Last month we brought you
the most in-depth coverage of the new Suzuki Z400 you'll find
anywhere with our first ride article. This month we decided that
we just had to get the Z400 off the trails and out to the dunes, to
see how it would perform there. Since it's already too hot for
Dumont Dunes or Glamis, we decided a Memorial Weekend trip to Coral
Pink Sand Dunes in Utah would be just the ticket. (Watch for a
full article on the Coral Pink Riding area in next month's issue,
including details of the BLM land use plan for the entire Coral
Pink/Moquith area.) We are not going to beat around the bush to tell you what we think about the new Z400.
We think one word sums it up pretty well - Awesome!
We realized to test the true dune capabilities of
the Z400, we would have to have some sand tires and wheels. We
contacted Rocky Mountain ATV for some Douglas black label rims and
Maxxis Tires for some of their new Rooster Sand
Tires. (And yes, you will notice in the photos that the rear
tires are mounted wrong - you can provide complete instructions
when you drop them off to be mounted, but there's just something
apparently baffling about a sand tire...) The Z400 uses the same
bolt pattern as the Honda 400EX, so wheels are easy to find.
We started with some easy rides on Saturday to
learn the area and get used to the Z400. The ergonomics of the Z400
are very easy to get used to. The T-shaped seat on the Z is a great
design. The narrow front and wide back work together and allow easy
movement.
We had a variety of riders test the Z400, and met
an even longer list of those waiting to get their hands on one.
While we do NOT recommend it for a novice or inexperienced youth
rider, it proves to be an easy, reliable quad for an intermediate
rider, and still packs plenty of power for the advanced dune
jumping of the "big boys." This is a serious machine, right off the
showroom floor. The jetting seemed less sensitive to the 7,000
elevation than our 400EX, and the gearing seemed a better match for
starting in deep sand than several of the Raptors we rode with.
Suspension was key on the long sections of rolling whoops you'll
find on the major through-ways at Coral Pink, and the Z400 soaked
them up at any speed.
On Sunday we happened into a group ride with Steve
Abbott of Quad Central II leading the way. The ride started out
with about 25 riders on an assortment of quads. The ride ended with
five quads - the brand new Cannondale Moto 440 that Steve was
riding, a modified Honda 310R, a Yamaha Raptor, a Bombardier DS650,
and the SportQuad.com Suzuki Z400. The stock Z400 did an amazing
job of keeping up with these mega high-dollar quads.
After three days of riding the Suzuki Z400 in the
sand dunes, we were thoughly impressed with this bike. We had
absolutely no problems with the Z400. We did have one test rider
comment that the steering seemed slightly twitchy. A steering
stabilizer would quickly resolve that.
This is one AWESOME sport quad for a MSRP of $5,699.
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This is one AWESOME sport quad for a MSRP of $5,699.
| Z400 Photo Gallery |
| Contact Information / Related Articles |
Z400 First Ride
2003 Z400
Specifications
American Suzuki Motor
Corporation
3251 E. Imperial Highway
Brea, CA 92822-1100
Telephone (808) 226-7744
www.suzukicycles.com
Email SportQuad.com Staff!
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