I think the owners of susuki should fire those lazy, half-*ss designers and so-called visionaries they have [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-disgusted.gif[/img]. All they tried to do with the vinson was copy the grizzly, no thought or effort at all. If they were going to change something it shold be the engine. I have a LTF-500F and it only goes 50mph. now I know why they have joined with kawasaki in reserch and development, they can't do it themselves. I know that i will never buy a susuki again. The only reason i bought one was because the price was unbeatable, now i know why.

 

No way dude, I disagree.. i think that suzuki is headin in the right direction. If you think, they are tryin to compete with the best sellers.. You got the Recon, excellent sport/ute. and they are making that Ozark thinga-ma-bob, then you got that new Quadport 400 job.. Direct competetion to the 400ex. People will be all over that cause of liquid cooling, and reverse.. and those 400's and 500's compete with Kodiak's and Rubicons.. I think this is really cool cause you know that Honda is now gonna have to update the 400ex for sure, or at least make a new model.. Don't you think ??

 

I was aiming more at the utility quads. sure they are appealing to the eye, but i know deep down they are worthless pieces of crap. I know, i have one. I do not know much about the sport quads.[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

 

i think the new quadsport is gonna be more competition for the raptor than the 400ex. its supposed to have 34 horses or somethin isn't it? same as the raptor right? plus its lighter (lighter than a 400EX even!) so if it has some good suspension and handling this thing could really rip even if it is kinda ugly...i'm sure we'll get used to the looks though...i mean banshees aren't exactly the prettiest quad but now that i've seen em so many times i think they look awesome.

 

I don't know what you are talking about. First off let me correct you in that the new Vinson was introduced before the new Grizzly. Also these quads are under development years before they are released so don't give me this copycat bs. Thirdly and this is only my opinion having owned three suzuki's, a couple of yamaha's and had friends who owned polarises, along with honda suzuki makes the highest quality most reliable atv's out there. also has anyone noticed that the twin headlight scheme on the new quadsport resembles the grille on some of the quadracer 250s? I don't think that is a coincidence.

 

My first thought when I read your post was that if you wanted to go faster, then buy a sport quad.

Try this. Put a K&N filter, DynoJet kit, and SuperTrapp IDS2 aftermarket exhaust on your quad, and I bet your 500 goes from benign to nasty. I did it to my King Quad (can't get more tame than that) and 250 QuadRunner 4X4 and those mods give new meaning to acceleration and 5th gear (which is BTW an overdrive gear). Don't expect more top end though.

Hell, I can't go 50 mph on the trails I ride. Can anybody? Trails, not roads....

Suzuki realizes they've been out of it for a few years while primarily focusing on their motorcycles. They've committed to try to "win back" the ATV market. I think they're putting their best foot forward in this first attempt with the Vinson, Eiger, Ozark, and new sport Quad. And if they're smart, they'll evolve their strategies once they see how the market responds to these new offerings.

I've been looking at Eigers, Vinsons, Kodiaks. The Eiger motor is much more responsive than the Kodiak, even though it's smaller. The Vinson styling is a killer. I want one.

RE: the joint venture with Kawasaki, I think that should scare Honda and Yamaha. Have you ridden the new Prairie 650? Hold on tight.

Mark

 

Seriously, everyone talks about how the new zuki sport is the shiAt and i think about it really hard and come up with this:



<u>1986SuZuKiQuAdRaCeR~ You Have Been Warned for the use of cuss words.</u>




IT'S ALL SUMMED UP TO THIS: A DIRTBIKE/SNOWMOBILE/SPORT BIKE 12-13 YEARS OLD IS OBSOLETE, A QUAD 12-13 YEARS OLD IS DOMINANT!

 

Where's the $8000-$12000 price tag? Dude, I'll agree that none of the jap quad companies are necessarily pushing the technology envelope but along with all this technology comes money. I, for one, am not willing to spend $8000 on the Speed. And the Cannibal is totally out of the picture. Steel wheels? Come on, is that superior technology? In all of Cannondale's attempt to push technology where's their reliability? They're still looking for it. I would rather take older, proven technology for $5500 that I know is not going to break on me than pay $8000 to straddle my legs over a possible hand grenade. I'm not bashing Cannondale. I've got great respect that they are willing to take the risks that they're taking. They're willing to go in new directions that other quad companies aren't willing to go in. Unfortunately, their price tag and reliability record reflects it. C-dale just hasn't proven to me YET that their quad is worth what they're asking (and as long as their plastic designer is working for them they'll never get my money). I must go on record as saying their cassette type transmission is an awesome idea!

 

The statement about the Quadrunner 500 is way off the mark. I own the 1998 version of that quad and after riding it for 3 yrs I can tell you it is a bear. I ride with yamaha's , sportsmans , honda's you name it.I can tell you that the quadrunner will do everything they do and more. The machine is a bear and that comes from owners of other quads that have ridden mine. As for top speed 58 is the highest I have had it and it wanted to do more .I am 53yrs old and really don't give a hoot about the top end,it is torque that I want and the quadrunner has
more torque than you will ever need. front diff is really torque sensing and I have tested that when riding the pipeline hills around here in a foot and a half of snow. My machine was the only one out of sportsmans etc. to make it up one of the taller snow covered pipeline hills.
Bobg 1998 Quadrunner 500
Titan AT589 27x9x12
27x11x12
Warn winch
[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-confused.gif[/img]

 

just give me an aluminum frame like the one honda is supposed to definitely be designing, and 2002 CR250 engine. that's all it takes. if someone from honda is reading this... JUST DO IT! or the CRF450 engine, they'd both be unbelievable. I'd steal it right off the freight train.
The new suzook ain't all that bad, if they didn't de-tune the engine it would be the most bad mainstream quad on the market. as for cannondale, they keep getting better and better and get revisions faster than most MX bikes, in fact, every 3 months is a good rule of thumb for revisions. The ugly cannondale plastic is giving way to a good looking 250R style plastic, and they are getting more and more reliable. The only bad thing is that you buy one, and before you know it, a tottal new version is already out and yours is obsolete. That's why i'm hoping for cheap used cannibals.