Hey,

i've been trying to get me an inexpensive quad. i had found a guy with a Tecate4, but he broke the front sprocket and he's being too slow about getting it fixed so i can check it out.

so i found an '87 Mojave for sale. new piston, exhaust, tires. $1200.

how does that price sound to you? have there been any big improvements to the Mojave since it's early years?

also, let's say that the new piston is a power piston, and the exhaust is a good performance exhaust. say i add a better air filter, and get the jetting right. how far behind a scrambler 500 would i be? what if i add a hotter cam? it's not that i have to be the fastest in the group (there's already a raptor) but the guys on the scrammy's like to talk a little trash and it gets under my skin. if i'm going to shell out my hard earned $$, i don't want to have to listen to their junk all the time.

opinions, suggestions, comments?

later,
bigmac

 

The mojave hasn't changed at all Irun witha scrambler and a magnum and i pull away from both on long straigt aways.

 

If you get the tecate you will beat the raptor

 

Hey,

yea, i really want the tecate. the guy "claims" to have over $2K in the motor. only asking $1500. but he's being difficult about getting the sprocket fixed. i hate to keep calling the guy, hounding him to get it fixed, and then decide it's not what i want. i may give him one more call tomorrow and see what his deal is. after that i may just have to let it go, as much as that hurts.

the mojave is cheaper, which is good for me cause i also want to go snowboarding this winter. but i just can't deal with getting smoked by the scrammy guys. they don't talk too big, but you can see that cocky look in their eyes. so whatever i get, it can't be too slow. plus the whole point of getting a 4wheeler is to go fast. if i want to go slow i would get a Jeep CJ.

later,
bigmac

 

The Tecate is crazy fast, I bought one 2 years ago and it was a basket case, I picked it up for $200......I spent all kinds of crazy money on it...having the jug re-sleeved and then bored over to the new piston to the point the shop said I only had one rebore on it after this. They milled the head and ported out the intake and exhaust....All together it cost me around $300...but that's not what killed me, the transmition was fried, it needed a couple of gears and the ouput shaft which cost close to $700 just for the tranny.....once I put the entire bike back together I took it for a ride putting around the yard....It started to foul so I ran it down the road and cleaned it out and when I was coming back up the road probably doing around 50-55mph in 4th gear I shifted it up into 5th and let out the cluch and gave it gas and it lifted the front end off the ground all most 2 feet!!!.[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-shocked.gif[/img] .and to think I had one more forward gear after 5th.... I didn't expect it to have so much power...I parked it a week later because I was flying down the road on it, but couldn't steer the supid thing unless I let off the gas (way to light in the front, even with a bumper). Any way not bad for my $1200 and sold it for $3000 Any way do the front sprocket your self, It has a retaining clip that holds the sprocket on and you can buy a sprocket for $18!!!!! At most, it might take 20 minutes to change!!!! Trust me I had to put one on my basket case. Oh by the way I turned around and bought an 87 mojave for $750 dumped $1200 in the engine and exhaust and other things and have no problem keeping up with the honda 400ex or a yamaha warrior, still get smoked by the RAPTOR, oh well can't have every thing.

 

Hey,

yea, i'd love to just go buy the tecate and do the sprocket myself. my only worry is buying a bike w/o riding it first. one of the gears could be bad and i wouldn't know it. and like you found out, transmission work is expensive. and if i'm paying $1500, i won't have the extra cash to fix stuff like that. so it's a tough call. hopefully when i talk to the guy again he'll be more eager to get the bike fixed so i can check it out. but we'll see how it turns out.

on your mojave, what mods did you do? which ones gave you the most bang per dollar?

later,
bigmac

 

Bang per dollar $$$$$.......Rejet the carb and put on a supertrapp exhaust, K&N filter...cost me close to $400..and use high octane fuel!!!...none of that cheap crap. Head porting, cylinder bored over and new piston, oversized valves, and high lift cams cost me a little over $800. Oh 13 tooth front sprocket and a 39 0r a 40 (don't remember) tooth rear sprocket, need these or you hit the rev limiter prematurely.