Hmmmm, mine is up for auction on ebay right now. Wish I could have got to ride it first (bought it non-running) ! [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-tongue.gif[/img]

I can say from looking at it though that the technology and R&D is second to none.

 

deuce, check your pm's

 

the dale rocks in any condition...... unless you want to go slow....

 

Hey thomes Have you riden a 450r yet ,I did , It seems to have an excellent chassis and suspension but the powerplant leaves much to be desired. It looks like the yamaha 450 is still the quad to go after.

 

No, I haven't ridden either the YFZ or the TRX - I watched Natalie ride his YFZ and Farr ride his R though, those guys can ride! but the bikes didn't look all that special to me. Natalie admitted he was not that impressed with the power from his YFZ and Farrar and Farr battled for 3 laps with Farrar riding his 'Dale - granted it is a SBM IV but he definitely had more power.

Over the summer I hope to get the chance.

 

There were alot of reports that early cannons sucked when going thru low water crossingsor puddles. I do not know wether they fixed that or not. Cannon had a habit of throwing parts that may not suppose to be on the model in question. Most of the time it was better shocks or something of that nature, exhaust, handlebars. From reading post on here they (cannon ) would make changes at anytime and used a few diffent designs of the swing arm. Some of the early models did not complete magazine testing before they quit running. Reliablity from what i have seen is not a selling point. The factory stood behind them but there is no factory now.

Kawisaki- Unless you are a die hard i would stay away from the cannons. They do some stuff well and so stuff makes you wonder. They remind me of the MGB cars when they first came to america. When they run, they do it well but they do not always run. Seems like every cannon guy that bought one new and signed on at the connection has had quite a few problems, some small and some big. As far as how it runs? That sounds makes you wonder at times. They do come out of the hole the first 100 feet strong, most of the time they will jump out in frontof other brands but it fades after the first 100 feet. Top speeds depends on gearing. Anywhere from 60 to possibly 80 depending on sprockets. Percentage wise more cannons will have or had a problem than the other brands.

There is one strong point about them now. If you decide to buy one the other owners will be able to help you keep it running. They have been threre and done that. The supporting vendor site on here has atv addiction and the owner ( i think his name is lewis) can get you what ever you need for it. Be though in looking one over. I have seen many post in which the owners have stripped drain plugs and what not. Make sure it has motor updates or tear into before you ride for. Battery and starting was a problem for a while. Hopefully you can get a dealer service manual for one still.

There are no new ones and they are getting years on them. No one knows how the frame will hold up after 5 or 6 years. The motorcycle racers do not keep there aluminum framed rides that long. I would pick one of the 2 450's currently out now over the dale. I never run across many dales where i ride but the ones i see are at some point during the week end towed back to camp or on a battery charger . I have not paid any attention to any in the last year and that might be cured know with all the support of fellow riders. Some have better computers than others so find out which one is the best to have. I do not know if you can interchange them or not or if they are prone to failure. Check and see what the price is of various parts on the quad from starters, clutches, spark plugs, computer, a-arms etc. I bought one at action that does not run. At some point i am going to part it out, probably on ebay

Good luck

If you decide to buy one make a copy of Wistechs thread ,Tips for dales he has put a lot of useful info in it for dale owners

 

I would personally never give a cannibal a second look . The whole purpose of the model was to be a "NO FRILLS" bare bones low cost model to be competative with sport quads out at the time. Which was a futile effort because there was no way you sell it at those prices keeping the alloy frame and efi so they tried to make up for it by using the cheapest parts available which detracted from the whole purpose of the quad. If you have the old school mentality of buy it new then tear all the new stock parts off and throw on thousands and thousands of dollars of aftermarket items then it would be preferable machine. I believe dinili will try to do the same thing with one of their models. Its to bad that most shootouts I have seen they used cannibals and then when they they didnt do so well everyone used that as the basis for comparison.

I believe Cannondales biggest downfall was a lack of experience and capital to build a exotic no comprimize super quad and bike from the ground up . I hear they estimated they could have done it for 25 million and ended up spending almost 100 million when they should have spent 200 million on r&d to do it right.

There have been so many cases of a product being doomed by flawed first release problems . Remember the 1984 pontiac fiero ,corvair,delorean,comet airplane. Even if the next year vehicles were flawless the damage was already done and got a bad rap for it and couldnt sell.

In cannondales case they they fixed many of the initial problems the second year and when money was getting short they implemented a bunch of cost saving measures that actualy caused a bunch of problems for the 3rd years. Valve covers ,cartridge plate bolts ,engine case material,crankshafts, became an issue later on in 2002 and 2003 models which wasnt a problem in 2001 and early 2002 models. This lead to a lot of engine problems and breakdowns and a lot of "I saw one getting towed back " comments.

On positve side if you do your research and understand that all the major problems are completlty fixable with not a lot of money (500 to 1000) you can have a very reliable machine. With prices on new ones so incredibly low ($5000 motos) they are very tempting but they are not a quad for everone and were never meant to be. So do your research and know what you are getting into before buying. For me I still have yet to find anything else that I would rather have but the gas gas,erasers,and yzf 450 are pretty high on my alternatives list.

 

Wis - that isn't old school. - Look how many people you see on the forums that just got their YFZ or TRX and have it apart in the garage for upgrades after break-in. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

wistech- very interesting comments.

Alot of guys just like to tear apart there quads and change pieces just cause they can.

Then there is another group (larger) that can not afford to make any changes due to there finances. Had cannondale bought a motor like artic cat and others do they would have been better off. The fact that there was no motor differnce between the base and moto was a fatal mistake to me. If i paid 12.5 for a moto and a canonible down loads the same program i would be a little ticked off. They should have done more to seperate the blaze and moto from the entry levels.

Same thinking did in the chevy ZR-1 corvette.

That is another thread. Canondales were not intended for the masses and most riders would be better off with a different gas and go brand.

 

Thomes I consider the 450r and the yz450 old school quads. That gets into the race ready discusion.

14min I agree the base model should have had a farmed out cheap to build carbed 4 stroke or even cheaper 2 stroke with a steel frame to at least get a market hold and use the profits from those to then finish the r&d on the exotic equiptment. Woulda coulda shoulda.

There are many reasons the project failed but I think a lot of good came from it.