Whats next for the industry?

[freakystone]

Well, I am sure many of you have heard the news/rumor that Cannondale motorsports may very well soon be a flash in the fire. Obviously many of us Dale owners hope that isnt the case but it looks possible to say the least.

So what is next? Is fuel injection and aluminum frame the primary items that separte Dale from the big four (five if you include Polaris)?

Look at all the Dale owners that still went and purchased a-arms, shocks, axles, bars, tires, wheels, etc., etc. People love to mod. They love it.

I still dont personally believe we will ever see a major manufacturer product a quad like Dale. I say that in a neutral way, not positive or negative. What does a manufacturer have to gain and what do they have to lose?

The fact remains that it is a business about making lots of money. Period. Forget name recognition for who has the biggest, baddest and fastest. We all know that a bit of blitz marketing and the support of magazines, dealerships and brand biased will put plenty of quads on tracks and more importantly in garages of weekend warriors.

So it looks like a beefed up, pimped out, modded all to he|| 1988 TRX250R doesnt should so bad afterall does it?

[Doibugu2]

Enlighten me, is C-dale going bankrupt?

[Blysster]

I agree that none of the big 5 will ever produce a quad that is as race ready as the c-dale.

It's only logic, from their prospective, to produce a quad that is best fit for the general public's needs.. not for a select few hard core racers. They will choose reliabily over performance.

No matter what quad they make we will always want to make them better and faster.

[QuadTrix6]

im confused i was under the impression that connondale was doing well ?

[forum]

IRS sport quads will be one of the biggest things to come in the future.

[MILF_HUNTER]

high speed dirt makes IRS and there based out of Winnipeg manitoba. helzz yes

[Rip_Tear]

Ya, I haven't heard anything about C-Dale having any problems... What on earth are you taking about FreakyStone? Please give us some more info!:) :confused:

[markeg192]

First off,What a well written thread. Second, I don't believe Cannondale is going anywhere. They build a quad that is what all quads will be in time. There's nothing close to them in design (including my 400ex). And isn't anyone hearing anything about a new Honda? My dealer says they tell him they have one built and testing it right now. If they don't next year I'll most likely be on a Dale.

[Slick]

I see everyone going to other companies "cannondale, suzuki, polaris and kawasaki". Honda isnt going to let every other manufacturer beat them for long. I think the reason why it is taking so long to see a new sport quad from them is that they are developing something that is more advanced than the competition "as cannondale did". It is a possibility, i just dont think that Honda would let their customers down, i hope not at least. Another thing is, if honda does produce something high tech as a cannondale, the price may be as high as a cannondale "which i doubt", but that would make a lot of people not able to own one.

well, i think if honda IS workin on a new quad , the reason they are taking so long is they want to do it right , if they were to say "we are gettin the pants beat off of us by all these new quads" and start throwin together parts and sendin em up like hotcakes the new quad would flop, bigtime. on the other hand they may just say "well, we arent gonna go bankrupt, i say we clear all records that we ever made any sport quad and focus our resources on the utility lineup " who knows, in any case, Id like to know whether to plan on a new quad or not, if not ill get a z lol , and **** honda :p

[Quad18star]

Its just too bad the Moto440's are so darn expensive . Not everyone can afford 12 000$ for a quad ( 18 000$ if you're like me and live in Canada) . I think that if Cannondale were to budget the Moto440 at under 10 000$ it would sell a lot more than currently. The whole electronic fuel injection stuff really worries me . So it might be a little better and maybe gain a few extra horsepower , but for the average person , old fashion carburation is the way to go . Its not hard to have to take a carb apart or change the jets , but when you get into the fuel injection stuff it's just a pain in the rear.

There have been so many rumours flying around about the" new" Honda quad , that no one really knows what they are doing . Ive heard everything from 500EX, 650EX, CRF 450EX and so on . It wouldnt surprise me if they came out with somethign before next fall cuz like everyone else in the industry knows , the 400ex is OLD material . I dont mind them taking their time , as long as the product is reliable . Ill try and get the scoop from one of my 2 cousins that work for Honda Canada and see what in the heck Honda may be doing .

