You guys ever thought of this? Having basically a dualpurpose quad? Say a Bombardier frame with like a 105hp CBR 600 motor installed or even say my zx9 motor installed. HeHe.. Seriously why not? I'm totally confused to why manufactures have not made 4 wheled fully functional and maunfactured CBR, GSXR, ZX, R1 quads. Why not? could you imagine having the best of both worlds? If they can do it with dual purpose bikes then why not dual purpose quads? Does this not make since? I find it hard to believe that legislation could put up a good case against this or even insurance companies for that matter. My zx9 is far more dangerous having 140hp on two wheels rather than a more stable ellaborate chassis with 4 wheels for the street. How about less hp but a dual purpose mode button. street mode and off road mode... To limit hp and gear ratio requirements for offroad. To my understanding there are a few states or even counties that will let you ride an ATV on the road anyways. IF they manufacture this you better believe I will be the first one on the list to buy one. Could you imagine a stretched Bombardier frame completely interchangeable with offroad parts, that is heavier, more stable, and a little more aerodynamic for a 135-140 mph topspeed rush with 1/4 mile times in the 11.0 - sub 10 second times on road. Sport bike industry does it why cant we? Any opinions?

 

I would love to make my DS650 or another DS650 streetable. However the laws in NC where I live state that if it has 4 wheels, it has to have seatbelts. I know I wouldnt want to have to be strapped to my DS when riding it. Its a dumb law in my opinion, because you can have these trikes street legal. You would have a better chance of getting a ATC 350X registered in NC than a DS650. The states that you can get ATVs registered are the ones whos law is different than NC.

 

I have a riding buddy who put a ZX6 engine into his 250R frame. It required a little work on the frame and suspension, but it is truely a powerful bike. It is not street legal, but I couldn't imagine running a solid axle on the freeway[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-shocked.gif[/img][img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-confused.gif[/img] or any other asphalt surface at higher speeds.

 

Well, maybe thats a good point ....
Most of these laws drawn up in legislation, local or federal governments were designed well before the existance of any quad was even thought of. So I think this would be a good case in possibly even supreme court. Being that anything with 4 wheels would be safer than 2. And if there going to allow my zx9 on the highway then why not my zx9 quad(wishful thinking of course)?
There is no justification for banning a vehicle just because it has 4 wheels and not 2. It should be the other way around. Sometimes I don't understand these stupid laws. I would guess it would be so that governments locally or state can control what is on their roads easier. If they just say 4 wheel must have this , this and this. Then it applys to al cars, trucks, ect; Well, in that case its time for laws to change. I just really cant see a real reason for not having basically a 4 wheeled motorcyle. So what if it takes years of testing by the Us highway state departments, and legislation at least lets get it all started.... Anybody else?

 

The more I think about this the more I think of going out doing some major research and drawing up a case for state if Indiana on this. They also ride ATV's in Europe do they not on public roads? I swear we must be behind times..



Hey knutz... If I'm successful in getting Indiana to pass this law... you want to start helping me create street legal kits for ATV's? hehehe...

 

4 cylinder motorcylcle motors work great in quads for drag racing, but are rather wide to try to use for an all around quad. You also have to look at the fact that the transmisions are not designed to take the pounding of off-raod terrain, were wheels leave the ground and hit again time after time. I have a friend that built one for desert racing with a 600 CC Kawasaki motor, and the motor blew up on the first ride. He then got a 600CC Honda motor, to get the same results. He talked to someone at Motorcycle Mechanics Institute to see if they could tell him why this was happening. They suspect that the oiling system could not deal with the bouncing from agressive off-roading, but work well when the terrain isn't that rough, such as drag racing.

I've been thinking about the street legal quad thing for a while now. I would like to do, but right now, I've got a bunch of irons in the fire and need to get after some people to get them out of the fire and out to the public.