hey all, i got a speed and raced a offroad race yesterdayand there were all kinda of quads in this race, raptor, ex400, predator, lt400, this was a wide open track,pinned 5th gear on 2 sections of track,
people talk about how fast their quads are but let me tell you, i got a horrible start and passed everything like they were standing still, i expected no problem from the honda's but as i came out of a turn leading onto the main straight the predator was about 3 bike lenghts infront of me and i passed him like he was standing still, at the end of the straighti had enough time to brake going into the turn start the turn then exit will he was entering the turn. i am not a pro racer, this was the first time i had been to this track it was awsome, even the predator owner came up to me after one of the races and said DAMN that thing is fast.

i talked to a dealer yesterday also and not wanting to fan the rumor fire but... he told me that the lastest buyer rumor is KTM, the want a quad line and why not purchase cannondale, the rolling chassis is already top of the line, the only snag is that they will be putting the 400exc motor in it, which is kinda a bummer cuz i like the 440 fuel injected, but the KTM motor isnt a dog, those of you that are familiar with KTM can only hope that if this does happen they offer a version with there 525 motor. my opinion that is the nastiest off road motor made.

 

When you say "nastiest", do mean that in good way?

I've owned, raced and loved KTM motorcycles for 8 years.

I went to a Cannondale demo ride and got to ride the 02 X440 motorcycle and the 02 Blaze. My ride on the X440 was very short, because it only took me a minute to realise that this was NOT a bike that I would want to own. So I turned around and took it back. It reminded me a lot of the YZ400F, that I rode a while back, and I didn't like it either.

I then took a spin on the 02 Blaze. I really liked how this quad felt. It had nice power and was decent through the whoops. I've never ridden a Raptor or Predator, but out of all the under-50-inch-wide quads that I have ridden, this is my favorite.

As you can see from my signature, I own a Bombardier DS650. I couldn't help but compare the Blaze with my DS650. My DS is smoother through the whoops and has more power (I have a pipe though). That's why I say "under-50-inch-wide quads". I'm not a fan of riding ANY quad on narrow trails. Motorcycles are just so much better for that. That is why I prefer wide quads.

From what I've read, KTM already has a very hard time staying up with the demand for their motorcycles. At this point, they are not ready to make quads also. It would only make the problem of keeping-up-with-demand worse. If they are looking into buying Cannondale Motorsports, I guess that would give them another factory. But if they are going to toss the Cannondale motor, I don't see why they would want to buy Cannondale Motorsports. I believe the motor was where Cannondale spend the majority of their R&D money. What would KTM be buying it for? A factory on a different continent that would have to be completely re-tooled and a quad chassis? I would be excited that KTM was going into quads, but I would be surprised if this is how they do it.

 

KTM is working very hard to deliver a streetbike.