Got my 4-wheel atv action mag yesterday. One thing I notice is we are not comparing 2 stock quads....the 400ex has an e-series slip on installed.

The last shootout in the desert between the Raptor and FX was the same way....the Raptor had a slip on and different rear tires. I think this is pretty pathetic to compare modified quads to stock ones......and even go so far as to do a comparism with the ratings stars too!

In my opinion, this is a feather in Cannondale's cap since mags are afraid to compare completely stock quads. I am more-than-happy with my Raptor and honestly say that if the Cannondale is better in a particular caterogory, then let it be known. Who cares! No one machine is gonna be perfect! On the mags part, I feel it's just another ploy to not step on any toes.

Ok, im done venting....on to the current shootout.

In a nutshell, on the (short)track and trail, the Cannondale nips the 400ex.
The wording was along the lines of "only professional riders could really put the FX's power to use" and basically, if you are a regular rider, then the 400ex would be fine for you. That way, hopefully, the sales don't drop for the underpowered EX.

One other note.....Cannondale has already implemented 8 changes (some major) to the 2001 1/2 FX400. You have to admit that these guys are serious about getting the atv riders what they want.

 

Yep, the 400EX looks like it is soon to become the "Warrior" of the Honda family. Great all around quad - somewhat underpowered! (and I have a 400!) Oh well, such is the way of the quad revolution! I can't wait to see what big beast Honda comes out with to rival Cannondale and Yamaha!

 

Well... I have to kind agree with the mag writers on the power issue of the 400EX vs the C-Dale FX...

Having ridden both, I would say - put an average rider on both, and the average rider will be faster and more comfortable pushing the EX in any kind of technical riding. Not simply because the FX has more power and requires skill to use it, but because of the way the power is delivered - remember that just because an engine has more peak power and may be faster in a drag, doesn't mean it has more power everywhere. The C-Dale doesn't have the bottom end the EX has, not by a long shot - however it does have quite a bit more top and more throttle response once in the power. This makes it somewhat difficult to keep under control in technical situations. It's kinda difficult to explain, but it's similar to a piped 2 stroke, but different. I imagine this is why they've changed the ECU, programming, and went to a progressive throttle body in the Cannibal and newly announced models - they've likely improved the power delivery and average horsepower over the current FX.

An experienced rider that has a lot of seat time on a lot of different machines will be able to adapt, but I think, in this case, the magazine's assessment is fairly accurate (although, as many of you know I am not much of a fan of the rags).

 

It also said that the EX only lost to the FX by a bike length in a drag race. At the moment i really can't justify going away from my EX's with only that much loss to an 8 thousand dollar bike. I have basically the same setup as the EX they tested, a WB Pipe, K&N, 162 main. In a drag it loses to my double barreled bike by a lot more than just one length. The dmc bike has the same filter and same jet. until cdale lowers the price to less than 6 grand(or a little bit above that. forget it. don't get me wrong i love the cdale, the injection, the reverse cylinder, everything. only its way overpriced.

 

A Cannondale factory rider (actually works there I beleive) was at Southwick, MA for our local race series. I got a chance to talk to him for a while. He was actually testing a new front plastic holders. Instead of screws holding the plastic down, a bushing type holder was installed. The rep said that if the holders worked out, they could start producing the new quads tomorrow with the set up. He said that Cannondale did not feel like waiting for an entire year to fix something.

While he raced in another class than me, I did notice two things. First the Cannondale is fast. On the longest straight at the track (called the washboard) a piped Banshee could not pull on the Cannondale. The second thing I noticed is how nice the quad flips. The guy took a nice spill down the same washboard section. This is a section that is home to many wipeouts, so it would have nothing to do with the machine itself. Luckily machine and rider were ok.

In talking with the rep, he described Tim Farr jump testing the prototype on another track we race, John Natalie doing Heuvos type jumps, the stress testing that the company uses etc.

Extremely nice guy and answered every question we could throw at him. Oh, his race quad was not a brand new one. Even he said that everyone at the factory beats on this one. Which he did as well flipping it over.

 

the 400ex will never become the "warrior" of the honda family.
yeah the raptor 660 can beat it in top speed by 5mph or so but it still gets its *** handed to it in jumping, handling, and on the trails.
plus from what i've seen personally the 400ex is built much better then any yamaha i've ever incountered. my friends yamahas are always in the shop.

 

the cannodale can easily beat the 400ex probably in every catagory...sept price
bottom line u pay for what u get
more u wanna pay better quad u get which is yamaha bottom, cannondale top honda in the middle someplace.

 

I got my FX out for its first sand duty this last weekend. I raced up some bowls against mostly modified Banshees and 250R's and got to race a Raptor 3 times [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img] It took a few runs to get my starts down, I was wheeling my starts in 2nd gear and was pulling wheelies in 3rd before I got to the top. Most of the other guys had + swingarms but I was nailing my starts and got leads until 3/4 up when the Banshees top end would kick in. I still held my own for a stock quad. Then a Raptor showed up and I beat him the first two runs and blew my start on the third run, had it in 1st gear and wheeled, but caught him 3/4 up and we tied, he left after that.
Those mags are full of it, I guess I could be called new to quads, this is the first one I've owned, but I have ridden a Mojave, 300EX and a Quadzilla some. I used to roadrace so maybe the power doesn't intimidate me, the only complaints I would have for my FX is that you can stall it easy, you got to stay on the gas, and I fouled a plug and to remove a plug from it takes some patience, you have to remove the seat, all the bodywork, two braces that hold the fuel tank down, the fuel tank, another frame brace that sits on top of the plug. Also I don't like the position the kill switch sits, it is next to the left grip and when I was riding it rubbed on my left thumb knuckle, I was able to loosen it and turn it up and out of the way though. The mags were right about the spacing between 4th and 5th, 5th is a bit too tall you have to rap it out in 4th to keep your speed up going for 5th.
The handling seemed fine to me, I didn't notice the twitchy feeling the mags had noted. Suspension was good after some tuning. And I love the sound it puts out, the whine and cam gears working and the pipe make it stand out, people could hear me and wanted to look at it [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img] I had a friend with a 250R ride it, with little enthusiasum took it out for a quicky, well he kept it longer than he thought he would and had a big smile when he returned. He said he couldn't believe it was a 4 stroke.

Moto24
'01 FX400
'98 Kawi ZX-9R
'90 Kawi ZX-7 (superbike)
'84 VF750R
'80 Kawi KZ650

 

WoW! Great info! It's nice to hear firsthand from people who actually own a Cannondale!

 

Did you buy the service manual? What's the owner's manual like? Seems like a lot to go through to change the plug. I'v heard about access to the plug. Does it foul a lot?