until it blew up - but that was with many, many HARD hours on it.

Some downsides to the warrior that may affect physically weaker people are the fact that it is pretty heavy (of course I'm used to TRX250R's and other Honda sport quads), and as I remember, the clutch pull can be kind of hard.

On the upside, the warrior has so much torque that a beginner can learn to use the clutch very easily, and if the engine dies, the electric start is (usually) there to make relighting the fires easy. The e-start on the warriors is also one of the weak points, as I remember it.

Considering other quads, the blaster is a good one - very small, easy to handle. But you should perhaps also look into the Honda 300EX - e-start, 300 four stroke, relatively lightweight, very reliable, easy clutch, good suspension, nice ride (I don't remember if it has reverse though- I'm inclined to think it does).

I think I would lean toward the 300EX slightly over the warrior. A blaster wouldn't be a bad choice either. There are others out there too, but those are probably the best bets, in my mind, if your wife is looking for a sport quad.

Good luck on a decision - there are lots of ways that you can't go wrong...although a bike would be better. I wish I could get my wife to want either one though.

 

[woodsy]

Hey Kawdude: I know where there is real nice 96 300EX Honda (electric start, 6 speed tranny, reverse, all stock) for $2400! A friend of mine has it, if your interested let me know and I will get you a phone number!!
Woodsy

 

[70 marlin]

Can the Warrior or 300 ex handle a snowplow and other implements (mower)? My wife has also expressed a willingness to come play. But only on a quad.

 

[Lutz]

I wouldn't count on using either the Warrior or the 300EX for doing any implement work. Sure, they have plenty of power to do a lot of things - but the suspensions aren't set up to carry the extra weight of a plow, for example, and two wheel drive leaves a bit to be desired when pushing any significant amount of snow. Also, plows can be hell on the frame of a wheeler - especially the two wheel drives, where you really have to pound into the snow to move it.

However, if you do plan to do utility work, there are many four wheel drive quads out there that will fit the bill, plus they can still be sporty and fun to ride.

 

[70 marlin]

Are there any small CC. utility quads that my wife could handle and be bullet proof?

 

[Lutz]

My brother has a Yamaha Wolverine, it is one of the smaller utility quads - it's probably the most sport oriented "utility" atv out there, but it has the benefits of racks and four wheel drive. The engine basically the same 350 cc unit as in the Warrior, except the Wolverine doesn't have a hand clutch, so it is not nearly as intimidating to someone new to riding. It has shaft drive. My brother's wheeler has been very reliable, and as far as I know they generally are. There are others out there, but I don't really know a lot about them anymore, so I'll leave it at that.

 

[drk98]

A Blaster or Polaris 250Trail Blazer. I can't believe I'm recomending a quad. I'd try to persuade her some more, maybe take her out to diner.:) What ever you do stay off the utility's. Just a way to lower your life expectancy(even farther than dirt bikes). The real funs on the 2 wheels. Good luck.

 

[kawdude]

I totally agree.  She feels that the 4 wheeler is a "safer" device that's easier to ride.  She just doesn't understand why the 2 wheeler is so much better.  I going to keep working her but I'm at the end of my rope!  Thanks for the feedback!

 

[FRC 21]

I just picked up a brand new 250ex Honda for the G/F today. Its a fun little quad! 4 stroke, no clutch, five speed, reverse, sport suspension, and looks cool.

 

[jski]

My wife doesn't ride bikes either so I bought her a warrior and she hates it but we ride in the sand so even with paddles and a pipe it has a hard time in certain areas. I really don't care for it either because like the banshee and blaster Yamaha has not made any real changes since 1987 which means the chassis etc are dated to say the least. Kawasaki has a new 700cc out that is a fast and fun automatic but is alittle heavy and about 6K. Overall having rode must sport quads over the past few years I would look at the following:

Suzuki Z-400 or Kawasaki KFX 400 great overall bikes but not automatic plus has been out a few years now and not too expensive used.

Polaris 400 Scrambler nice cheap automatic 2-stoke

Honda 300 or 400ex great quality, nice ride, no reverse and is manual not auto.

Kawasaki 250 Mojave ok bike just doesn't have the features of the others but is cheap.

Warrior you can find a nice one for under $2,200 but I would go with the others first except maybe the Mojave.

Blaster stay far away if you want your wife to continue riding. Short wheelbase, kick start, air cooled entry level junk that eats top ends because they run hot. Also not very stable with poor suspension

Banshee great dune bike once you ditch the stock pipes. My wife rides on now and likes it but they are rather exp. and are a twin cly. so 2 of everything.

Well I hope this helps.

 

[Hurricane]

I just recently switched from a blaster, it is a GREAT quad, in stock shape, its pretty torquey for a 2-stoke, I havent had any problems -w- it at all, and have had ALOT of fun on it. But now I am forced to decide between bike or quad, and so, the blaster is soon to have a for sale sign on it :)

Mine is an 02, if your interested heres my e-mail ;)

[email protected]

~Mark~

 

[000]

look into a recon not as fast but entirly bulletproof and easy to ride

 

[bikr346]

I Have Had A Blaster, Banshee And Now I Have A Warrior Woo Hoo.....its A Good Beginner Bike Because U Can Grow Into It But 4 Me Going From A Shee To A Warrio Was A Big Downgrade