id just like to say the DS 650 sounded worse than the sportsman 335 in all the tests i read lol
86 4trx 250R tons of goodie's 86 bone stock restored atc 250R

 

I've experienced none of the DS early production problems with my later production model.

 

According to the Sept. issue of Dirt Bike the C-dale MX 432 is a piece of s**t. There are all sorts of problems with the EFI and the pipe being to close to the rear shock. It weighs too much and overheats every race it's entered in. I'll be sticking with the "big-4"

 

The article does not dog the bike. It says "that the bike doesnt feel as strong a yamaha, but the power is good and revs well", and you can change the EFI for for specific power ranges."Controls work smoothly and the suspension is good. And "compared to the other 400's it feels light and the fit and finish seems good.
They also said that the fx400 quad will be in showrooms in the next 4 to 5 months.

 

Perfect?,,,,you must surely be crazy,,,cause all you have to do is pay attention to the Outdoor Nationals (dirtbike racing in case you dont know) Cannondale hasnt finished a points paying race yet,,,,overhyped pile of crap.

 

I think Cannondale had a big opportunity to do great things, but they blew it big time. This thing was supposed to be 50 horsepower, now it is down to 38. The YZ 426 makes 48 bone stock. Why is anybody going to take a risk on the Cannondale motocrosser?
As far as the ATV, will an aluminum frame designed for the weight of a motocross bike last in a substantially heavier atv application? Of course, only time will tell, but for 7 grand you can build one hell of a 250R. I wish them well, but they should have taken a lesson from Honda. Don't let any info out until your product is ready to go.

 

It had been said all along that 50hp was just a close figure that the actual engine may be smaller than what was used for testing. Which it is. A 400cc engine making 38 hp is a lot more than the 400ex. Thats almost what a highly modded 250r makes, so I dont think that I would complain to awfully much. Plus weighing only 350 pounds the weight to power ratio is gonna make it much faster than a slightly more powerful yet much heavier bike as well.

 

CT Racing makes race and a recreation engine power packages for the 400EX. Race makes 39, rec makes 35. The powervalved 250R cylinder and head is making 48 ponies and CT will be releasing a 350 version in Oct. Care to guess what it will be churning out?
My point was completely missed. I will restate. I feel that Cannondale hyped up their machinery way too soon. They over promised and still haven't delivered. You want to talk about power to weight, think about a mildly modified 250R making right around 30 hp weighing in 22 lbs less than the Cannondale. It may turn out to be a great machine, but the air has gone out of their sales, especially with the Raptor craze. If Kawasaki released a four stroke, those are more sales that the Canon will lose. Next year, when/if Honda releases its rumored 450cc thumper, more sales gone.
I am not even going to say the FX will be good or bad, I will just say it is not here right now, nor will it be here any time soon. I think they missed the boat.

 

the fmf pipe on a 250r is suposto put out 45 hp the thing with the power valves is that you gave a big power bandand. I would love to see that in a 330r kit that if every thing works out for the 310 then i bet it will be here also. And PSI makes some sweet kits like the 425R i think the biggest prob. with these kits is there it to much power. the PSI web page is http://www.psiperformance.com/19.html

 

I don't think that you can have too much power provided you can put it to the ground. Cannondale has said that the bike might have more displacement than the motocross bike-not less power-I wouldn't expect them to disappoint in that area when the bike is finally released, they will have had plenty of time to test the raptor and DS by then. Kawasaki will have the same advantage when releasing their four stroke. Its Kawasaki that hates to be outdone in the horsepower wars though. I think the thing that has everyone excited is that Cannondale has some truly innovative features that make so much sense you wonder why nobody else thought of them in the last 20 years. The thing we have to remember is that Cannondale doesn't have the luxury of Honda's market posiiton. Cannondale has exactly zero loyal customers. Anything red that Honda sends to dealers will sell, they have earned that. Cannondale had no other marketing option than to show the FX400 at the trade show in Indianapolis. They had to know if the project was even viable. Its like a concept car at a motor show. They are measuring the buzz it generates to decide if it should see production. Some, generate so much buzz that they go from concept to production model virtually unchanged. (See Viper, Prowler, New Beetle) I'm perfectly willing to be patient. I've been sitting around the last 10 years with my fingers crossed trying to tell myself that the high performance machines would come back. As far as I'm concerned we are on the cusp of a time in high-performance ATVing that will make us remember the glory years fondly but we should have plenty of new machines flying your choice of factory colors and we can move all of this discussion out to the dunes and trails where it belongs. I don't know about y'all but I'm not planning to have half as much time to post in here in the next year or so-we'll all be way too busy riding.