Cannondales

[dirtbike&quad]

Can anyone tell me some info about them? How reliable are they compared to say... a 4 stroke honda (ie 400ex/450r) for the trails?? How does the 440 cannibal keep up with these newer 450s? I'm not looking to race but just have a good time in the trails, and after getting my new bike, going down to the 300ex is just SLOW as anything. So I'm just looking to upgrade a bit, and found a great deal on the cannibal.
Let me know!
thanks a lot for any info
Mike

[quad2xtreme]

I am not a Cannondale expert but there were a ton of recalls on these quads. Many people didn't get the recall work done.

Cannondale filed bankruptcy and sold off this part of the business. The buyer never did develop a new version. I would be concerned about getting parts when it breaks.

[Seano300ex]

i would say get a honda 450 or 400 ( or any bike) cause those cdales did have alot of recalls. my riding buddy has a cannondale canniball and its blown up 3 times in the 4 years he has had it. i believe you can find parts for them at cannondaleriders.com tho. good luck

[BlaineKaiser450]

one of my riding buddies has one and as far as i know, he hasnt had any problems with it but it has so much engine noise that passing 94 DB checks is pretty hard

[54warrior]

Parts are easy to get.

blackwidowatv.com

cannondaler.com
cannondaleriders.com


I had a 2003 Speed that I sold a couple years ago. I check in on the c'dale forums from time to time still, and it sounds as though they've gotten all the reliablity issues worked out. In fact, I read a month or so ago that, with the proper work done to them, they are actually now more reliable than most of the "Big 4" machines. Not requiring as much maintenance and what not.

Frames are extremely strong, motor issues were the only reason for their failure. C'dale rushed things through too fast without prior testing. I don't think the higher ups realized what they were getting into.

Can't argue that these machines deserver their place in ATV history. Partly responsible for the 450 4-stroke craze that is occuring right now.

I'd probably buy another if the price was right.

[trxwannbe]

cannondales are know to have some bugs as far as fuel mapping and certain engine components and i don't know if they have a website but haydug cycle is the place to contact he will hook you up with everything you need to keep that thing every bit as reliable as a 450r/yfz/ltr/kfx/ds

[Mxjunkie]

I've always wanted to come across a cannondale moto and put a motor I have out in the garage in it.. Deff work a little better then those odd contraptions they have from the factory.. :p

[CannondaleRider]

I have two Cannondales....(three actually, just one is pretty well stripped down..it'll be the MX machine when I can afford to build it)

I love them. Sure, they are a little harder to work on then most bikes, and if you have no idea what you're doing mechanically, it can be a challenge.

But, a little common sense, and it's no big deal.

Parts are not hard to get at all.. Brad at BlackwidowATV can get you anything you need. Big parts, to small parts, to motor rebuilds, etc. He's the guy to go to. www.blackwidowatv.com. S&S Motorsports out of Puyallup, WA can also build you one HELL of a motor. Something that will pull like a freakin freight train, but be just as reliable as a bare bones, low-power, trail motor.

In terms of suspension components, yeah, there isn't as much available. You won't have many low-budget suspension choices. Walsh will build their stuff for the C-Dales when ordered. I do know Teixera Tech is now building A-Arms...I have no personal experience with them though.

The best bet for a lower-budget suspension setup, is just to go with the original Moto front end. That's what I'm running on one of my bikes.

[dustin_j]

My buddy has two, a blaze and a cannibal. Just make sure you get the specifics on the quad before you buy it, and do the updates right away. He thought he knew what was done to the motors, but found out he was wrong. I rode his blaze in the dunes with all updates and map select and it really pulled; it put my 05 hrc 450r to shame! I find it odd that the big manufacturers are just starting to catch up to the engineering cannondale had over 5 years ago!

EDIT: His Blaze also had the 450 kit in it, but he got his heads ported and the cannibal will be a 460. I'll get to ride them in about a month to see how much it helped :D

[dirtbike&quad]

i found a cannibal for $2grand. he says it has all the updates and it has elkas up front...not sure if its a steal or if its beat to *****

[dustin_j]

It's not always an option, but it would be awesome if the owner could show you receipts and tell you who did all the updates. "Having all the updates" can be a vague statement when someone is trying to sell a quad. If he can't tell you this, it would be a good idea to look into the cost of updates and assume they aren't done. Then make your decision based on this price. Just a thought.

[trxwannbe]

if your dead set on one i know somebody here in connecticut who has one for sale for i believe he had told me 2500 and he has like 8 or 9 extra sets of plastics and its a full walsh elka bike with a falicon 469 kit put in by doug himself down at haydug the only thing wrong witht he bike is it is smoking a bit but for the price and the parts that will come with it its more than worth it