Quads turning out to be just like dirtbikes

[flyin#5]

well i was thinking tonight and everyone knows you can go out and buy a dirtbike put some numbers on it and go race it the next day. well ive always thought what is great about quads is that you can modify them in your own way. do it the way you want to hop it up and in your eyes make it the best. now these quads are coming out that are race ready out of the box. sure they are fast and way less expensive but really is this costing us the uniqeness of our sport? i mean i thought it was stupid that companies "detuned" dirtbike engines and put them in quad frames. but now i see thats what draws me to the sport. i mean ive seen many dirtbikes and even the sweetest ones dont compare to half the quads that people have on this site. i mean what would you rather be sitting on? a hopped up 440ex with all the goodies.... or a yfz with a pipe and tires? maybe its just me but id rather take the 440. just thought id throw this out and see if anyone thinks the same as me. :ermm:

[kawasaki_ridah]

yeah, i know what you mean, but those new race ready you still have to mod them cause tons of ppl have bought them and already put bigger bore and all on them

[flyin#5]

yeah you can do that but then your over the usuall 440 limit....

[Nausty]

Originally posted by flyin#5
well i was thinking tonight and everyone knows you can go out and buy a dirtbike put some numbers on it and go race it the next day. well ive always thought what is great about quads is that you can modify them in your own way. do it the way you want to hop it up and in your eyes make it the best. now these quads are coming out that are race ready out of the box. sure they are fast and way less expensive but really is this costing us the uniqeness of our sport? i mean i thought it was stupid that companies "detuned" dirtbike engines and put them in quad frames. but now i see thats what draws me to the sport. i mean ive seen many dirtbikes and even the sweetest ones dont compare to half the quads that people have on this site. i mean what would you rather be sitting on? a hopped up 440ex with all the goodies.... or a yfz with a pipe and tires? maybe its just me but id rather take the 440. just thought id throw this out and see if anyone thinks the same as me. :ermm:

I dunno still seems like you gotta get bars, chain, tires and nerfs right when you get it if you wanna race. Then it seems like you would still need a slip on and shocks if you wanna race too. jmo. I think i'd pick the 440ex because I think thats all I could ever push to the limit. I still don't push my 400ex to the limit and I still have stock a-arms, motor internals, frame and everything. I think once you get to the where you got a z400 with some minor mods I think it would take a long time for people to actually need to get new parts...

[KrazyKid300ex]

All i can say is that you need nerfs and a kill for the yfz. when i went to rausch creek for the exriders ride, randy lehr from this site was clearing everything on the stock shocks. He was also thinking of hitting the huevos 6 jump that the staff had mad. 110 foot double. he was iffy if the shocks could handle it. i think it would of.

[kabd69667]

Your right...But, remember 8 months ago when everyone was complaining about why doesn't honda or yamaha release a competitive race quad. They gave them what they wanted. I find that building the quad up is the most exciting part.....thats just my opinioin though.

[Mxbubs]

4130 chromoly is what makes a race chassis on a quad. You guys need to realize the bikes are JAPANESE engineered, where they dont ride as hard as we do, and weigh less than AMERICANS. And them most important thing, it is cheaper to build them out of thin cheaper materials. In my opinion, NO bike is race ready, I mean something that you can race and feel safe on. It has to be built. Cannondale had it the closest. These YZ450's, kfx/suzuki's,and soon CRF, are nothing but sheet metal frames wrapped around big 4 stroke thumpers. Give me a day on one, and I can pretzelize it without crashing or casing jumps. They just are not meant to be beat on, on an MX track. They are not there yet, if you want a bike you can truly beat on and it be reliable, you need to build it.

[trx400ex]

well i had a hopped up 400ex, sat on it, then sat on my piped yfz and nope the 400ex still sucked bad compared to the yfz.....its def. not cool to have to put 15k into a quad, and NO the quads that are coming out now and soon arent and wont be race ready..maybe in 10 years but not now

MXBUBS the frames arent that bad, sure there not a 4130 aftermarket frame, but kory ellis rode on a yfz frame and i know thousands of people race 400exs and the frames do ok with crashing and casing jumps but i guess you must be better than all the pros if you can "pretzelize" a stock frame in a day without crashing or casing jumps....:huh

[Nausty]

Originally posted by Mxbubs
4130 chromoly is what makes a race chassis on a quad. You guys need to realize the bikes are JAPANESE engineered, where they dont ride as hard as we do, and weigh less than AMERICANS. And them most important thing, it is cheaper to build them out of thin cheaper materials. In my opinion, NO bike is race ready, I mean something that you can race and feel safe on. It has to be built. Cannondale had it the closest. These YZ450's, kfx/suzuki's,and soon CRF, are nothing but sheet metal frames wrapped around big 4 stroke thumpers. Give me a day on one, and I can pretzelize it without crashing or casing jumps. They just are not meant to be beat on, on an MX track. They are not there yet, if you want a bike you can truly beat on and it be reliable, you need to build it.

I kinda agree, i'm pretty impressed with my 400ex frame though. Mine has gone through hell and back and is still ticking. Isn't John and Derek Guetter's 400ex stock framed?


I overshot a step down to flat ground a couple of weeks ago and I must dropped from 20+ft to flat ground and its probably one of the hardest landings i've had and I don't know how I rode out of it but my exhaust mount broke, air box and airbox boot all broke from the one jump and I only have minimal stress points on my frame.:ermm:

[flyin#5]

Originally posted by Nausty
I kinda agree, i'm pretty impressed with my 400ex frame though. Mine has gone through hell and back and is still ticking. Isn't John and Derek Guetter's 400ex stock framed?


