I keep hearing alot about top speed being so important to atvers. When was the last time you were able to top out your raptor, ds, or cannondale in a real offroad enviroment? Can you guys really do 70-some odd MPH in the dunes(without alot of mods), or in the woods? It was funny talking to one of my banshee-owning friends. He kept bragging how his stock banshee with different gearing could hit about 77 MPH.

I asked him many times he had gone 77mph offroad. He replied "well.....there was this one time I took it down our street....and i had it going pretty fast" So i guess he never really went that fast offroad. I know some of you guys can go pretty fast offroad with your high-dollar quads, But what is the purpose of a production quad doing over 70mph when you can never really go that fast off road. I can see how some of you guys would like the speed on lake beds or salt flats.
Hope I didn't bother you guys too much. Have a good night(or day depending when you read this).



JaMeS

 

This Has been a problem in the Motor sports industry for years. Whenever you hear someone talking about top speed and that's it. I've learned that you might as well chalk off the conversation to inexperience. Meaning the person doing all the bragging has never really been in a race environment. And in most cases never went even close to the speed they are claiming.
I have a banshee...does it go fast? sure it does. But In most cases...I will be lucky to hit fourth gear wide open on the trails. On a fireroad...well maybe. Once or twice a summer. The street? never. Too many neighbors that I have to live with for the rest of my life.
I would not worry about it too much...I mean it's the machine that wins the races right? [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img] That's where the speed ideas come from. Everone thinks that if the machine can do 100..then I must never have lost a race. I must go 100 everywhere I go. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

Take it with a grain of salt....

Jim

 

We hit top speed a lot on the old dirt roads that we go on. They aren't trails, but we are required to ride on them during all of our trail rides. Sure, you don't hit top speed in the woods, but it's still cool to open them up once in a while when you have the room. I mean look at all of the cars on the road today. If the max speed limit in most states is 65mph then why don't the manufacturers put a 65mph govenor on them? Heck, a friend of my Uncles has a Suzuki Hayabusa street bike and he is almost 60 years old. I doubt that he had ever pinned the throttle on it, and he probably hasn't seen over 70mph on the thing. The point is that a lot of people get satisfaction out of just knowing what their machines can do.

-Josh

 

Pirhana: I agree..it's fun to openup once in a while for sure... I'm not contesting the need for that. I love to go fast when I can. The same can be said for all those people that are overly concerned with Horse power. Is it good to have? Yeah sure. Building motors is a great hobby. But most people are so concerned with gaining that extra horse from a degree key, or removing the spark screen. Whatever the case may be. It gets you thinking. Why do you think that so many small engine shops are successful? Because it's so easy to convince someone that a $500 pipe system will gain them a whole horse or two. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]
I would love to live near a desert or salt flat. But in my case the banshee is actually overkill.

 

Atvs are slow from the factory...That's what the manufacturers wanted, because they know if they made a quad that's going to top out at 90 plus mph, then alot of aftermarket company's would go out of business. Take for instance a dirtbike...A YZF426 can beat any stock quad past, present, & anything in the future. Atvs gets screwed big time in the speed department and that's a fact. I've heard some people say; Why do you want to go that fast on a quad? My response is; so I can keep up with a YZF426!!!!![img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-shocked.gif[/img]

 

You are right...a yz426 will hurt a quad bad in a strait line situation....My drz400 will too. But in the woods.... any(most) quad can keep up with either bike. It's in the open that the HP and top speed shines. The open is what I do not have...It's trails or tracks for me.

 

When I had trails installed ( read: bulldozed ) into my woods a few years ago (pre-quad) they were for three things, game feeding with fescue, getting "normal" vehicles in, and sneaking on game for hunting.

However there a real bonus, yes I can tack out my ute quad on several stretches, top speed isn't overated. At 1100 miles on my rancher I'm starved, gotta get a rincon when they come out.

 

Because we frequent the Oregon Dunes and a state forest that has plenty of roads with no timber (read:clear-cut), I hit my top end with regularity.

And since I tweaked the engine with the cheap mods, she gets to top speed suprisingly fast.

I'm wishing Yamaha would have built her with a 6 speed tranny!

 

I Drag Race my Zilla so top speed does matter. I'm gotten to go 98 mph on a 1/4 mile. I would never get rid of it have about $8000 invested into it. But I culd never race my Zilla off road it would suck. But on the Drag Strip I've beaten cars with it. So you can see why I care about top speed. I'm about to get a new exhaust for it. But just saying in some cases top speed does matter.

 

Well since you brought up a good point And beat me to the Thread I'll post this here.

Had a great weekend with a group of guys in the lakebed.
All were Awesome riders, And lookin forward to another great ride in the near future.

DUMONT!!!????? TRY THIS ALL AGAIN???!!!

Machines that competed!!

Raptor - airbox mod,
RaptorA - airbox mod, gytr muffler, k&n air filter, jet kit. 12 tooth
non stock shocks, A-arms, Swing arm.

Banshee - stock
BansheeA- piped, jets, filter, Cool heads. Works front and rear shocks. Who knows what else?

Blaster - piped, jets, air filter
ds650 - pipe not stock?? not sure what it was??
yz125 - stock
warrior - big gun exhaust,
440ex - e series exhaust, filter, jet kit. Pro series shocks,A-arms, Swing arm. 440 kit

raptor80- dad's homemade mods?? LOTS OF ATTITUDE!! hehehe

I have a Garmin Gps, recorded top speed over a 2 1/2 mile straight.
Each machine had two runs with the gps.

Top Speed:

BansheeA -78.9
yz125 -77.2
Ds650 -74.3
Banshee -74.1
Raptor -73.8
RaptorA -71.9
440ex -71.3
Blaster -64.8
warrior -63.8
raptor80 -31.0

Every race raptorA got the jump off the line. But BansheeA Wound them in quickly. To pass and hold top speed.

We then set up a small track with one large jump, and a very twisty
S-turn that lead to a short straight whoops, turn, long straight,
Wide sweeping bend back to the finish. We recorded top speed and time, Turns marked with cones. We ran the track Multiple times for practice. Dude On Blaster!! NICE SAVE!!!

BEST Times recorded: / Top speed:

BansheeA 1:22 / 68
RaptorA 1:28 / 66
400ex 1:47 / 50
Banshee 1:48 / 55
Raptor 1:52 / 52
Ds650 1:56 / 53
Blaster 2:03 / 48
warrior 2:08 / 46
yz125 2:10 / 61* S turned messed him up bad.
raptor80 3:21 / 25.2

My 2 cents:
I own the mostly stock raptor.
Gotta say..Dude on the 400ex is the wheelie king. Undisbuted!!!
Those of you there, Know who ya are!!!
If you wanna admit which machine you were thats up to you..

Just because I was faster on top speed than the modified raptor. He Left me in the dust on the line and track. The same goes for the 400ex.

Id was most surprised on the track by the 400ex.
Was not expecting him to turn the times he did.

I was surprised in the acceleration of the ds650 for the size.

As far the quickest up to est. 1/8 mile or so.
Mark a start point, marked a end point then raced.

RaptorA
BansheeA
YZ125
Ds650 / Raptor / banshee* DAM CLOSE!!
400ex
warrior / blaster * dam close
raptor 80.

My recordings!! Out of all these guys, I rode with the yz125 and ds650
a few times before we did this.