Ross and Alice Posted December 3, 2006 Share Posted December 3, 2006 (edited) We sometimes get the chance to talk to the owners of motorcycle dealers. Ron Siedner owner of Berts, stops by our camp at Dumont, and it's a good time to get a good take on whats happening in both the M/C and ATV industry. Look for bigger and more powerful Rhinos. Ron sells more of them than anyone. They're narrow now because Yamaha wanted buyers to be able to fit them in the back of pick up trucks. I think you can understand why they'll give up that idea with the newer models. Feedback is that makes no difference in most buyers decision to buy one, and they'd rather have it wider, more stable. We bought the middle son a new Honda 250 Sport Trax friday, and I had a chance to chat with Jim, the owner of Simi Valley Honda (ATK). Jim is also president of IN2DIRT a politically active dirt riders group. Jim sold ATK's from day one, and I asked him why he dropped the line. "They don't improve them, they don't correct the problems found & reported in the field. They just keep shipping them with full knowledge of the quality issues." If anyone remembers the 500,, it was a steamer. But the chassis grew long in the tooth, and ATK just hasn't kept up with the industry. The 500 was the first guy on the block, and Japan has kicked their butt since. The takeover of the Cannondale quad/MX bike is turning out to be a big white elephant. A POS. "ATK/cannondale just doesn't have the engineering huevos & depth of Japan". ATK made some changes,, but they've lost dealer support, and are now discovering some of the features on their Cannondale are unuseable because the patent rites were sold to someone else. ATK is a big mess, the owner just doesn't get it, and the dealers are giving them up. The wealthy owner of ATK runs the company solely for bragging rites,, and could care less is the general opinion of former dealers or customer support. Not my opinion because I know little of the company. But hate to see an American company go bad. This from the guys in the middle of it all. Edited December 8, 2006 by Ross and Alice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dunefreak Posted December 3, 2006 Share Posted December 3, 2006 ATK....never had one, never will. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Cheese Posted December 4, 2006 Share Posted December 4, 2006 I kinda figured when cannondale first started making mc's and quads, that it wouldn't last. it was a noble idea, but to cross over from no motor, to motorized vehicles is a tall step, better to be taken in two or three steps. that being said, the cannondale cannibal, when running correctly, which was hardly ever, would kick some serious tail. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ross and Alice Posted December 4, 2006 Author Share Posted December 4, 2006 (edited) Their 700 2 stroke looks pretty cool. But the word is it's problem plagued with little or no factory support. 30 day warranty. Their website seems abandon with maybe an annual update. They dropped their dealer locator, and their forum is defunct, with one family member running a feeble webpage that seems un-manned. Strange company. Edited December 4, 2006 by Ross and Alice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandstorm Posted December 8, 2006 Share Posted December 8, 2006 (edited) I live by ATK and have been there a few times. It is a Mickey Mouse company.. I won't even buy from them.. I know a guy or two who worked there for many years. Man some of the stories I hear.. They have no tooling of any kind, none, notta one.. Here's an article I found in local newspaper in Utah that does articles on the local bar, band, smaller business scene... I had to laugh at this as Frank White (CEO)is such a PR guy and full of shiat!!... LMFAO The Senator Benett who owned it before Frank pumped out 800--1000 bikes a year. ATK doesn't sell squat compared to what they used to.. http://www.slweekly.com/article.cfm/whiteknight The rebadged reworked Cannondales are very reliable except for one important thing, the big end rod bearing. This bearing will seize over time of about 150-200hrs. The fix is to put a Z400 big end rod bearing in. It has 21 needle bearings vs 18 for the Dale and the cage of the bearing is made just slightly different, but it is a PEMANANT fix.. This means splitting the crank. C-Dale owners have not had one failure w/ this bearing in over three years and stock big end rod bearings fail everyday in a Cannondale factory made motor.. ATK however has fixed every last problem w/ the rest of the motor and if they did the Z400 bearing the motor will last as long as anything out there.. Assembly issues were a big problem at Cannondale, not useing loctite on certain bolts that backed out and grenaded the engines.. ATK has addressed this issue also.. Edited December 8, 2006 by Sandstorm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Edgy Posted December 8, 2006 Share Posted December 8, 2006 Very interesting article. Hopefully HD or their dealer network step up and the Chinese get shut-out. We need an American entry into this market. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
