guys i know ive been posting alot of Q's lately, its because i may be getting a dale.. a Blaze and im just trying to learn the facts..heres my biggest question... Is the motor reliable after all updates... I own a DS 650, and some honda ex's and all of them have no internal mods and have givin me years of trouble free fun... Now about this dale, i will do all the work i need to do to make sure all updates are done before i start running this quad, but after the updates are done how long can i expect? like a year? 5 years? .. i would say i would expect the DS and the hondas to last about 7-8 years before any type of rebuild is needed...... So whats the real deal.. Ive never seen so many quads that are for sale 2002/2003 models and they all advertise new motors!! NEW MOTORS already! less than a year... now they probably did not have the updates, which i will do.. but after that how reliable are they? maybe im asking a question that can not be answered cause these bikes just are not that old.. But has anyone heard of any full time racers who did the updates, how reliable was there engines to the demands of racing compared to like the Z400........
thanks for the help guys

 

to get better answers about 'Dales you should check out the forums at www.cannondaler.com and www.cannondaleriders.com . I also just bought a Blaze and I am working on making it the most fun, powerful, and reliable machine I could buy. I'm looking at sending my motor to Southbaymoto for a Stage IV 450 kit - they are said to make the bikes much more reliable as well. But I think many people have had little or no trouble after doing the updates. Good luck, and get the 'Dale. I think it will take great care of you if you take great care of it! (At least that's what I'm hoping!) [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

How reliable are they , Thats a great question. I think the answer is that you have to take it on an individual machine basis. There is a wide spectrum of circumstances that prevent a conclusive answer. It seems that every machine had some problems fixed and new problems started. the 2001 machines had main bearing trouble and a nice aluminum valve cover and 2002 had the crank problem fixed but the crank and tranny plate bolts were loosening up on some because there was not enough locktite on them from the factory and a magnesium valvle cover that corrode under the water pump. Then the 2003 had the valve covers powdercoated but the new crank supplier sent some cranks unbalanced and had some bad rod bearings. There is one thing I know for sure is that all dales have some wierd glitch to them be it something very simple to fix like out of adjustment efi settings or something that could destroy the engine like one tiny crank cartridge bolt that falls out. I think its just a shot at the odds if you will get a lemon or a long lived rocket. The good news is is that virtually all problems have been identified and addressed by the factory and the aftermarket and you can prevent most problems with the update kits available and good competent maintenence.
My personal experience with my 2002 Speed is that the valve cover was starting to corrode so I powder coated it right away when I did the stud update and engine mount update. .(cost less than $10because I made the kits myself)) It has never failed on me and I have over 100 hours on the quad . I also run full synthetic and change oil every 5 hours . The only real glitch I have had is when I switched brands of tranny oil it had a 2-3 shift problem but after switching back to mobil one it shifts good again.
On the other side of the spectrum I know a guy in England who has a 2003 speed with low hours and his rod bearing failed on him .His dealer is making a sweet deal on a complete motor.
As far as the new motor in a lot of quads is because if you had any trouble at all with your engine the factory wanted it back for failure analisis so they were giving out new engines at great cost to themselves. It was like when the 2001 raptors blew the tranny instead of fixing the tranny with new gears they give you a new engine. Of course yamaha denied any problem and updated the trannies the next year.
I think I would rather get a 2002 with the better cranks than risk getting a 2003 unless the crank had been balanced and had the better bearings in it already.

 

My 02 Dale vin # 1225. The sticker on the motor says April 22, 2002. I bought it May 10, 2002. My motor has been FLAWLESS. I did the beather hose update and tilted the battery foward.. I now have another motor w/ a South Bay 450 stage IV kit.. Buy a Dale w/ a blown motor I'll sell you my motor and you can send it to South Bay. You should be into it 6k and have years and years of **** kicking trouble free performance... Shamless plug for my motor.[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

 

Did any of you see the price increses by south bay...

 

Yeah I saw them. Hmm. They might price themselves right out of the C-Dale market..

 

I did see them. Think about it though, in all respect. They have a monopoly on that market right now, from what I know. Plus, they are used to dealing in exotic crotch rockets - those people must have serious cash that are buying those bikes and working on making them go 200MPH - so that place should be able to get amazing $/hour rates for their work just based on what they work on. Remember who we are dealing with here - a place in Cali that works on very high priced bikes for probably very well financed owners. And don't forget another thing that always should be remembered: You get what you pay for.

 

I agree with Wistech.Well put.
I have had my quad for three race seasons the first two motors didnt make a entire season.This motor which I got in Dec of 03 and I did all the updates has made the whole season up to now with absolutly no problems at all.Just filter and oil changes which I religously do.In october I will completely disassemble the quad and motor and see what needs to be replaced and what has worn.I plan to have the crank balanced just to be sure and I will get the aluminum valve cover and new rings.I have a good feeling that wear will be minimal and everything will be tight.If that is the case next year all I will do is inspect the valve clearance and run it another year.My goal is two years of racing with just valve adjustment once a year and oil and filter changes if this pans out I will be very happy.

 

Hey more power too them if they can get the $$! Dustin and Wade are great guys and as far as customer service do a very good job. From talking to them both today I know they are very busy. Big demand = Big $