I didn't get much riding time on my brothers Cannon, but the little time that I did, I was impressed. The handling is great in the sand and the power is strong. The quad turns great and seems to jump well with no weird quirks. Wasn't airing it out to big on my bro's new ride. I would definitely consider purchasing one. He got an awesome deal on his as well. Very nice machine!!!

My new Z-400 compares well to the Cannondale. The power is definitely stronger on the Cannon in the low to midrange. (It feels stronger everywhere than my piped, geared, jetted, filtered raptor did, especially on the top end). The Suzuki is a little weak off the bottom but the mid range is good, and it rev's out nicely. Doesn't have the top end as the Cannon, but we're talking about a stock Z without fuel injection. The Z jumps really well and handles similar to a 400ex. The stock suspension is average at best. The Z performs great for only displacing 400cc.

We'll get more seat time this weekend at the dunes, and then head to the mx track and see how they compare. Keep you posted.

 

<< Hey 2fun

I am eventually, going to get down there to visit you, and get the southern tour.(soon) You can ride mine then. When CHad rode mine, it was with my itp holeshots.(with too much air) THe front suspension set stiff.
I now have softened up the front suspension a bit and gotten Kenda geckos/ and dune trackers on the front. Should be a lot more stable in the steering now.
He felt like the other machine he rode was twitching in front end cause Cannonmans is HOT&gt; HOT&gt; HOT&gt;. and he couldn't keep the front end on the ground. heheee. >>



Cool! I can hardly wait![img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

 

The comment I made about the steering was not meant to be an attack on the cannondales. It's just what both of the bikes felt like to me. I also ride with dune trackers on the front of my 400ex, so dirt tires in the front are naturally going to feel cruddy in the sand. But the front suspension does feel a bit harsh for sport/recreational riding (maybe it can be softened up a bit), and those holeshot tires aren't that good in the dunes. If your bike feels good to you then that's all that matters. Ride it and have fun!!! I just don't like how they handle in the sand, and that's my honest opinion. And nowhere in this message am I saying that my opinion is right, it's just right for me...so relax 1986atc250R, I wasn't making a personal attack on one of your quads. Too many people in here are too quick to get mad if someone says something that isn't 100% positive about their quad. I did say that I thought they performed very well and that the power was very impressive. They're just not the quad for me.

 

Take it easy Chad... All I said is I found your comments interesting because my experience had been different. I followed that up with some info from some comparison of my two quads I've done. I really enjoy both - in fact, my 400EX is still my race quad, the CD is just my play quad.

My comments about the sand were about what a magazine had said, not directed at you and I was far from &quot;mad&quot; when I typed that up, I've been on these forums WAY too long to get upset by someone's ride impressions.

Before offering &quot;Chill&quot; advice, you may want to take it yourself. No need to be so defensive...

 

Hey Chad
I really appreciated your feedback to me on my CD. That's why I had you ride it man, your a far more experienced rider than I am and this is my first machine. I want to know if there are things I can do to improve on my ride. I did get the sand tires you suggested,and the helped a lot. BUt you know, I had to learn something else and Bill pointed it out to me after our last SandLake get together. My front tires were shipped to me from Tires Unlimited, mounted backwards. You know I thought the flat edge of that rib down center should have been to the outside of the tire, but figured they knew what they were doing. I talked to Bill, then got email back from Kenda tires, and of coarse, duh, they were backwards. Makes a difference!!

OUch Les Schwab hit me $20.00 to remount them. Makes up for all the freee flats they have fixed for me I guess.

 

Thanks for al the replies, and info guys!
I can't wait to try one of these things out at the Oregon dunes![img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

 

Dirthawg: are you talking about the dune trackers?? The ridge down the middle should be angled outwards to help keep your front end from sliding out when you're turning. But, if you're just into sand drags, some guys keep them pointed towards the middle. Then the tires give you good floatation, but offer no bite, so the front end will slide around a bit. I have mine angled outwards, and my quad corners like it's on rails.

 

correction...it was 4 wheel atv action not dirt wheels...sorry bout that




Dirt Wheels did give it a very low rateing too in the sand only because it had lots of problems, Then they did a later review with all the recalls updated