hey how good are the quadzilla's im thinking of getting one sometime. i whanted to know the reliability how strong are the frame's. do they brake down all the time. i herd the main bearing get lose inside the center case, is that dru. eney information wounld be great.thanks

 

Hey man, I don't really know about durability but what a blast to drive. Mine is set up for drag racing, ported, 44MM carb and all the goodies. The only problem I have is I have to replace the kick start lever every race (it bends or breaks after 15 or 20 starts) Result of 540CC's with 14.3:1 Comp ratio and tighten every nut and bolt before each weekend.

 

goddam dynoray why not figure out how to use an indy car type starter off of the end of the crank. hate like hell to have it kick back. You must be a big boy to bend up a kicker

 

They are great machines if you can find one in decent shape. Go with the 89' or 90' model though. the improved the head design those years.

 

The quadzilla is a very good quad. I got one that was in bad shape real cheap. And then i rebuilt and replaced everything. It is now awsome I can ride it when I want for as long as I want with no problems. Except for loosing a bolt here and there.(but that"s why they make loc tite..LOL) I weigh almost 300 pounds and can jump mine as high as I want with no problems. The frame is just fine. Just plan on replacing all of the bearing if you get one. People just don't take care of them and usually the a arm and swing arm bearings are trash. Also stay away from the 87 as it had some head issues. This is my 2 cent worth and good luck...

 

Cop, the '88 model had the head revisions also.

Kruzoffman, the Quadzilla is great if you need something very fast and very unique. If both these things aren't priorities, look elsewhere for a quad. I have had my big LT for approx. eight years now and love the superior power and having something different is VERY important to me. That being said, there are better OVERALL quads to be had.

1) The Quadzilla has the worst bump steer of any ATV I have ever ridden. A steering stabilizer is a necessity.
2) Even though the weight of this machine is comparable to modern four strokes, it feels heavier (possibly because of its size and its poorly designed front end).
3) The steering-stem/handlebars are VERY low. I am a little over average height (6'2") so it may seem worse to me but I am surprised that such a large quad makes me bend over so far to reach the bars when standing for aggressive riding. As a comparison, the Yamaha Raptor’s handlebars are at a much more reasonable height.
4) As mentioned earlier, anything that isn't locktited in place will fall off and become trail trash.
5) If I wasn’t able to do all my own maintenance and repairs, I would have gone belly up long ago. While it is true that constantly maintaining the machine will help prevent problems, anybody that tells you this quad is not problematic is either ignorant or flat out lying. The people that don’t have any problems are probably people that can’t handle the power and thus do not use it to its full potential. Given the same maintenance, most any other quad will outlast a Quadzilla.

The adrenaline rush created by smoking all others in drag races, as well as the looks my quad always gets (since it is so different), are the only two things keeping me from dumping this pig and moving on to something newer.

 

I've had my 87 Zilla for over 10 years, and with the exception of a few minor improvements, such as o-ringing the head and replacing a seal here and there during rebuilds, I would not consider the Zilla "Problematic" sounds more like the purchase of a lemon, which can happen with any brand. As far as riding it hard, mine started out as a desert racer, before switching to a sand machine. I would say I have no more problems then any of the newer 4-strokes do. Granted, the zilla is not for everyone, but I wouldn't trade mine for anything else.

 

dissimilar

Just got back from beating the pi$$ out of the lt500.
Sounds like me and you have two different bikes!

Have you ridden an lt250 or early banshee?
Have you checked your toe-in, camber/caster, looked for bent or worn out suspension parts? Something must be wrong. I have ridden many lt500 and never felt this was a problem. Steering stabilizers are good additions to any bike.


It is a big quad and at close to 400lbs it is not light ...till you get on the power. Maybe your not using its power "to its full potential".
What exactly do you mean by poorly designed front end?


At 6'2" you are a big guy and might need some different bars to fit you better. I am 5'10" and it fits me like a glove. I like being able to get down and forward to keep weight on the front end when needed. Funny you should mention the raptor my riding buddy has a heavily modified one and you are right it has always felt tall….and tipsy to him and me.


Heard other people complain of this too. Yes I use locktite where necessary and torque things down correctly. Maybe I am just lucky not ever having parts loosen up or anything fall off or.... when the crank is out of whack even 2* or bearings/cases are going, allot of vibration is present. This might be why you are vibrating parts loose, unless you failed to torque the bolts/nuts properly and use locktite when specified.
A friend with an 87 Zila had his case mod done and crank rebuilt. The first time by Trinity. It still vibrated after but not as bad as before the rebuild and case mod. He then put in a brand new factory crank and since then 4 years ago, he is smooth as silk, just like my 88.


Well I might be ignorant but not a liar. As far as handling the power I have raced superbikes, jetski(Have a wall of trophies), scca, snowmobile, and atv( took 1st place overall for the season flat tracking on my 88 Zila years ago) got a 4' tall trophy that looks good next to my Zila. Now I know Rattlesnake Speedway wasn't a big time national series but it proves a point that I do use my Zila "to its full potential" .....You don't win a whole season at half throttle!
Seeing my Zila is 15 years old, raced hard for 2 seasons, rec rode to the max for another 13 years (been thru dozens of sets of tires) it seems to be lasting pretty good! And the motor has never been apart!


The worst thing about a Zila is the STUPID chain adjuster. Why does Suzuki continue to use this type of adjuster on their new quads? Honda adjusters are sweet, my 250r took about 5min to adjust the chain accurately, lt500 takes 30 min and a load of wrenches or sockets and a steel ruler to get the axle aligned at the same time the chain tension is correct![img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-mad.gif[/img][img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-disgusted.gif[/img] The sad thing about it is if you don’t get the chain tensioned right and axle aligned straight your chain/sprockets will not last and the carrier bearings will probably be following shortly. Maybe I am doing the adjustment wrong, I don't know, but i hate that adjuster!

Sorry for the long post guys , had to defend the Zila!


JMHO

 

I agree with Zoo. I had mine for a long time and never had unreliable issues. I did, however, fix the main bearing problem. It didn't have a problem loosing bolts. Would I recomend getting one? Not any more. NOT BECAUSE THEY ARE BAD. Because the ones for sale are used and very abused. It would cost alot to get them back to new like they deserve to be.

Dynoray, I think you have some issues. Not good ones either.

 

All cool I would just like to say that number one I am not a liar a moron or a *****. I flat track my zilla and spank everyone else. So if thats not using full power I don't know what is... And again that's just my 2 cent worht!!