I have high hopes for the sport quad market by next year this time.

Honda- XR650R type engine in a light weight, woods capable frame.

Suzuki- DRZ400 type engine in a light weight, woods capable frame.

Yamaha- WR426 type engine in the above mentioned frames and also a complete makeover of the Banshee chassis.

Kawasaki- The GNCC two stroke woods quad would be cool, but I am realistic. Maybe the new V-Twin engine in a light weight chassis? A new 400cc four stroke in a light weight chassis?

Polaris- SOMETHING ANYTHING LIGHTWEIGHT AND SPORTY. I am disappointed that they discontinued the Scrambler 400 4x4. I have a 98 and with some thoughtful and carefull mods it can be made into a pretty good quad.

Bombardier- I have read in a couple places about a two stroke 250. OH PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE. If it is small and light weight unlike the DS650 it will be awesome.

Cannondale- Get it right before it starts selling and it will be awesome.

I would love to see KTM, Husaberg, GasGas and ATK start building quads. There must be a (marketing?) reason that they do not market them now.

I have an 86 250R and the above mentioned 98 Scrambler now. I would love to buy a nice shiny new quad. The Raptor and 400ex are cool, but I think the next 12 months are going to reveal some awesome new quads.

What does everyone else think? Please be realistic. Honda IS NOT going to release a new 250R, no one could wish for it to happen more than me and it saddens me, but it will not happen. I strongly doubt Kawasaki will release another two stroke--you never know with Bombardier though.

Paul

 

i think your are right. husaberg is working on their enforcer 600 i heard so that should be cool.
i hope the bomb comes out with a 2 stroke cuz then other companys are gonna wanna do the same.

 

I agree w/both of you! A couple of competitive 4 strokes next year or 18 months. I don't think we will see any new 2 strokes. Sport quad market is to large for man. to ignore anymore!

 

I am also anxiously awaiting the arrival of any new sport quads. My interest lies in pure high performance and nothing since the 12 year old 250R fits the bill for me. The rumors of the Bombardier have got my attention because they may be willing to build a really good quad to gain some market share from the big four. And I also hope the Cannondale lives up to its potential, because like you said, if they get the bugs worked out of the motor and make the entire chassis and motor reliable then it should be awesome. I have said this in other posts, but I think the Cannondale has the most potential since the 250R because they are developing it on the track (according to their website). It sounds like this quad is being targeted torward aggressive riding when most quads are built for such a wide variety of riding that they are not really good at any one thing. Bring on 2001 and lets hope that some manufacturer has the nads to give us what we want!

 

We are definitely about to experience the best of times in the sport ATV class. None of the manufacturers are going to sit out while the others line their pockets with the money we have been waiting to spend. While I don't have high hopes for Husaberg, Gas Gas or ATK-I have serious concerns about manufacturers that might be unable to support a new model that is sure to have some growing pains initially, I do expect that we will se several new models. What makes sense in my opinion:
Honda with a model to compete in the big four stroke arena, a 650 would dovetail nicely with the 400ex to round out Honda's offerings and I think the entire market will fragment into light weight 400 class machines and big motored open bikes.

Kawasaki should have something for us very soon and to be hinest they are the ones I am initially most excited about, Kawasaki takes winning the horsepower war very seriously so I expect a 650 from them first.
Cannondale, they should have most of the kinks worked out of the motor thanks to the MX bike by the time production starts, from a technology standpoint they have some exciting ideas. We should se their bike first.
Suzuki is sure to enter the fray with rumors circulating around the 400 motor they use in their MX bike.
Yamaha might answer the call for a MX focused machine based on the 426 platform but I think they are aware that they would get a big lift out of a new frame for the Banshee's fantastic motor and it would be the cheaper option development wise as they wouldn't have to do a thing, though they could re-design the airbox of course.
Bombardier seems interested in having a full range of high performance offerings and while it may not be a two-stroke they are said to be using a 380 twin for development as well. A member in Quebec spotted product photography of a new sport Bombardier at the print shop the company uses in Quebec, If they have gotten as far as product photography the bike is likely done and they could drop a smaller, lighter (than the DS) bombshell on us very soon.
The prospect of so many options in the relatively near future is the only thing keeping my money in my pocket at this point though I might not be able to resist springing for a Raptor and adding another toy if someone tops it in my opinion in the near future.

 

keith, about those bombardier pictures? are they viewable on the net?
i count on a kawazaki 250 2 stroke, along with a 600 range 4
suzuki is scared to buid a 2-stroke HP quad, i count on the 400
cannnondale needs to go out of buiness
honda, it's hard to say with honda, but i think with the 400ex, they might go with fixing some flaws on the ex and maybe leaning it into an MX or trail bike, instead of both, and MAYBE just MAYBE come out with a two stroke HP quad
thats my two cents

 

dosent atk own husaberg now ?

 

When I look into my crystal ball (no I'm not a gypsy), this is what I see......

Bombardier will have their DS of course. There's a good chance of a two-stroke because no one else is doing it. After all, wasn't it Bombardier the people who started this all again!?! Also, they'll release about fifty different versions of the Traxter...the Traxter XXL, 6X6, 4X4 Sport, 4X4 H.O., etc.

Cannondale may (strong emphasis on may) have the FX out. I'm as anxious as anyone for C-dale to get this high-tech marvel out, but if it's anything like the bike was...God help us all!

Honda will still be developing a big bore quad, probably based on the XR650R bike. They'll tide us all over by swapping the engine from the new RC450 MX bike to have...*drum roll* the 450EX! However, everyone on the 'net will dream of the big cheese....a 500cc 2-stroke, crammed in a 400 chassis.

Kawasaki will shoehorn the V-twin into a quad chassis. However, it'll be similar to the Bombardier in weight, due to the immense girth of the V-twin.

Polaris may surprise all of us with an SP700. Of course this snowmobile on wheels will probably be heavier than the buffet at Bonanza after a Weight Watchers meeting, but it's 700cc, it's has to scoot!

Suzuki will have a 400 quad. It will use the DRZ motor and hopefully, it'll have less problems than most Quadzillas I've seen.

Then there's Yamaha. Team Blue will of course have the 660R, and the Banshee. There's no way Yamaha would pull the two-stroke out of the 'Shee..right? It would be nice to have a quad with the 426 motivating it, but would it make good business sense to have three hi-po quads? I don't think they'll end the Banshee (of course, I bet everyone thought the same with the 250R), so I doubt we'll see a YZ powered quad on the Yamaha showrooms any time soon.

I'm sure it's only a matter of time before someone develops a large bore quad that moves with the traction of 4WD. Imagine an AWD 600cc quad! Holeshot heaven, baby!

But wait, there's more. Current quads are gonna change as well. They sport quads are gonna be made from lighter and more durable (read:more expensive) materials. It's realistic to think of an aluminum framed Banshee, a sport quad with carbon fiber components, even carbon kevlar beginning to make it's way into the race tracks. The question is, when the new aluminum 650R Honda comes out, will you be so excited when you realize that there is five figures in that price instead of four? Ouch!