I would like to know which of the new sport quads is best for motocross and tt racing. I'm looking at the Predator and the Z400. Which one do you guys think hold up better? Handle better? Which one would be the least expensive to set up for racing. Thanks for any help you can give

 

Well if money is no object I'd go with the Cannondale Moto. It 's set-up out of the box for motocross. As for TT's you'd have to lower it, add a sway bar and different tires. Right now there are some sweet deals on all the cannondale quads do to their situation. If you can't or don't want to fork out the mone yto by a moto the cannibal is the next choice. After the cannondales I'd have to say the GasGas quads (300 2-stroke and 450 efi 4-stroke) would be the next best ones for this type of racing. The GasGas quads are set-up right out of the box for motocross too. The 450 has been release this past couple weeks. I've been told 2 of the are in the states and a full ship is due in in the next couple of weeks so by the end of Feb. they'll be at the dealers. The 2-stroke retails at 7695 and the 4-stroke will be around 8195.

If the cost of all the above machine is more than what you are willing to spend up front your choice is down to the z400/kfx400 twins, 400ex, raptor. Out of these quad the 400ex is the best choice since the parts are cheaper, it's easier to work on and it has a proven excellent track record. The only problem with the lower price quads is it'll cost more in hop-up to get the equal to the GasGas and Cannondale quads. In the end you'll have about the same amount in all the quads the difference being what you pay up front.

Hope this info helps, the determining factor should be which one you feel more comfortable riding and the one that power charatoristics (sp) best suits you. So I'd go test ride all the machine that your interested in and then pick the one you like best.

Things to look for, parts availablity, part cost on items that you might break, maintance cost, reliablity, aftermarket parts (available and price), mechanics/ engine builders local that do high performance on the quad, and any other little things that you'll be doing to the machine on a day to day bases. My biggest complaint on any quad is the easy of removing or replacing parts. The z400 example (a buddy was complaining about having to remove the radiator to change pipe systems).

Well that's about all I've got. Let us know on what you end up getting and I'm sure people here will help tell you what hop-up parts to get and the best place to buy them.

Mike

 

Thanks for the info lt250r91, that gasgas 4-stroke sounds awsome. I don't know if can come up with $8,195 but it would probably be cheaper than hoppping up a z400. The C-dale is out of the question due to their situation. I looked at the pics of your Gasgas 300, it looks cool. How is it holding up to mx? Also do you know of anyplace I can find some info on the new Gasgas 4-stroke? I'm having a hard time finding anything. Thanks again.

 

RacerJohnbf

I totally understand the reason for not buying the cannondale. Their situtation doesn't look good, but it will get better. Rumor is a place in Ca. is interested in buying the motorsports division. But who know what the new owner will do.

As for the GasGas quad. Best bet on info is contacting a local dealer or the GasGas importer. The importers number is 1-877-9GasGas. If you call the importer ask them where the closes dealer is that will have the quads to sell. See not every GasGas dealer carries the dirt bike/ quad line and plus the quads are hard to get right now do to supply and demand.

I am a harescramble/cross country racer so I don't spend much time on the motocross course. The 300 comes with a 52" width and 10" of travel up front. The rear shock is where you might have some problems on the motocross course since it's listed at only 7" of travel. I'm currently working with GasGas, Gt Thunder, Ohlins, and LT Racing on resovling some issues on the rear shock. We're going to be shorting the linkage (using LT Racing 120mm linkage arms) to raise the rear end up a little more than 3/8" and then change the shock springs along with the shock ends to make it sag like the front shocks and increase the overall center to center of the shock. This will give me a little more travel with having the airbox hit the swing arm. I planning on have this issue done before round 1 of the GNCC's (March 1st). If you haven't already heard I've had GT Thunder make me a set of 47" wide a-arms for it. So the current set-up is 47" in th front and 47 1/2" - 48" in the rear.

I looked into the z400 set-up for xc. To have a similar set-up to what the GasGas has I was looking at around $11k in it. I got the GasGas for 8 and plan on add about $1,000 in set-up and personal options. So in the end I'll be about $2000 less and have a 2-stroke instead of a 4-stroke.

Any question feel free to ask and if your looking for a dealer with a GasGas quad for sale let me know because my dealer (Dover Race Ready Cycles) has a 300 in the showroom (last I heard) and is on the list for 2 of the 450's.

Mike

 

lt250r91

Unfortunately the gasgas might be out of my price range right now, if I do wait until I can get enough $ for the gasgas I want the 4-stroke. I forgot to mention I am new to mx, (not to quads I've been riding them off and on for 15 yrs.) Do you think I could get by with a z400 with some nerfs and better tires for my first year and then build it up from there. My one concern with the z is I've read some posts on here about weak frames.


Anyone else's opinions will also be appreciated.


John

 

I too have heard about problems with the z400 frames being weak and breaking. Since you are new to the mx racing scene you'll be starting in the C or B classes. With that in mind along with a budget that would make the higher dollar rides out of the question, I'd lean toward finding a good used 400ex for around $3000 to $3500 and built it up. This way if you decide that mx racing is not your thing you won't have a ton of money invested. Plus if in a couple years your looking to buy a new GasGas or whatever is top of the line then you'll be able to get most of the purchase price back out of the 400ex since they tend to hold their value.

 

Ummm, Predator?? check the new dirtwheels. It came in 1st

 

Yeah Predator looked good to me too.

Can anyone tell me how it holds up to mx?

 

Well of those to i'd say the predator but the best quad you could get is a cannonsdale