I just got this month's issue of 4-wheel ATV Action and there is an interesting article that puts the cannibal one on one with the z400. Guess who one? z400 and why here is there answer:

The Suzuki Quadsport Z-400 wins this shoot-out.Yes, we can hear the jaws dropping across the globe. How can the Suzuki come out on top when the Cannondale Cannibal 440 won all the races, has a faster motor, great suspension, and excellent handling? Well, the Cannibal doesn't have reverse, it vibrates too much, it's too noisy, you must ride it hard to enjoy it, maintenance is much more involved and all that effort that is required for a rider also comes at a much higher price tag. The Cannibal is simply narrowly focused--and it was intended to be.
Don't consider the Cannibal to be the "loser" of the shootou--it's a winning machine. The Cannondale is simply an expert-aimed machine in a world full of fun-loving casual riders from intermediate skills on down. We'll go with the masses on this one, though feel free to disagree with us--or own fastest test riders already do!



This is one of the first shootouts that I read that the magizine didn't take sides or get paid off to promote one quad over an other. I feel they did an excellent job of compare and explaining the results. I agree 100% with the entire article. Good job to ATV Action. This is definity an article worth reading.

 

It is a high performance shootout!!!! Why does the Cannondale get cut down because it is louder, doesn't have reverse and it likes to be ridden hard. It is not a shootout about which bike suits more people. They should have said in the first line that the Cannondale is not going to win this shootout because it costs more and it does not have reverse. The z400 bottoms on the jumps, bends axles, and for power "it isn't even in the same ballpark as the Cannondale", but it is the best HIGH PERFORMANCE machine. I think this article is a crock!!!

 

Well first you have at what the majority of the riders are going to do. Most will trail ride and never really ride them any where near as hard as someone racing it. I agree on the High performance thing. It should be called a Sport quad shootout. But if it was a Race Quad shootout the Cannibal would win hands down. Other funny thing that was in the artical was that they replaced the z400 axle with a Dura-blue do to the fact the stock one was junk. No mention on any problems with the Cannibal. I think this article informs people on each quad so they can make a better decision on which one to buy. The whole artical is nothing both facts until the conclusion (which I posted). The cannondale won every section of the test and the more experience riders like it more so this is the important thing. If your not an experience rider the cannondale may not be for you. That is was the artical is meant to say. Also that the cannondale quads are aiming at a race audience and not the average trail rider like all the other company's.

 

Much higher price tag. My brother bought a z400 and it ended up ending $600 less than my Cannibal. Its not that much of a difference and with that $600 you couldnt make the z400 faster.

 

You are too naive to think that advertising dollars don't influence
these reviews!! This is the same garbage DW's was spitting out a few months ago when the Cannondale won every shootout category but lost the overall. These mags make most of their revenue from advertising, not subscription sales. If you want a true unbiased review of any product, you have to not accept advertising dollars from the manufacturer of these products!!

 

if they are gonna just go by cost of a quad then the blaster should win hands down. i bought my son a brand new one in 2000 and paid $ 2800 out the door. but i think we will keep the dale. i dont pay much attention to the mags. shootouts anymore. most of them arent out here in the real world riding and racing quads every weekend.

 

I would have to agree with the "Advertising Dollars". Just wait till the magazines get a hold of the Polaris. I think they had a full 6 page(Brochure) advertisement in ATV Action. It can only help the cause with more and more manufacturers jumping into the Sport Quad market. Regardless of how the magazines pick the winners, I don't believe that they will skew the physical evidence. So just because the Z400 won the shootout, we all know that in every single catagory that it was tested the Cannondale came out on top. Make your own conclusion.

 

because you agree with the article you dont think they got paid off? get real money talks BS walks.
suzuki has way more money to throw around than cannondale. @ least cannon is backing a race team with theres.
and i too stopped reading reviews. whenever a new quad comes out and they throw some money there way and its the best thing since slice bread.

 

We had a discussion about this a while back. Look in the magazines at who advertises and chances are they will win a shootout. I would almost guarentee that the predator will be a god in the magazines because of all of the advertising dollars they have dropped into them. We all know what the best quad is and we dont need a magazine to confirm that. The c-dale is champ, we know that and that is all that matters.

 

i got a good laugh about the preadator statement.
they sure did have a big add in there...i wont be suprised if they get a great review hehehe