Atk's???

[MXRACER86]

I am intrested in buying the motocross version does anybody have any knowledge about the quads? I want one but I am still kind of worried about the reliability with it.

[MXRACER86]

anybody?

[dirt308]

I was looking at one of the original cannondales and decided to call a guy that i took riding lessons from up at rausch creek because he races all the nationals and rode one. He said that they don't handle as good as he thought it would and told me to buy either a 400ex or suzuki z400. But because i assume you already have a 440 you might be better off getting a 450r or a yfz, but i've never actually gotten to ride one.

[Bush0102]

my cannondale was an absolute piece of crap. Apparently, i got one of many lemons. The new ATKs are supposedly pretty reliable...just ask jeff stoess ;)

[lil400exdude]

www.cannondaleriders.com

or call haydug at haydug cycles, he can tell you pretty much anything you need to know

[MXRACER86]

well guys thanks for the replies. Anybody else with any replies?

[Andrew400ex]

Originally posted by Bush0102
my cannondale was an absolute piece of crap. Apparently, i got one of many lemons. The new ATKs are supposedly pretty reliable...just ask jeff stoess ;)
i guess i wasnt the only one out there..haha nah,the bike was ridiculously fast..when it was running. i was told it had the motor mount "update" (aka factory f*k up) and it didnt so my case craked by the motor mount. For some reason it only ran with the ignition turned all the way so the headlights were in the on position, even though both the headlights ended up not working. Mine was a 2003 Speed. However if ATK came out with them brand new with the same reliability as a 400ex and around the same price, i'd buy one in a heart beat.

[joedirt]

The Quad Shop sells the ATK. I heard they are running very good. They have a contingency program now too. The quad Shop has a website and ATK has a site do a search on google

[FourFiftyFour]

ATKs/Cannondales cant be put in the same category (reliable wise) as the 400ex, no offense 400ex guys but the Cannondale/ATK (stock for stock) is way more high performance, and ANYTHING high performance calls for work and maintenance. All of those pros' quads gets worked on after every ride.......a Cannondale/ATK was made for high performance racing, and yes they need to be worked on and checked on a whole lot more than say a 400ex........ Cannondale started a great thing, maybe ATK will continue it and make the quads even greater and sounds like they have been doing a great job so far....but like I say with anyone looking for a Dale/ATK......dont get one if you dont like performing maintenance after every ride. They will love you if you treat them right and spoil them by spending the cash on them. They are fast and will take you on a wild ride, they handle great IMO, the frames hold up nicely (ive called mine bulletproof before, its gone through two fences now)

Not a quad for the faint of heart, but a quad for a determined individual who likes to put work and effort into racing.

[cheetah]

I think CDaleChick sums it up. My Cdale ran me all season long for GNCC with stock motor and held up great. The only problems I ever had were my fault. It's hard to describe a cdale if you have never rode one. I sold my EX for mine and I feel its handling slightly outdoes the honda. The motor is stronger than any other motor stock I have rode and the power is so smooth. For MX their frames can't be beat I don't think I've ever heard of anyone break one. Like stated, however they must be maintained and that is crucial to thier performance. If you are really interested I would suggest checking out the cdale forums such as cannondaleriders.com or cannondaler.com and get more info there. ATK has really fixed these machines and took them to another level. I don't think you would be dissapointed, but definately make sure about what you get into.

[bradley300]

i think the handle a lot better than a 400ex, the rear end especially, that no link rear end works awesome!

[MXRACER86]

Thanks guys and girls for the great replies but what kind of maintince do you guys do on it that is so much?

[FourFiftyFour]

Originally posted by MXRACER86
Thanks guys and girls for the great replies but what kind of maintince do you guys do on it that is so much?

well for every quad u should check and make sure everything is tight after all hard rides, cannondales/atks tend to lose bolts easy (at least mine sometimes has a tendency to do that even after everything has been checked before riding), i change my oil even when it looks pretty much brand new, change oil filter of course, fuel filter, u need to get the program to recalibrate and tweak on your ECU, the connections must always be good on them and there are a LOT of hoses on a dale, check those often. since they are high performance, they need frequent regular/basic care more often than a stock 400ex, and yes stuff does wear out on them, just like any other high dollar race quad.

and of course you need to do all the updates that are necessary for any of them (not sure on the ATK if there are any but on the dales yes there are updates needed)

but heres a scenario....... a guy that used to race with us had a Moto, it ran GREAT for several races then all of a sudden it started running really crappy....well after much looking....it was one itty bitty wire loose. so any LITTLE thing will make these machines shut down, if the comp is disconnected for a split second the whole quad will shut off.

so you have to go over these things with a magnifying glass sometimes.

