I am thinking of buying a cannondale and I hear that the clutches go pretty quick and are a pain in the *** to replace because you have to take out the engine of the frame, ad the chain wears through the swingarm and have to replace the swingarm because of that. Can someone help me out.

 

The clutch problem was fixed,they changed from alumin to steel clutch
plates after the first production run of the 2001 fx400's.
Also, you don't have to tahe out the motor to change the clutch.
The plastic chain slider that protects the swing arm from the chain
is a problem.You,have to change it quite often.My dealer says Cannondale has come out with a new,harder plastic one,but they
haven't shiped any yet.
Other than that there awsome for sport riding.
Hope you get one.

 

I'd feel a lot better about buying a Cannondale if there was a long term solution to the swingarm/chain wear problem. Does anyone know a better solution than changing the plastic wear piece every 10 to 20 hours? Would an aftermarket swingarm be the answer?

 

Has anyone tried the new material? The new material lasts a lot longer. You can tell if its the new material if there is writing on it. The old material had no markings or writing on it.