Looking for some general information about this quad...
I was actually looking around for a dirt bike but my brother is in need of some $$ and offered to sell me his '99 Yamaha Warrior pretty cheap and he'll take really small monthly payments.
Anybody have anything good or bad to say about Warriors?
It's in great shape and has been ridden only a handfull of times over the last 2 years.
I can get it for $2500, and that includes 3 sets of rims and tires, 2 jerseys, helmet, gloves and boots. And as mentioned he'll take really small payments for as long as it takes to pay it off...Seem like a good deal?
Thanks.
Mark

 

when i was 13 i had a 350cc Yamaha warrior, its a monster on the track, and a tons of fun. thats a decent deal, i would get it.

 

its not a bad quad, though you wont be winning any drag races with it or catching any big air, but for trail riding and playing around on its ok. just be sure to wear all your gear and dont try to ride over your head or the quads ability. you can do both before you realize it.

 

I used to own a Warrior. They are very nice quads, but they are a bit heavy. They perform well on almost any track, but they definetely aren't a race quad. Especially being a fatty 4 stroke.

Now a Banshee on the other hand of yamahas.. absolute power and fun!! If I were to ever own a quad again however, I'd be looking into the old Suzuki LT500's.

 

Warriors are beastly. You can beat the **** out of em pretty good and they'll take it. Overall its a decent quad. The deal sounds good, i'd take it.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Nameless RB26 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I used to own a Warrior. They are very nice quads, but they are a bit heavy. They perform well on almost any track, but they definetely aren't a race quad. Especially being a fatty 4 stroke.

Now a Banshee on the other hand of yamahas.. absolute power and fun!! If I were to ever own a quad again however, I'd be looking into the old Suzuki LT500's. </TD></TR></TABLE>

you must not have been on much of a track if you thought it performed well. they are good quads for over all general riding though. now days the best performance quads on the market/ even aftermarket build quads are 4 strokes, 2 strokes are almost banned over all.

the banshee is get outran by the new honda and yamaha 450's in a drag and no banshee will hang with one one a track/ tight trail.

the lt500's would be a very bad investment, they are not reliable, heavy and handle like crap. the will also break everytime you go riding. the frame is weak and the suspension is horrible. also the new performance 450's will out run one of those also. its rumored the new suz 450 will be a very good based sport quad but its a copy of all of hondas studys and designes. but based on suzuki past sport quads they wont be as reliable.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by stockcrix1616 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

you must not have been on much of a track if you thought it performed well. they are good quads for over all general riding though. now days the best performance quads on the market/ even aftermarket build quads are 4 strokes, 2 strokes are almost banned over all.

the banshee is get outran by the new honda and yamaha 450's in a drag and no banshee will hang with one one a track/ tight trail.

the lt500's would be a very bad investment, they are not reliable, heavy and handle like crap. the will also break everytime you go riding. the frame is weak and the suspension is horrible. also the new performance 450's will out run one of those also. its rumored the new suz 450 will be a very good based sport quad but its a copy of all of hondas studys and designes. but based on suzuki past sport quads they wont be as reliable.
</TD></TR></TABLE>

I owned my warrior for about 2 years and rode the **** out of it on probably 100 different tracks (I lived in NM). It was also a brand new 96 when I got it.. so I'm basing my little performance rating on how it felt back then. I haven't ridden any quad in over 7 years so I'm not suprised that you wouldn't think it performs well these days.

Not too sure what makes you think the lt500's are unreliable either. Sure, they're old and usually in need of a rebuild.. but I've never heard anyone I knew that owned one complain on it other than telling me about their water pump or something small. From what I've gathered they seem to be as reliable as any 2 stroke race quad of its time, suzuki or not. And despite their weight they're damn fast IMO. If I were still into quads I wouldn't hesitate to buy one and rebuild it regardless of superior (if any) quads these days. But to be totally honest, if I had the money in hand right now for something fast and fun, I'd do what I did years ago when I sold the Warrior.. I'd buy something with 2 wheels.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Nameless RB26 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

I owned my warrior for about 2 years and rode the **** out of it on probably 100 different tracks (I lived in NM). It was also a brand new 96 when I got it.. so I'm basing my little performance rating on how it felt back then. I haven't ridden any quad in over 7 years so I'm not suprised that you wouldn't think it performs well these days.

