I was at my local dealer today and they have one of those new cannondale cannibals so I sat on it. I liked the feel, it is a nice quad. And it is so light. I am wondering if anyone has had the chance to race one with a DS.

What are your guys thoughts on this one?

Have any of you seen them in the dunes? and if so how did they do?

Thanks for any info
Bat

 

I own both a DS & Cannibal, the Cannibal has an HMF Silencer. In a Drag race, my Cannondale beats my DS by about 4 quad length. I usually take the DS when I go on an all day ride, but use the Cannondale when I go for like an hour or so.

 

Thanks for the info, How do you compare the two?

Is one a better all around machine?

Which would be better in the dunes?

Is one faster on top end?

Thanks again for any and all info.
Bat

 

I have rode with some guys that have a cannondale and a raptor and they are both great dune machines. The guy with the cannondale is on his third quad, he's had a few problems and they replaced the whole machine twice! Thats what i call customer support! I ran into these guys at night and the guy with the cannondale had bent his paddle rim so he was running nobbies (it had no trouble keeping up on our night ride). I would like to ride a cannondale they look like they are a good all around machine to me.

 

olddesertds,

That does sound like good customer service, though I have a feeling they replaced the machine for themselves, not so much for that particular customer. Many large computer companies do this as well. When they have a product that fails early in it's life they 'capture' it and dissect it to find out why the failure happened. I'm sure those two machines were torn into and the cause of the problem will likely be addressed in the next years model - or as Cannondale has done in the past, with a customer update for current models. I think that's more than customer service, that's dedication. I heard Bombardier doing a lot of that early on (which is part of the reason I bought one,) though I haven't heard anything of this sort from Bombardier recently. I have a feeling as the Cannondale's become more perfected than they already are, they won't be quite as ready to replace an entire machine.

 

I don't think Bombardier ever has even early on in the production of the DS650 taken an interest in dissecting a problem motor. I for one had one of the few motors that blew after only 20 hours on the motor and just 2 months out of the 6 month warranty. Bombardier took NO interest in the motor or helping me with repairs. Only after MANY, MANY post in this forum and the support and replys from the members in this forum did I recieve ANY support from Bombardier and even that was minimal. Bombardier also NEVER took the motor to dissect it to find the problem. The motor was well maintained up to the point it blew for the tune of $3,500 by the way. I admit the bike is bullet proof BUT sometimes a few bad problems slip through the system and the manufacturer should take an interest in finding out the problem and take responsibility for it. I am now happy with my DS but Bombardier customer service leaves something to be desired, they were very arrogant and rude and of little help. I for one will NOT buy another Bombarier product and will wait patiently for a 650cc Honda sport bike.