I overshot a step down to flat ground a couple of weeks ago and I must dropped from 20+ft to flat ground and its probably one of the hardest landings i've had and I don't know how I rode out of it but my exhaust mount broke, air box and airbox boot all broke from the one jump and I only have minimal stress points on my frame.:ermm:

yes jon and derek have a stock frame on the 416. i agreee some of the frames (z400) could have been made alot better. but i think the 400ex frame is pretty good. put some gussets on it to make it even stronger....

[Mxbubs]

I guess I was comparing standards to that of a pro rider. I ride hard, but am not a pro. Have you guys ever been to Loretta's and see the pros literally beat the hell out of their bikes? Its a rough technical track. I dont think a yzf frame, ex frame, or crf stock frame could take the abuse they put theirs thru. I guess Im a perfectionist, I want confidence, and the best. My stock frame lasted me a long time, longer than I thought, but I believe it was because I had good suspension.:cool:

[NTPRacing#19]

once again, every quad can be just as a good as the others, its just how you prepare your quad for the ridin you will put it threw.
simple as that

i also agree..the 400ex frame is pretty good....after Sreptember 10th once i get some specs opn trhe new TRX450R and a lot of good pics...im going to start parting out my ex....i would love to kep it because its a great quad...but i also feel its pointless...i ahve 11k in my quad(including price of the initial quad) and i see these new quads out..that cost 7k new and beat me....its rediculous if you ask me....wich is why im upgrading to new and beter things...so after september 6th my quad is going to be on its way...just waiting for the jamboree...

[Glow Plug]

IF you ask me I don't NEED a 7 thosand dollar quad why? Becuase Im not racing every weekend and I never do plan on racing every weekend or at all. IF and when the time comes for me to buy a new quad (not for a long long time yet lol) I think i would look into a new crf or yzf if the price was right but if I was limited to under 6k or whatever I would deffently not complain if I had a 400ex.

[bongwater200]

Originally posted by Mxbubs
4130 chromoly is what makes a race chassis on a quad. You guys need to realize the bikes are JAPANESE engineered, where they dont ride as hard as we do, and weigh less than AMERICANS. And them most important thing, it is cheaper to build them out of thin cheaper materials. In my opinion, NO bike is race ready, I mean something that you can race and feel safe on. It has to be built. Cannondale had it the closest. These YZ450's, kfx/suzuki's,and soon CRF, are nothing but sheet metal frames wrapped around big 4 stroke thumpers. Give me a day on one, and I can pretzelize it without crashing or casing jumps. They just are not meant to be beat on, on an MX track. They are not there yet, if you want a bike you can truly beat on and it be reliable, you need to build it.


I'd have to agree. While you'd probably get more than a day out of it, it might not be MUCH longer! GOOD suspension is the best thing you can do to prolong the life of your stock frame, and by GOOD, I don't mean some cheap impression of a piggyback shock. (cough yamaha cough cough)

The sad thing is, you people are comparing these "new technology" quads to motocross bikes. Do you honestly think that you could take a box-stock CRF, YZF, KFX, LTZ, Cannondale, or whatever else and run it STOCK for a whole year in the A class and not turn it into a broken-down pile of ****? I hate to break it to you, kiddies, but this can be done on a stock motocross bike! You can go to the bike shop of your choice, buy a new motocross bike, stick numbers on it and WIN for a whole year. (provided YOU have the ability.

Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki, and Kawasaki are sticking it to the ATV folks just as they always have. Sure, they offered you something "all new" just to shut you up. (for now) But the simple truth is, that if you want to go fast ALL of the time, you're still better to build your own from the ground up!

What does it take to make a new YZF win? Shocks, A-arms, swingarm, motor mods, and eventually a new frame........ the same things you had to do to a LTZ, 400EX, 250R, and LT250/500. New technology? Better product? MY ***!

[250x#93]

Originally posted by flyin#5
well i was thinking tonight and everyone knows you can go out and buy a dirtbike put some numbers on it and go race it the next day. well ive always thought what is great about quads is that you can modify them in your own way. do it the way you want to hop it up and in your eyes make it the best. now these quads are coming out that are race ready out of the box. sure they are fast and way less expensive but really is this costing us the uniqeness of our sport? i mean i thought it was stupid that companies "detuned" dirtbike engines and put them in quad frames. but now i see thats what draws me to the sport. i mean ive seen many dirtbikes and even the sweetest ones dont compare to half the quads that people have on this site. i mean what would you rather be sitting on? a hopped up 440ex with all the goodies.... or a yfz with a pipe and tires? maybe its just me but id rather take the 440. just thought id throw this out and see if anyone thinks the same as me. :ermm:


yeah I agree 100%:devil:

[TRX330EX]

in my opinion it would be fun to build up something like a 400ex or 300ex to be faster and better. in my opinion the 450r and yfz450 are race quads,just like the crs and yzs are race bikes. if you ride trails,then youd prolly be better off with an ex stock or modified for your type of riding. in that way they are more versatile then a yfz.

[250x#93]

Originally posted by TRX330EX
in my opinion it would be fun to build up something like a 400ex or 300ex to be faster and better. in my opinion the 450r and yfz450 are race quads,just like the crs and yzs are race bikes. if you ride trails,then youd prolly be better off with an ex stock or modified for your type of riding. in that way they are more versatile then a yfz.

Yeah good way of thinkin:cool: