I have a 400ex right now that I race mx. It is a very reliable bike but it doesnt cut the mustard on the track, not enough power or speed. I am looking at either a raptor, predator or cannondale. The c-dales are cheapest right now and Ive heard they have gobs of power and are great machines. If I get a cannibal, how reliable would it be and how much more trouble is the maintinance?

 

In order to cut off the bashers I'll tell you straight that you don't want to buy a cannondale. As much as i love mine and don't see any machine available that I would rather ride, i can't recomend you buy in now. It's too late. The game is up. The guys like me that are invested already will keep em going for a long while and you will keep seeing Cannon's on podiums, but it's just too hard without factory support. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-sad.gif[/img]

buy one of the new Yammies, but make sure you buy the extra warranty. 'Cause when it @#$%'s up, and it will, that's the only way yamaha will fix it for you.

 

I still want one, maybe in 2 years the factory will be up and running[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-sad.gif[/img] that when I'm buying my next one. not sure yet but it will be a yama 450, can moto 440, or custom crf 450 detuned to a 440? who knows?

if its a good price I would grab it!

 

Get the yamaha it's going to tear up the mx scene.

 

Like Ryanstones said . Buy the new yamaha ,honda, predator,or next years z400 replacement. Unless you get one sweet deal like a moto for under $5,000 or a cannibal for under $2500 I dont think they would be worth the trouble. Yes they are incredible performers but I dont ever see the project starting up again. The tooling and parts are up for auction soon and us present owners will be stocking up for the long haul. Dont worry we'll be all right. They sparked some new life into a stagnant market and look at the selection we have to pick from so use your best judgement.
I would suggest taking a look at the GasGas lineup but they might suffer the same fate a Cannondale .
Good luck

 

I gotta agree with these guys.Look for something else there are way to many risks and worries to seriously race or even buy a Cannondale now.It actually hurts to type these words.

 

Thanks for the help guys. If I can find a used predator in a few months that will deffinately be my new bike, the new yamas are too expensive, but mabye a 02 raptor. thanks again.

 

for gosh sakes, don't buy a raptor! That starter bearing problem is one that will keep you OFF the track!
My .02.

 

If your EX is all done up get a 440 stroker from Tom Miller. We had one and it rocked. $3000. The Cannondale beats it though. We have a YZF426 we are looking to get rid of, but we are asking $12,500. Look on e-bay, there are ALOT of nice quads on there. It's true about the Dales though. I have two and won't sell them. It does take a good amount of $$$ to race these things. But our EX and YZF did also.

 

Only buy a Yamaha warranty if your dealer loves you or you have money to burn. Yamaha doesn't honor the warranties either. Many, many Raptor riders with blown trannies had warranties and Yamaha did nothing. That is a different division of Yamaha that is a profit center. They want to make money on every warranty they sell so they track to make sure you never go over the amount you paid for it.

Save the money and put it in a bank and use it when you need your first big repair.

I cashed my warranty in after about a year when Yamaha wouldn't cover some repairs.

/Jon