UPDATE / I received the MKII from Raceway and was satisifed with it. Pretty easy to assemble, wheels and tires and it started right up. I changed the oils right away and was happy with its performance. I installed spacers from Speedtrap although I thought it was pretty stable already. The bike looked nice, appeared of decent quality and I was pretty happy with it, especially for the money. My daughter, whom I bought it for, was also very happy with it.

Then I took it to the dunes. I rode it first and right away the front end was WAY squirrelly, major bump steer, yanked the handlebars out of my hands. So I removed from the front spacers and that helped. I let my daughter ride it and it remained pretty squirrelly, any significant bumps and I could see the front end pulling side to side. As she hit the bottom of a hill the front end would turn one way or the other immediately. The kids had developed a "track" in the sand and if she hit the burm with a front tire it would spin her around. I rode it and experienced the same thing, to a lesser degree but there none the less. I was, however, very impressed with every other aspect of the bike, and this little bike pulled me (215 pounds) up some decent dunes. The bump steer was a problem. I actually installed some heavy rubber bungees to the tie rod ends as a steering stabilzer and that helped a little more, but still there and still unacceptable.

Upon returning from the trip I was able to get a hold of John at Raceway. He stated he had never heard of this happening, but suggested I check the front end for looseness, and he was absolutely willing to make good any bad parts. I was not able to locate any significant loose front end parts, and my conclusion is the front end is just of poor design. I think the quad is fine and I would recommend it on semi soft surfaces, but I wouldnt recommend it for very soft riding surfaces such as in the sand. I should say I am satisified with Raceway's handling of the matter, I think John was willing to do whatever was needed to make the quad right and that is commendable for an internet dealer. I will do business there again. But I think the best thing for me to do is sell this quad and get something else, as we ride a lot in the dunes. So it is for sale.

Which brings me to my next venture. I am considering the Unison 90 from Raceway. John tells me the 90 doesnt have the power of the MKII, but does have a better suspension. Ive read some reviews here and everybody with one seems satisifed. Just wondering if anybody has experience with the 90 in the sand, any experiences with the reverse option for this quad, and how the Unison may compare to say, an LT80. If not the Unison, I am considering the E-ton 90r, although I heard the reverse on that was kinda tricky and wouldnt engage unless the rpm's were perfect. Info and recommendations appreciated. Thanks.

 

Mine was pretty squirrelly when I first got it. Simply toed it out and adjusted the shocks. Made a world of difference.

 

Thanks for the replies. Yes, I did plan to inform whoever of my experience with the bike. Qwadfather, Im not seeing what you mean on the spindle angles, which doesnt mean its not there, I may have just not spent enough time studying it. The quad has dual a-arms if that makes a difference. Yea, I would rather correct the problem than trade as long as its not going to require a bunch of $ and time.

Raptorlegs, you say adjusting the toe and shocks helped the problem. I take it you just screw the tie-rods in to get the front of the tires to point outwards? And how much did you adjust, was it visibly noticeable? The front end looks good to me right now. And did you adjust the shocks firmer or softer, Ive got them on softest (most expanded) setting right now.

Thanks again for the advice. I would definetely be tickled if I could correct the "true" problem.

 

I d have to agree with quadfather and he brought up something I didnt think of. I was having and am still have the front wheel problem on my daughters MKII even after changing the tires. These problems where addressed alot in this old post. The new tires we put on my daughters helped alot , But the quad is very unstable and unsafe in sand.

Here is the earlier link : MKII problem Discused , Click Here

Click on the camera under my name on the camera to check out the tires.

predtldrider... The Unison 90 is a very good quad and is 100 times more stable than the MKII. My second KId quad was the Dinli 90. These types are lower to the grownd and more stable.

As far as raceway not knowing about this or never hearing about this. Well..at least John and Raceway is very supportive of their buyers. I think Kazuma 110 -150 styles should be recalled or a fix should be found and provided.

Best of luck with MKII. One tip I can say is use the limiting screw to slow it down to keep it safe.

 

Thanks for replying SFRider. Actually I did read your posts on the instability of the MKII, Im afraid I misunderstood the problem unfortunately. I interpretted it as a more overall instability that could probably be fixed with wheel spacers. Its clearly obvious to me now we are experiencing the same front end shimmey in the sand that seems to to be consistent with these quads. In fact, the front wheel spacers exagerated the problem greatly. I have no confidence in this quad in the sand, and no matter what I do to it to improve the problem, I dont think I will feel 100% confident its safe for my child to be riding because of the poor front end design. Yes, the more I think about it the more I agree with you. Something should be done to correct this problem; a recall, whatever. I thought I had done the proper research before buying this bike, but now I feel I hadnt. I was quite allright with "you get what you pay for", I believe that, I wasnt looking for a racer or a jumper. But I did expect a safe bike and I dont think I got it. There is definetly something wrong with the front end and it SHOULD NOT BE RIDDEN IN THE SAND! My opinion. The more I think about this the more frustrated and angry I become, that I'm stuck with this quad I cant use. Expensive learning experience.

Well the Unison certainly sounds like a much more suitable bike for the sand. Actually, I'm considering getting her a Predator 90. I think I'm done trying to save a buck at the expense of safety (not that I intedned that to begin with), and I'm going to be getting another Predator for me once I see what '06 has to offer, so maybe I'll get a deal on two and we'll match. I was never one to preach going with name brands just because, but after my frustrations with this maybe there's something to it.