I know the original dales had crank problems, they were not balanced correctly causing catastrophic engine failures. Falicon have sinced picked up the contract on the engine building, and ATK took over. But basically its the same bike, just without the crank issues.I really like there all aluminum frame and the fuel injection with the adjustable mapping!!! SWEET! Like someone stated before haydug and jeff stoes can really give you the info you need. :macho

http://www.cannondaleriders.com/vbb/ ... i at one time too thought about getting one of these but I talked to people on here & realized it probably wasnt for me & got the R instead...good luck

[jesshamner]

There are some really good (honest) replies here. Some cannondales were junk to begin with and some were fine. The cranks aren't the problem with all of them. As cdalechick state, all these little pieces can vibrate loose. If you bought one, even an atk, the best thing to do is loctite everything. You don't have to use the red bottle on everything. The blue will be fine for stuff that is removed from time to time. If you buy a cannondale, you would probably be safe to update it and loctite everything. I don't mean to badmouth ATK at all but I know of 2 motors that have failed already. I know thats just 2 but they both had less than 20 hours. I have also heard of only 1 frame breaking. I'm not sure how fast the guy was going but I know he hit a tree pretty hard and broke the frame just under the radiator. I was there and saw the frame but I didn't see the actual wreck.

The cannondale experience cannot be expressed in words. You just have to ride one. The handling with stock suspension is near the same as a stock 400ex. The geometry is based on the 400ex and 250r...or so I have heard. I had a stock 400ex and went to the cannondale. I have rode both the 450r and the yfz. They are both fast and maybe a little faster than the stock cannibal in a drag race. In the woods...its no contest. With amazing throttle repsonse, great handling, and unbelievable torque and traction, the cannondale is hands down the best trail machine. I haven't had a lot of seat time on the 450s in the woods but from what I could tell, the honda had nice smooth power and good ergonomics. It felt easy to drive. The yamaha had very good handling with its nice suspension and low center of gravity. It also had good power but it just wasn't the same as the cannondale. Thats my honest opinion on the cannondale compared to the other 450s.

[Andrew400ex]

Originally posted by CDaleChick
ATKs/Cannondales cant be put in the same category (reliable wise) as the 400ex, no offense 400ex guys but the Cannondale/ATK (stock for stock) is way more high performance, and ANYTHING high performance calls for work and maintenance. All of those pros' quads gets worked on after every ride.......a Cannondale/ATK was made for high performance racing, and yes they need to be worked on and checked on a whole lot more than say a 400ex........ Cannondale started a great thing, maybe ATK will continue it and make the quads even greater and sounds like they have been doing a great job so far....but like I say with anyone looking for a Dale/ATK......dont get one if you dont like performing maintenance after every ride. They will love you if you treat them right and spoil them by spending the cash on them. They are fast and will take you on a wild ride, they handle great IMO, the frames hold up nicely (ive called mine bulletproof before, its gone through two fences now)

Not a quad for the faint of heart, but a quad for a determined individual who likes to put work and effort into racing.
I thought u were disappointed with your dale?
I went into the whole cannondale phase hearing the same comments, but i just thought it was bad luck for some and it wouldnt happen to me. I thought i'd get the "right" one. Didnt happen. Everything i heard was true, surprisingly. The only thing i didnt have problems with that i took the risk of with the cannondale was the crank problem, but by know wherever my dale is it may have that problem. The guy i bought it from sold it to get a YFZ. I would too. The dale was a ridiculous machine, unmatchable power and handling to any quad i've ever ridden(not including 450s,never rode one). But i would take a 450r over a cannondale i think, or if i had the money i would buy a R before another dale.

[cheetah]

Originally posted by Andrew400ex
I thought u were disappointed with your dale?


They finally made peace.:)

[Pappy]

what are the prices on the atk's now.

i loved mine and should have never sold it

[FourFiftyFour]

Originally posted by cheetah
They finally made peace.:)

shes been running great for over three months now :) shes been such a good girl

[A4StrokeGuy]

Riding a cannondale is an experience, bottom line, not comparable to anything. Mine will run circles around my old EX power wise, handleing etc. Now the maintence thing is very true, i learned the hard way you must take care of them. I look at it this, you can pick up a dale pretty cheap its cheap fun if it stays together. Now i've rode mine a decent amount since purchase and never have had a mechancil failure with it other then a POS lonestar axle, all my problems have been lose eletrical connections and a battery juice eating issue. Once you ride one you won't go back to 18th centuary carberated quads:macho

[cheetah]

Originally posted by Pappy
what are the prices on the atk's now.

i loved mine and should have never sold it

MX MSRP $9,995
Cross Country MSRP $9,495
VR MSRP $7,995

Here are the MSRP on ATK's website though I imagine that Jeff could probably get them a little cheaper. As much as you like to tinker though pappy like-new cannibals can be found for 3000 very easily.