Hey everyone.. If you race ATVs, or are interested in it, I think you all should go over to Http://www.atvscene.com and click on interviews. Then click on Kory Ellis's name.. If you want to know what the pros think, all your info is there. I learned alot.. and now I am kinda pissed at Yamaha and Honda

 

the pros are exactly correct, the sport needs support to survive. racers are nursing 10-15 year old machines back to health in order to compete. supecross wouldn't be what it is today without having state of the art machines, and constant technological advancements... could you imagine someone trying to be competitive at the las vegas SX on a 1986 yz/cr/rm/kx 250??

is honda, yamaha, or suzuki even fielding a team? not that i'm aware of.
honda has its representation... almost all riders are using them or versions of them in overwhelming numbers in almost every class at every track.

kawasaki may be fielding a team, but is the KXF250 or anything like it slated for production that we know of? nope, but we can drool over the idea... and that's about it... gee thanks

cannondale is new to the field and is making a valiant effort from what i can see. i hope they keep it up, if thier machine proves reliable... i might even buy one someday.

does any major manufacturer build a real race-ready sport machine that can be raced almost out of the crate with only a few modifications to fit your type of racing (no BS, just go, just go fast) type machine??? not anymore

will they ever again? i seriously doubt it, i think they fear lawsuits here in the US too much. i personally think that the trend toward big thumpers is actually going to be worse, because they are so heavy.

if you have stickers on your quad, are you being paid to advertise for them or getting a deal on parts from them?(sponsored) if not, why is it there? i can see factory & aftermarket graphics for the aesthetics... but the rest... IMO is garbage.

DS

 

I have been racing quad for over 10 years and the GNC's for more than 5. I won the open A title in 97 and was 2nd in open pro am. Since then i have raced 250 pro and have learned that being a great rider in the pro class is not enough. You need to be rich. My goal in life was to win one pro main but this year my dream has ended. Not only am i not rich the AMA rules have killed my dream but allowing big bore four strokes in with the 250's. Now i have a 12.000 dollar quad that will never compete with these 25000 dollar thumpers. I have had a great time with this sport but i guess 8th is the best i'll ever get. The future the way i see it. FOR SALE

 

The future for us is all in the hands of the manufactures. I could go out and buy as many quads as Honda,Yamaha,Kawasaki ect. could produce, do you think that would make a big difference in getting a new sport/race model next year? NO WAY! They would take that money and update or come out with new motorcycles. This may be off the real subject,but thats where our money goes. The big 4 sell way more quads than motorcycles but what have we got in the way of updates,or new models in the last 12 years,not to much. What have the racers got in the way of support,nothing realy with the exception of Kawasaki and Cannondale,but its my guess that those few riders are not even getting what many were in the 80's except for better quads. I think Kawasaki is going about the whole KXF 250 thing wrong. I mean they have been running the thing for a few years now and for what, do they think that in a few more that they will have all the bugs worked out and it will be THE PERFECT QUAD. HA! There will never be a perfect quad. Cannondale is on the right track I think. They put a quad out that is NEW and different. They are not rubbing it in our face for years and then saying that it may not ever make it to production. They are fixing there mistakes along the way. When updates come out I get them for FREE. All Honda would have to do is come out with another 89 250R ,but do we realy need a 250 two stroke? YOU BET WE DO! Any way to make this short I think Cannondale will save the sport.Im not just saying this because I have one either, I just feel real lucky that I made the decision to buy something from a manufacture that is showing some interest in the sport and coming out with new models FOR the sport before there first year of producing the FX 400 is even up. I hope I did not offend any motorcycle guys with what I said. Guys its not your fault its the manufactures.

 

WOW! Finally some people who think the way that I do, I was glad to read you guy's posts. Here's what I say. **** ON THE MANUFACTURERS! I plan to ride my LT500R until the day something worthy of replacing it with comes out. I don't care what I have to do to keep it going. Everyone I talk to who has a Raptor or a DS650 or especially a 400EX says when I ask them how they like it " I wish it was lighter, I wish it had more power, I wish it was wider, I wish it wasn't so top heavy and on and on....." WHAT THE HECK DID YOU BUY IT FOR THEN?!?! The manufacturers are doing a half (but) job of producing the cheapest "performance" quads they can so they can make the most money off of them. And people are eating these things up like candy! So from the manufacturers perspective, why would they go and spend a bunch of money on developing an awesome race quad when people are buying up all the quads they make now anyway. Me and my friends are riding our 13+ year old quads because we love them and they are better than anything produced today, and to boycott the manufacturers until they give us something worth buying. I think that until more people start doing that then nothing is gonna change. As long as the manufacturers are making all sorts of money with the product they have, they aren't gonna improve it. Keep on your old rides and we'll send the manufacturer's a message. One more thing, my hat's off to Cannondale for giving it their best shot. The 2002 MOTO 440 looks pretty awesome. Are you taking notes Honda, Yamaha, and Kawi? And Suzuki, enter the '90's......it's 2001.

 

You guys took the words right out of my mouth!! Not even funny! If I were to buy a new quad, and money wasn't an object, CANNONDALE here I come! THese guys are going to spin the racing scene around.. hopefully more than less, but, any change would be welcome from my perspective! The big FOUR?? Where did they come up with THAT? I know the Raptor's the best thing since french toast(so everyone tells me) But dang!!!! It's by no means ready to race MX out of the box! Everyone said that about the 400EX too.. is it?? HAH, by no means! More manufacurers need to take notes from CDale, and get off their @$$es and DO SOMETHING TO HELP US!

 

Don't hold your breath buddy. Like I said, they are making a killing on 400EX's and Raptors, people are buying these things up like candy for some strange reason. Unfortunantly it has became a big business, and as long as consumers are buying their product, I don't expect them to do anything to improve it. They don't want to help us, they want to help their wallets. I don't mean to sound like an extremist, but boycotting them is the only way to get them to improve their product. If I had the money I would run out and buy a Cannondale just to support them for their efforts, and to take business away from Yamaha and Honda. Anyone who can afford to support Cannondale please do so. They may just save our sport.

 

You're right.. I don't expect them to do anything.. But it would be nice if they did! I don't know if cannondale will sell very many of their new atvs because of the price.. Maybe they will, I sure hope they do Give yamaha and Honda something to look at! I think it's pitiful how you can buy a CR125R off the line, go out and take 1st place with it, but won't even compete on a 400EX

 

I think that Honda,Yamaha,Kawasaki,Susuki,and maybe even Polaris will come out with something sometime soon. When I said that they have not gave us anything in the way of new models, I ment in the past, I think the big companies will come out with some realy good quads in the next couple of years. WHY? Because of Cannondale. I know (just like you guys as well as Cannondale) that they wont move as many units out the door (not even come close) as the bigger companies will. Not for a few years if even then. I look at Cannondale kind of like Harley Davidson, large price tag, good quality, and USA made. Its my guess that HD dosent sell as many units per year as Honda ect. but they are still here. I think Cannondale has lit a fire that the BIG 4 can only try to put out, because they waited so long to give us what we want. I mean ANY of the big companies could have built a quad equal to or better than the Cdale 10 years ago,now it seems Cannondale has left them all far behind in technology. They will come out with new models because the small amount of people that are and will be buying Cannondales is that much less money the big companies are getting. They will try (and may) come out with something better because they know they could make alot more money in the long run instead of lose a little money to of cannondale. Anyway I could be all wrong! Who Knows what it will be like in a few years???