Just wondering if anybody on here read the article in the latest 4Wheel ATV Action magazine regarding the possible Factory Suzuki backed ATV team planned for 2002-2003? It is supposedly still on the drawing board...but the article stated that Gary Denton could be managine a team to be supported in part by Factory Suzuki and Yoshimura. Any more info or comments?

 

I guess they don't want C-Dale to show everyone up. Things are starting to get interesting!

 

That is good news as the racers would give the engineers a lot of input on what works and what doesn't. Then Suzuki would be constantly updating the machine and then who knows, maybe other manufacturers would jump in as well. That would be good for all of us.

 

i read it. its great news. hopefully some of the other big maufacturers will take notice.

 

It would only be natural for Suzuki to pick Gary Denton as the manager. After all, he was the last man to bring home the Pro-class championship for Suzuki. I hope the whole thing actually gets off the ground and turns out to be a reality. If so, more manufactures would be pressed to get involved again. It will take alot of convincing and arm twisting to get Honda back in though. My .02

KNOWSALOT

 

if it does happen... i hope it's a sign that more good things are to come. if so, will these good things end up in the production line? that's really hard to say... but it's likely.

i'm not so sure that honda will need that much arm twisting if thier machines aren't selling. until this year, honda was *the* dominating force in most ATV GNC classes, they didn't even need to advertise... much less support an ATV race team. now there are some machines and teams that might threaten that standing.... 1970's technology will only get them so far...

who else will step up to the ATV race 'plate'? will any major manufacturer step up & sell a closed-course ATV race machine... ever?

 

Yep. That would be great if it did happen. But on a side note, the one thing that will really kick all of this off is the proposal of a production pro quad class in the GNC circut. This would be great! Production chassis and engine, but you can still change exhaust and shocks. This would add a whole new dimension to the racing scene! Companies would have to take quads more serious then. I think this would eliminate the "same quad different decals" crap that we've seen since 1987. The only thing they'll update is stuff that was failing on a regular basis.

 

Great news!!! However, I feel the Z400 is most likely to be a great trail bike, not a racer. If you want a high tech. racer, then get the "MOTO". Nothing else will compare for $12K

 

we're already getting off topic... and on to 'well this is probly better than that'... factory support is good thing for any sport, and any sector of it. there is no denying that. it will be a good thing for the GNC series and ATV racers everywhere. who cares which factory is supporting it? people start paying attention to who backs their race series... and tend to buy from them if they have a good product. top racers have been screaming that we need factory support and updated machines or the sport's future was dead... maybe this is the start of new life blood in the sport.

to reply,
yeah... but that's another $6K.... for which i think the Z400 can be made to compete real well against the moto.... and probly for less than that as soon as aftermarket catches up.

 

You know, Suzuki will more likely support a GNCC effort before MX. Quads are mostly meant for trails and natural terrain, and it is only natural to follow Kawasaki into pumping factory support into the series. Now if Kawi would actually get out some contingency money, then their presence would be significant. But as it stands now, with their stale sport quad offerings, I see no reason why they are even competing, except to get their name out there. Right now Kawi is doing nothing for the sport. I hope Suzuki is different in that respect.