Well, after a year's wait the FX400 is finally out. Seems OK, but I have a couple objections. First, the nose job is worse than Michael Jackson's! I can't believe that is all the better looking plastic they could come up with. Secondly, after reading some reviews on their dirtbikes, I hope this isn't plagued by the same things (odd fasteners, no service parts, overly hi-tech gizmos). I'm still getting a Raptor.

 

I hate to knock a new machine that I have had no experience with. Remember when the 400ex and the Raptor were announced? Some people were going wild, while others were overly sceptical. But when it all boiled back down to a simmer both quads were about what you would expect. I dont think any new 4-stroke quad is gonna blow you away with power. The only thing I may get excited about is a Honda 500R or any new 2-stroke over 400cc. Im sure that the Cannondale will be a good handler since it has good deminsions. The engine will run about how you would expect a decent 440cc 4-stroke to run. Just look at the numbers. A quad is not a magical piece of machinery. It is going to perform the way its numbers suggest. One thing you cant forsee is Aftermarket support, Fuel Injection capabilities, and most importiantly, reliability. I have heard that Cannondale Bikes are junk, but they may make a quality quad. You would think that Polars could build a decent quad since they make Quality Snowmobiles, but it didnt turn out that way.

 

I really like the looks of it, not actually the looks cuz it kind of looks like a frog, but I bet it will be nice, I heard something about alot of the parts being made by aftermarket compaines like the a-arms, etc... wether or not its true I dont know.. only thing that I did not like the sounds of is the fuel injection, I know, you are saying how can you not like the sounds of fuel injection? Well to me it sounds like trouble, a jetting horror story, but I could very well be wrong. Besides that I think it will be a great machine.. (hopefully)

 

'Jetting horror story'? You dont have any jets in Electronic Fuel Injection systems. In fact the computer on the bike will actually compensate for increased airflow (which would come from a high flow filter for instance) by using more fuel. This is possible if they have some sort of air flow sensor on the bike. So this bike definately wouldn't be a jetting horror story. But if you were going crazy modifying it it could get tricky. Because with enough mods you will have to increase the injector size.
I believe if this bike gets popular then i wouldn't worry about modifying the bike, but if it doesn't catch on, and many companies aren't making anything for it then you might be in trouble when trying to do different things with it.

 

I know I would'nt particularly want one. I wish them luck, but I'm very skeptical about a first time effort with an ATV. Time will tell. That damn butt-ugly plastic's gotta go!!!

 

Where is Shreveport Idaho? It isn't on any map that I can find.

 

That is a Type-o. I dont know how Shreveport ID got on my profile. I am from Shreveport La. I guess i accidentially clicked Idaho instead of Louisiana as my home state.

 

I saw one in a dealership here in Phoenix called "YSR Motorsports". I sat on it and the first impression was, "wow. this is positively the hardest seat that has ever been put on any piece of machinery ever produced". It literally fealt like a piece of ply wood that had some vinyl stretched over. Other than that, I am a big Cannondale fan having owned their bikes over the bast 12 years and owning quite a bit of their stock (which is one reason I want them to do well). The dimensions fealt right on although the thumb throttle is odd. It looks like a lever with a square piece of metal welded on. Quite odd. The dealer wanted $8,100 for the quad. One more thing, this dealer is one of the few dealers that doesn't charge a setup fee on top of the cost of the quad.

 

WheelieAddict, I'll sell you my raptor! I'm in Pa also if your interested e-mail me at xtreme165@hotmail.com $5600 and its yours.

 

I can't speak for the Cannondale as I haven't seen one yet and I don't know what design they are using to meter incoming air. Generally speaking in the automotive world, there are two designs that are used to meter incoming air and adjust fuel mixture as needed. One is Mass Air Flow, which measures the exact amount of air entering the engine by use of a heated wire or grid. I don't think that they have used this system as oil from the filter can coat the sensor and would cause failure or false readings.
The other system is called speed density, and measures the speed of the incoming air and performs a calculation based on other sensors to approximate the amount of air. While not as presice as MAF it is a little more durable. Both of these designs require an oxygen (o2) sensor in the exhaust stream to measure the amount of oxygen in the exhaust. The computer uses this reading to determine a rich or lean condition and adjust mixture.
If there is no sensor in the exhaust pipe anywhere, then it probably uses a very simple computer that only has preprogrammed fuel map based only on the throttle position. In which case it MAY not be able to compensate for jetting changes.
I am very interested in seeing one of these machines in person to take a look at how they have the EFI designed. It should be a very durable setup, but it will be costly to modify unless they are using a very sofisticated design.
Sorry for the long post.