ATV Florida Forum

I cannot decide which one to get but i think i have narrowed it down to these 2 bikes. I am coming off of a crappy little suzuki 160 so both of these bikes will be great and my dad has a kawasaki lakota that is pretty fast with a couple of mods. The one thing i liked about the 160 was i could pretty much go through anything and pull out all of the sport quads that got stuck. I also like my dads bike that you can go zipping around on. I need help on deciding which bike i would like better in the long haul. I do not do that much racing around but i would still like the bike to have some kick, how is the automatic with the shaft drive is it still pretty quick? i dont really like the low ground clearance on the raptor b/c we do go through some woods and more off roading. let me know what you guys think. thanks
Jason

My 14 y.o. loves his Raptor 350, but, that's because his Dad constantly helps him when he bottoms-out and gets stuck in the woods(due to the low clearance) . I wish he had the Wolverine.

yea well i am 22yrs old and i seem to be way behind this whole atv thing i think my dad's is fast and your 14yr old has the same bike i am looking to buy as my upgrade bike. lol well i think i am going to get the wolverine and if i want something sporty i will just switch with my dad for awhile. thanks for the advice but anyone else with thoughts please let me know i am more looking for the actual differences in sportyness and speed as well as i guess if it is still spunky.
thanks
Jason

help doesnt anyone have any good opinions.

Blue, I hope you didn't feel that because I mentioned my 14 y.o. has one that I was slamming you. More adults ride those than teens.

the wolverine is sloowww my dads 450 tops around 50 stock so i would think that the 350 wouldnt b too fast, also the wolverine 350 dosent even have 4x4, theres realy no point of geting anything besides a sport unless u like mudding wich the wolveine 350 isnt even realy good at.

as for low ground clearence on the rappy, just get a nice skid plate ;)

uuummmmm, all Wolverines are 4wd....

no i didnt take any offense i just think it is funny b/c every time i go out all the kids are riding bigger atv than me. Thanks for the info, any one else with some thoughts please let me know. thanks
Jason

on the website it says that the 350 is not 4wd but i did not mind that as i do not go through that deep of mud, just some water and overall off roading over logs and small trees that is why i thought the wolverine would be better than the raptor. please all input is welcome

well that is a beter bike for that sort of riding but i warn you that that is a very slow bike

how does its speed compare to the raptor itself is it a lot faster than the wolverine just b/c it is lighter and the chain drive instead of shaft. i appreciate your imput that is why i asked i am trying to find the right bike that i wont be disappointed with after i get it.

tThe old wolverine was a 350 and was a 4x4, ;D  the new 450 is 4x4 but the new 350 is a 2x4

how about a top speed comparison what do you guys think is the top speed of the raptor, wolverine and the 300cc kawasaki lakota. thanks maybe this will help. I want something sporty that wont get stuck. if that is possible

From what you are telling me i would not go with either. I would definetly go with a 400 kodiak.  This is a great quad and all of the newer models have irs.

Ok, here's a few suggestions from an actual wolverine owner.  I have a 99 350 Wolverine, they are all 4x4's.  If you go older you will want to put a 424kit on it so you can disengage 4x4 and to to 2x4.  I have a blast on my quad.  It is as fast top end as a warrior 350 and has the same engine.  Of course that's stock.

If you keep the tires stock it will wheelie and is a bit faster.  I've heard around 60mph.  I have 26x12x12 on mine and they are a bit big.  I'll be going down to 25's.  I know mine will do 50-55 w/ the larger tires.  I just got a pipe and still need to adjust the carb to see what she'll do.

First gear is very low and only good for mudding.  It's not screaming fast but it's a fun quad.  It doesn't jump well it more flops.  I've had it in the air 4 feet in the back and 6 in the front.  It can be a hard landing.

In the mud mine performs with most of the big utility quads partly due to it's light weight compared to others but tires are a must if you plan on playing in mud.

Sport quads will always smoke you on this bike but it's more versatile if you want to play in some of the sport realm and all of the mudding realm.  I would gladly go and buy another one when this one is dead.  In the mean time I am saving up for a z400 cause I do want to do some jumping and add a little more sport riding.

Hope this helps.  You may ask bigscrub15 any questions about the new wolverine 450.

Also the Older Wolverines are VERY easy to work on.  I know I rebuilt the complete rear diff. in a matter of hours. (once we had all the parts) 

The Wolvi is not a good quad for a Larger person, but with an average person it will hang with the bigger bikes.  I know QT can hang with me and a few others in the Mud.

But like QT said to make this quad REAL FUN you need to install the 424 to disengage the full time 4-wheel drive

the newer model does not have 4wd so i guess i do not need the 424 but if it still performs pretty good in 2wd mode i will probably get it. i am sure the newer model is a little faster b/c it does not have 4wd. I am definatly not a big person i only weight like 145lb so if it is still some what sporty and fun to play around on it should work and i can switch with my dad which is lakota is more sporty and we can trade off he is cool with that but then we will still have an atv than can go through the mud and pull the other one out. thank you all for the imput any more is great. thanks
Jason

i would look into a wolverine 450 4x4 if i were you, its tha sportyest 4x4 i can think of, stock to stock itl hold up in a drag with a z400 untill 5th gear just a lil slow on the top speed...

Jason,

     You can get the New Wolvi either 4x4 or 2wd.  The new 4x4 has an Electronic 424 switch.  The nice thing about the old wolvi is the racks, you can carry a cooler full of beer.  The new ones don't have racks.

Freakk

All Wolverines, no matter the year, new style or old are 4wd. The difference in the 450 Wolverine as opposed to the old 350's are the new ones have  push button 2/4wd and an automatic tranny.

well i do not want to disagree with you but on the yamaha website the new wolverine 350 do not have 4wd they are only 2wd. yea i would love to get the wolverine 450 but it is kinda getting up there in price. keep the input coming. thanks
Jason

the NEW wolverine 350 is 2wd, the NEW wolrverine 450 is 4wd, i've rode with some rappy 350's before and they did pretty good out in the trails and mud, but since you see flaws in both maybe you should try another bike.

hey get the raptor 350 it has some kick and if u do some mudding get the holshot H-D's and u can almost go through anything! great allaround bike!

thanks i think that may be the way to go. I do not see a particular problem with either bike just trying to find one that is perfect which is probably asking to much
thanks
Jason

Shoot as long as your out there riding it doesn't matter what your riding. I'd go with the Raptor personally Just so much more you can do, not really meant for mudding and stuff like that though. So however you ride really decides what machine you should get.

yea thank you all for your replys i will probably get the raptor 350 and try and find a good tire for water/mudding so i have the sport power but the tire to get me through the tough stuff.

You can't use the 424 to switch a 2wd bike into a 4wd bike.  You'd have to get another tranny and front end.  The 424 will take a 4wd bike and disengage the front end so it can be used as a 2wd quad.  Sorry for the bad news for ya.

Go w/ 4wd if you're going to get one.  Another bonus to the older wolverines is they have the warrior engine.  The new wolverine has the kodiak engine.  There are more work and mods that can be easily done on an older wolverine.  Also, it's easy to get to and work on!  Also, like freak said the old ones have racks.  None on the new ones.

New ones are also automatic.  I like to shift it makes the quad more responsive.

yea i figured you couldnt make it 4wd which was not a problem for me. Now i am going to get the raptor if i can get ahold of any of the guys selling them or maybe a z400. thanks again for the replys
Jason