better stock suspensions?

[omaits]

It is obvious the stock suspension for basically any quad sucks. It seems like one of the most common upgrades is wider a-arms, axel, longer swingarm etc...

How hard would it be for Honda to just make their stock a-arms 2 inches longer or make the axel 2 inches wider? It seems liek the extra lenght woudl make the bike alot more attractive since the customer wouldnt have to throw away the original parts and invest $1500 to give an extra couple inches.

I can see why the stock exhausts and internal engine componets are usually replaced. (I assume they must meet certain noise/pollution and reliability requirements) But, I can't figure out why they can't make better suspensions. I am not saying there isnt a reason, I just dont know what it is.

[gojk]

Some people don't want the wide quad for trails that are really tight, and also most of the upgrades are for stregth as well. Alot of these suspension components are alot stronger than stock and alot of higher priced materials are used to produce them which would greatly increase the price of the quad making it less attractive to a lot of people.

[wheeltrax]

plus persay it costs honda an extra 700 bucks to do this per quad, take that 700 bucks times the number of quads they sell.. thats alot of money. All companies do it, and that is save money where possible.

[crazyelece]

Plus aftermarket suspension is customized to the specific quad/rider/conditions setup. The stock is good for a wide range of riders doing a wide range of activities.

[omaits]

Yeah. I guess that all makes sense. I always wondered why stock suspensions were so horrible. I am new to riding and ride a basically stock 400ex so I dont yet see the justification for paying an extra $800 for a new swingarm. I imagine if a rode a quad with a better suspension, I would change my mind.

[250R-Dee]

There are cheap ways to make a quad wider but the repairs for these cheap mods will be expensive if you ride hard. Many of the aftermarket parts compensate for manufactured defects or allow more controlled rides for specific situations while other aftermarket parts are purely marketing ploys used to make some weasel RICH.

You can find a lot of good used parts because a lot riders get hung up on the "gotta have the latest do-dad" fad. Be careful and research thoroughly when buying any part.:cool:

[gojk]

Once you ride a quad set up for your style of riding, you won't ever want to go back to stock.

[omaits]

That being said... I will try to avoid riding a quad with a good suspension so I can stay satisfied with the stock one. Everytime I consider buying anything for my quad that is expensive, I think of this....

$400 ---> New a-arms ---> resell for a $200

$400 ---> Extra money to pay on studen loans or put into my IRA) ---> alot of money (many years from now)

Either that or I guess I should just buy from someone who is getting their house repossesed cause they dumped $15k into their quad and are depserate to sell :D

[ckasper18]

If thats what you want then you will pay a higher price take the gasgas or cannondale for example its a awesome quad race ready but go to the track and take a good look at there race ready quad all kinds of aftermarket parts on that race ready quad .No matter what any company would do it would not please everyone.