got boost? Posted January 12, 2007 Share Posted January 12, 2007 i am not a quad fan, but i got my ol lady a cannondale 440 speed and i like it. it is easy to ride and doesn't side load like most quads. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dreamrr Posted January 12, 2007 Share Posted January 12, 2007 We have a cannondale Cannibal. I can't remember the last time we were at the dunes when we did not end up towing it back to camp. Like previously said, it is a great quad when it runs. The stock cannibal will beat my YFZ450 up comp with the right rider. But I just hate the problems! NOT RELIABLE Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dreamrr Posted January 12, 2007 Share Posted January 12, 2007 The rebadged reworked Cannondales are very reliable except for one important thing, the big end rod bearing. This bearing will seize over time of about 150-200hrs. The fix is to put a Z400 big end rod bearing in. It has 21 needle bearings vs 18 for the Dale and the cage of the bearing is made just slightly different, but it is a PEMANANT fix.. This means splitting the crank. C-Dale owners have not had one failure w/ this bearing in over three years and stock big end rod bearings fail everyday in a Cannondale factory made motor.. ATK however has fixed every last problem w/ the rest of the motor and if they did the Z400 bearing the motor will last as long as anything out there.. Assembly issues were a big problem at Cannondale, not useing loctite on certain bolts that backed out and grenaded the engines.. ATK has addressed this issue also.. Do you happen to know if this is the fix for the engine just stoping out of know where, and periodic leakage? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandstorm Posted January 12, 2007 Share Posted January 12, 2007 (edited) Well a number of things could of happened. It could of spun a flywheel. You could of had a the crank go bad and lock up due to that bearing.. If the oil filter has "alot" of shavings in it the crank is toast.. Sometimes the battery terminals come lose and it will die. Just tighten them up.. Try a new fuel filter. Did it backfire and pop the boot off the throttle body. Mine did that once. Sometimes the ECU's take a dump. You need a new ECU and the updated wiring harness so this "can't" happen again.. Periodic leakage??? This is from high rpms and spewing engine oil into the airbox and leaking down all over the radiator and stem, if indeed it is oil.. Could be too much oil in engine. You need exactly 1.5 qrts, no more no less..If it's coolant it's a impellar cover issue or coolant bottle that is the "old style" not vented correctly.. Make sure the nuts on the big side cover are tight.. The Dales can be headaches. Mine is rock solid and bullet proof. I put 150hrs on my stock engine. I then had it all updated and put another trouble free 150hrs on it.. This is going to the dunes 25x a year and 5 of those are 2-4 days weekends so I pile on the hrs and beat the crap out of it.. I now have 60hrs on this rebuild and got stranded in the dunes.. I had a bad injector, but I had the Cannondale software and the error the computer told me said it was an injector. I replaced both of them, yes we run two for one cylinder and no issues again.. If you really want to keep it and get the engined updated send it to www.blackwidowatv.com It won't be cheap, but I keep mine because "Made in America" holds a little water w/ me and it's still cheaper for me to keeping putting pistons in, new valves, ect then go drop 7500 on a new quad.. Mine is ported w/ a Falicon crank and 480cc.. Matter of fact we use the same crank that goes in the YFZ's w/ Falicon modding the crank slightly for the C-Dales application.. BW can also program in a harder hitting map w/ a more two stroke like hit for dunes.. I load my own maps in since I have the software to do it.. I make it sound like a headache. Yes they can be, but I treat mine like I raced it every weekend.. I check things alot and to me it's part of riding and I don't mind it. Edited January 12, 2007 by Sandstorm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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