How big of a motor do you guys think they will ever put on 4-wheelers?And I'm talking about from the factories.

 

i have no idea but since the 80's its been fun watching what comes out year after year. i always liked the 2-strokes. them days are pretty much gone. guess i have 4 pieces of history sitting in my garage. i think their crazy fast now.

 

Well your zilla was no small fry back in 88 and it would still be considered a big bore sport quad today if it were new. 15 years later and the largest sport quad is only about 200cc more (kfx 700). The problem with bigger on a sport quad is weight and dimensions. The kfx700 is a heavy dog because of the massive v-twin. I would guess that pure sport quads will probably end up just shy of 800cc in the next decade, while the hybrids like the kfx700 could hit 1 litre (see ute explanation).

A 400cc ute used to be considered big, now it has to be over 600 to be a big bore. I think we're more apt to see increases in the utility market, but I think it'd be a long time before we broke 1 litre seeing as how the sled engines providing the powerplants for these huge utes seem to max out around there.

 

When I worked for A/C dealer we asked our rep that question. He said that cc's won't determine size, dollars will. He said that what ever they can produce for under 10,000 will be the limiting factor. He doubted that we would see ATV's in the 1000 cc class though. With the technolagy improving they are getting more horsepower out off smaller engines so there is no need to go bigger and add weight. TORK.

 

Most states list 800cc as the maximum displacement for OHV machines. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

 

Same with ours.

Some may even have weight limitations.

 

In you title, by "big" I preume you mean displacement. Actually in the modern world, displacement doesn't mean much except when comparing engines of identical design. A great example is that a 450R can beat a Raptor 700.........THERE IS A REPLACEMENT FOR DISPLACEMENT! You CAN do more with less........wow that is sooooooo great!

On the other hand while I have nothing against huge horsepower, I sure do dislike how big and heavy the utes have gotten. Look at the sport quads which are getting lighter all the time. The 450's are now down to 350 pounds (very favorable power to weight ratio!), yet the utes gain more lard every year (600, 700........800 pounds). Calling one of those a "sport/ute" is just a plain old marketing lie. Wish the manufacturers would turn this thing around, and start giving us some really light 4X4's!

 

What do you mean by this?How and where do states list maximum displacements?

 

I got to tell ya that my UTE weighs in excess of 700 lbs. and I think there is a plus side to that... The machine stays on the ground!!!! With IRS the utes get very tippy... if they lowered weight, they'd have to lower the center of gravity which would lower the ground clearance. I just wouldn't want to see them much heavier than they are now... and yes I know there are down sides to the heavy machines, but I'll leave that to y'all to fill in for me.

 

IMO this is not a limiting factor. In Michigan the limit is 500cc, we've passed that mark long ago and there's never been any debate as to whether my 660 raptor's engine was too large to ride with the rest of the machines.

States use displacements to divide up different kinds of vehicles. Anything under a certain displacement is one type of off-road vehicle, while anything over that is another type. These types have different restrictions and permissions from one kind to the next.