[Evan]

If cdale does let go of quads, so be it, they at least shook everyone up some and brought some cool new features too the quad scene. I am amazed they lasted this long, and to tell you the truth, never really expected them to take off, I thought they would lay by the wayside like many other companies (husaberg)

As for honda, who gives a flying flip when they release the quad, they will release it when there good and ready. Can anyone honestly belive honda would not sell another quad, and oh well if they didnt I still have 2 of the greatest quads ever made. Personally I think they have an ace in the hole, and when they do drop there bomb, they will make everyone sorry they bought something else(cdale zuki, etc) After owning a polaris I will never buy anything but honda again if that makes sense.

New Features to the industry??
One thing I would like to see, and Im sure its on its way, is a variable valve timing in the 4strokes like the new cars have(vtec for example) This would forever change 4 strokes, the power would be very close cc wise to a 2stroke. Proably make us forget 2 strokes. Im sure cost would be a factor at first but with r&d it would be made reasonable. Also what about these new camless car engines, the ones that open and close the valves with some sort of air or solenoid or something like that, that would be some weight savings right there. Im sure there are tons of other things to help out the quads, i just cant think of them right now.

[Guy400]

Don't let the words "fuel injection" scare you. People have been lead to believe the Cannondale product lineup is way more complicated than it really is just because it carries an onboard computer. The engine's a typical 4-stroke but the intake comes in the front and the exhaust exits the rear. Outside of that it's really all the same. The engine needs 3 things to run: fuel, air and spark. If any of these aren't there you must troubleshoot the problem with the exact same method as you'd use on your 400EX. Take spark for example. If you don't have spark you check your plug first. If you replace the plug and you still don't have spark you back up the line and check your coil and spark plug wire. If that doesn't work you back up even further and check your CDI and appropriate wiring. If I don't have spark I check the plug, then the coil, then the wires, etc. Same as a 400EX. The only difference is my wiring harness ultimately terminates at an ECU and that's a very reliable piece.

One Catch-22 you're going to have with new technology is the price. One of the biggest complaints about Cannondale is the price of the quad. However, you're getting features that NO ONE else has. Which one do you want? Lower retail price or new technology cause the market can't have both. Variable valve timing will invariably (no pun intended:D) increase the price and pneumatic valve actuation? Forget about it, that's F1 technology there and you won't see that in a quad. You're not going to get 100% handwelded aluminum frames, programmable fuel injection, Ohlins suspension, Arens-designed steering stems and chassis pieces, stainless steel brake lines and ITP tires and wheels for under $6000. You've got to ask yourself how much technology are you willing to pay for? I was willing to pay for the newest and mine came in at a hair over $6100 and that included tax. Others may not want to spend that much money but don't expect to get all the latest and greatest.

Quadstar, regarding the Moto. A handful of Cannondale owners and soon-to-be Cannondale owners were in a chat just last night and we were discussing the Cannondale corporate situation. We all agreed that Cannondale went too far too fast. They should've kept the Speed (which is just an updated FX400) and made the Cannibal a little more wallet friendly. Remove some of the fancy stuff (ITP rims, hydraulic clutch, stainless steel brake lines, etc.) and lower the MSRP to $6499. This puts the Cannibal at the same price range as a Raptor and you still get the same frame and engine as the higher priced Dale lineup. This allows the build-it-from-scratch riders a cheaper Cannondale platform to start from. We also agreed that the entire Blaze and Moto line should be scrapped. Sales aren't high enough to justify their existance and this would allow the streamlining of the Speed/Cannibal production, ultimately, saving Cannondale money.

[Jimmah]

Well if Cannondale is really goin out of business then they sure did give the ATV industry a shock but it just wasn't they're time. I hope to some day own a C-Dale but not brand new can't afford the $$$.