Guys, and girls , I have started my quest to replace my old 250 QRACER as my primary race bike. I have been posting on all the forums to get some good ideas as to what everyone thinks. My choices are as follows: Gas-Gas 2 stroke,Z-400,Yamaha's Rumored 450 based bike, and the Predator 500. I have been aloyal Suzuki guy my whole life but that race ready Gas-Gas looks sharp. Any input opinions and etc. are appreciated. And for those of you who dont know I am the Media /Sponsor represenative for NEATV-Mx , our schedule is all done so go to our website and check it out www.neatv-mx.com, we have 9 races and the national at Southwick so come up our way and start racing with us!!!!!!!. Thanks for the info guys and I look forward to reading your replies.

Jason NEATV-Mx

 

Ever considered a C-dale? I race mine and there isn't anything else I would rather ride on the MX track except maybe a R. But the C-dale would be my first choice.

The Z/KFX felt heavy, but I haven't jumped one so it might be different in the air.

The Predator felt like I had to reach way down to get to the handlebars... maybe a longer steering stem would help though, but either way, they're heavy.

Yamaha has never had a good MX'er. Yamaha's handling hasn't ever really been the greatest, and the weight balance doesn't feel right on the Raptor and Banshee. Maybe the RUMORED 450 would be different but the fact is... it's still just a rumor.

I can't give you any info on the GasGas cause I haven't even seen one. Someone else could probably help you out more on that one.

 

If your looking for something that you won't need or have to add alot of aftermarket stuff too. Go with the Cannondale or GasGas.
I have both the GasGas and the Cannondales and I feel both are state of the art machine and the best of the showroom floor for racing. I feel the GasGas is closer to race ready and has a more usable power than the cannondale.

 

yeah a gas gas goes alright i raced one the other day the 300cc it beat me but i feel a tricked up raptor u cant go passed it it was a tight course it all depends on how you ride and what type of power u like i prefer a 4 stroke cause it feels if u are getting somewhere quick but everyone is differant if you have the $$$$ build something to your likeing i got a 686 raptor that i race nothing really touches it on a course except another raptor

 

Well, lets see interesting outlooks so far . I have looked at the C-dale my proble is money I cant spend 12,000 on a race ready bike and if you race MX you need the handling . I like the Speed model but I would still have to go spend about another 1500-2000 to have it setup for my riding style. The Raptor ,I rode my buddies and I didnt like it ,it felt tippy and short plenty of grunt but almost too much for the chassis . Lastly the Gas-Gas is where I am starting to look ,race ready, around 7500-8000 for a price ,and 2 stroke to boot! I have rode a Z-400 but havent tried it in a race type setting just putting around. And Lastly the Yamaha rumor is a rumor but I'm not buying my bike until the end of this season so who know's ? Thanks and keep all the opinions coming guys.

Jason NEATV-MX

 

JASON neatvmx,
I stopped by the site and it only shows 8 races. which of the rochester races was added. It's a real shame that we can't race at playboy's, that track is technical and tons of fun. I race in the neatv-mx series...open b #352 with a tricked out raptor. It's not a pro class race quad but it's very competitive in the open b class. i finish in 6th place this year, and it was my first year of racing. 2003 season i think i am going to try the open a class. If i had to build/buy a race quad again, first i would wait until yamaha and honda come out with their "rumors", I would have to stay away from cannidale, until they work out the bugs in their motors, i have had many a conversation with Nate and Mike Walsh about the cannidales. They are a great quad but pricey for the reliablity issues they are having. The z-400 is sweet but i question the frame relability, tho that can be remedied with gusset work. Now the Gasgas is awesome, but lets see how this quad takes a beating. I hope it is as good as it seems, because it's a two stroke. the racing community will start to buy these quads if they hold up.

herbdon out
aka donald scala

 

Don, the early Rochester is a go, the second date we are still working on . Thanks for the input i have heard about the Suzuki frames, The "rumors" are what I want to see about . The Gas-Gas will sell like crazy if it is as solid as it looks. The raptor just doesnt appeal to me like I said I dont like the way it feels under me , but we'll see . The C-dales i have pretty much ruled out for just the reasons you said,along with the hefty price tag. Like I said I will be biding my time and checking out things over the next 10-12 months . Thanks again to all ,and keep the opinions coming!!!

Jason NEATV-MX

 

actually the cannondale moto is not a bad deal for $ 12,000. my son races one for a local dealer. the tracks we race are pretty much run what you bring. we run against everything from stock 400ex's to crf 450 and yz 426 motored quads.the only quads that will hang with our moto have way more than $ 12,000 invested in them. one friend of ours has a yz 426 motored quad with $ 20,000 in it and 440 ex with
$ 17,000 in it and neither will hang with our dale. if you are going to seriously race mx and be competetive you cant beat the moto for $ 12,000

 

Yeah Thats about right what he said get the C-Dal

 

The only problem I've had from my C-dale is a broken subframe and I had to have my rear shock refilled.

The subframe broke after I hit a triple 3rd gear pinned while two wheeling and from what I hear, my quad did quite a few flips through the air. It broke right where the bolt goes through to bolt it up to the lower main frame. Good thing I have a friend that is really good with aluminum.

The rear shock leaked oil everywhere, and I had to get that fixed. I thought I blew out my rear shock, but it turns out that someone just loosened a screw on top of the shock and a o-ring was cut/broken. Nothing was wrong w/ the shock itself, and I'm kind of confused about the whole situation myself.

This other dude named Kenny races a Speed over here and he told me he hasn't had any problems out of his either.

The only thing though... don't buy a speed and set it up for MX. Every advantage that the speed has over the cannibal would be replaced for MX anyways. The speed has better: Tires, shocks, higher rev limit, and wheels, but those things still aren't up to MX standards so you would be replacing them anyways. You can save yourself about $1000 buy just buying a Cannibal and setting it up for MX.