Not too sure what makes you think the lt500's are unreliable either. Sure, they're old and usually in need of a rebuild.. but I've never heard anyone I knew that owned one complain on it other than telling me about their water pump or something small. From what I've gathered they seem to be as reliable as any 2 stroke race quad of its time, suzuki or not. And despite their weight they're damn fast IMO. If I were still into quads I wouldn't hesitate to buy one and rebuild it regardless of superior (if any) quads these days. But to be totally honest, if I had the money in hand right now for something fast and fun, I'd do what I did years ago when I sold the Warrior.. I'd buy something with 2 wheels. </TD></TR></TABLE>

what type of track were you on? did you clear any doubles or big jumps? the thing about the warrior is it was hardley ever changed untill now when its replaced by the raptor 350. yamaha has never been good with handling untill the yfz450 came out, which a lot of design came from aftermarket based 250r design. but it is all based on the level of riding, some could be riding as fast as they can while it would be a joy ride for a different rider. i didnt say it was a bad trail quad, but its not a quad for the tracks or a drag strip.

ive been around several 500's, and ive seen more reliable 2-strokes. the vibration takes its toll on the frame and causes stress cracks. also the weight and lack of suspension takes its toll on it. as for fast, they were fast but very beatable on a drag strip. the new quads produced are far superior by design, handling and HP. they come factory with gas charged shocks with rezzies and loads of suspension travel. but these quads shouldnt be in the woods in my opinion, they are too dangerous. it just going to cause the atv's to have another ban on them like what happend in the late 80's. but this time if anything happens quads wont make a come back. people are already trying to ban them over stupid people getting hurt.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by stockcrix1616 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

what type of track were you on? did you clear any doubles or big jumps? the thing about the warrior is it was hardley ever changed untill now when its replaced by the raptor 350. yamaha has never been good with handling untill the yfz450 came out, which a lot of design came from aftermarket based 250r design. but it is all based on the level of riding, some could be riding as fast as they can while it would be a joy ride for a different rider. i didnt say it was a bad trail quad, but its not a quad for the tracks or a drag strip.

ive been around several 500's, and ive seen more reliable 2-strokes. the vibration takes its toll on the frame and causes stress cracks. also the weight and lack of suspension takes its toll on it. as for fast, they were fast but very beatable on a drag strip. the new quads produced are far superior by design, handling and HP. they come factory with gas charged shocks with rezzies and loads of suspension travel. but these quads shouldnt be in the woods in my opinion, they are too dangerous. it just going to cause the atv's to have another ban on them like what happend in the late 80's. but this time if anything happens quads wont make a come back. people are already trying to ban them over stupid people getting hurt. </TD></TR></TABLE>

I rode it on motocross tracks, but mostly 40-50 mile "cross country" tracks is where I kept it - it just felt right giving it what nature throws at it rather than jumps where it didn't seem to fit in being as heavy and burly as it is. I've put it into sand on paddle tires in the middle of the desert, I've attempted steep hill climbing in it - where it always proved too heavy and unpowerfull, I've used it on dry pavement (racing against friends cars =p), and I've put it into ALOT of mud and snow in Colorado.. So I think it's safe to say I've done everything with it that it was made to do. On it's own note, it's put me into the hospital before - I've flipped it over on me quite a few times. And if it really concerns you whether I've cleared a double with it, I have, it's very possible to do on it if you can get the speed to do it. However that's where I usually did the majority of crashing it attempting large jumps and tabletops that I've over/under shot

Everyone says the LT chassis was vibration sensitive.. and if they hadn't stopped production on them it probably would have been cleared up. They weren't a long running production race quad, so I'm not suprised their chassis was prone to cracks caused by vibration. It's not as if you couldn't clear those problems up though, they make tons of frame and suspension parts for it..

Also back when I watched them perform I didn't see many race quads hang with them on drag racing, so I'm a little curious what you're comparing them to, and if you're even talking about sand racing or pavement. To me they always seemed to dominate sand dragging in dunes, I don't think I kept my eyes on the wrong quad when it came to that. Almost every person I've met that did sand dragging had either owned a modded banshee or an LT of some sort.

 

like i said, the warrior does great in the woods, its what it was designed for, but not very well on a MX style track.

you would think Suzuki would have fixed the problem but even the new z400's have a problem with the frame cracking and breaking the rear sub frame. suzuki can make power, but handling is part of their flaws.

ive seen some nice LT's and your right, the dunes is where they rule but for evey one you see ask the guy what problems he has had and how much it took for him to get it to fly like it does. the banshee is one of the kings of the dunes. although a few weeks ago there was a NQRA event with drag racing and i saw a lt get outran by a polaris.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by stockcrix1616 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">...although a few weeks ago there was a NQRA event with drag racing and i saw a lt get outran by a polaris. </TD></TR></TABLE>

ur tellin me an LT lost to a Scrambler?

 

yep, it lost to everything out there. from what i could tell he is one of those guys that brag on CC's but cant ride or tune it.