ATV Connection Magazine

400ex or Canniable

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Posted by: jmoney45

I guess I can throw my 2 cents in as well. I think if you are looking to race then you would be happier on a 'Dale. You can take them from the dealer to the track and be very competitive. You could take the 400 ex to the track from the dealer also, but you would be lacking the power you need to hang with the modded 2 strokes. If you are just looking to ride in the woods then either would be a good choice, but I prefer the 400 ex here. I bought one because I ride mainly woods and trails and the ex has plenty of get up for that. I will add an exhaust, k & n, and jet kit and be happy with it. I did get to ride a Cannibal and it felt almost as fast as my tecate, but it handled worlds better. I just couldn't justify the extra $$$ for what I do.

Posted by: 14mins

I rode a demo dale at Mossier Valley Mx last night. Got on it hard! Not a bad ride.... but i would decide how far i was going to modd a machine before i would buy anything. A lot of cannon owners are starting to switch out the good components for better aftermarket. As good as the new quads are (cannon, suz,honda,yamaha) you STILL have to build the perfect machine. Try to think into the future before you buy.

Posted by: YoDaddy

Also, if you bought new tires and wheels, you could sell your stockers on the dale for more than you could on other quads. Same goes w/ the shocks. And if you want a 400ex to maybe just barely out run a dale, you'll need a 440 kit, cam, rev box, pipe, and jet kit. A friend of mine already spent more money on his 400ex (plus the price of the quad) than I have on my Dale and that is just to make his EX as fast. Ofcourse when it comes right down to it, it's all rider... he could out run me on the track when he only had a pipe, Tamers, and wheel spacers.

Posted by: grademan

I love my 400 but I think I'd rather have a Cannondale. Get the Cannibal.

Posted by: MNWildFan

They may be cheaper but do you want to be cheaper or faster. Its up to you. Get the dale

Posted by: briansgi

That's an excellent price but you need to verify which quad that is. Cannondale currently has a refurbished program going on right now, some of those quads were selling for a little over $5000. So is it a new Cannibal or one of the refurbished units? What shocks are on the quad, Ohlins or Avins, there is a difference in quality here. You won't be dissapointed in the performance of the Cannibal compared to the 400EX.

Posted by: Cannitor

if your goal is to race and you have the ba##s to hold the throttle to the stop
then there is only 1 choice and thats the "c"
race ready out of the crate...

Posted by: Cannitor

i agree with some of what you are saying 14mins but not all
cannondale IS the future of our sport
fuel injection vs carbs?
alumnium frame vs steel?
on the fly changes to your injectors to offset changing course conditions
vs rejetting?
factory involvement vs no involvement for how many years?
just my thoughts....


Posted by: Cannitor

doesnt the 440 kit A)reduce reliability
B)add vibration
C)additional noise pollution
D)reduce low speed rideability
just some thoughts....why would you want to take a quads motor within an inch of its life when you can by one with a warranty that already does everything better?
i dont get it...

Posted by: Cannitor

and what about the clutch,chain and sprockets that you will need to take the abuse of all that extra hp?

Posted by: Cannitor

let me get this straight ,a 440 kit does not reduce the reliablity of a stock motor?
vibration is a good thing?
noise is a good thing?
is that you corn dog?

Posted by: Cannitor

thank you cd
you are a gentleman and a scholar

Posted by: Middle

I was wonderin what you tihnk would be better a 400ex or a canniable. i want to go fast and maybe race. the atv store by me the canniables are on sale for 6000 so i might go for that. what u guys think ?

Posted by: Middle

im not sure they might be ohlins. so there really cheap right now so i can get one cheap.

Posted by: CD

for that price i would take the cannondale. i bought a new 400EX a little over a year ago and ive put a 440kit 11:1 compressoin with a racing camshaft, bored out the carb put in a timing key , got a complete exhaust, k&n filter and running racing fuel and im still not satisfied with it. ill be trading it in on a new SPEED or Banshee within the next few months. BUY THE DALE FIRST!!! it saves alot of money in the long run.

Posted by: CD

i own a 440EX and heres the way i see it. my motor doesnt seem near as reliable as it was stock. once you bore out your motor and add a cam to keep up with all these bigger quads out today you'll notice it will run ALOT HOTTER THAN stock. it is ridable but you have to stop and let it cool down more often. atleast i do. with the after market camshaft and hardfaced rockers you'll notice the motor making alot more noise than before. it almost scared me when i first heard it. alot more pecking and rattleing and having to spend $3.75 a gallon on racing fuel gets old in a hurry. sure it will improve your power but if i had to do it over again i would NOT bore out my motor. you will hear alot of people brag about hondas reliablity and its true to a certain extent, but any machine thats been built up isnt going to be as reliable as stock. wheres Honda's reliablity when the motor isnt built by Honda anymore?

Posted by: CD

thats ok bama its not your fault. its just alot of the HONDA guys (big honda fan myself) will say buy a 400EX the best all around bike on the market. Spend 300 bucks on a big bore kit and cam (usually the 416/XR cam for that price) and you can out run all the big boys. which is true to a certain extent. but i was just stating the fact that you should plan ahead when you buy an atv. i bought the EX 2 years ago with no intentions of building a racer. i bought it to ride in the woods with my brother on his warrior. he soon got bored with the warrior and got a raptor. i rode the raptor and wanted more power. it became a competiton in a way. trying to out do each other. I ended up spending way more money than i intended but was left with a machine that was alittle faster than a stock banshee / raptor. all together it would have been cheaper to buy a cdale, raptor or banshee. then you have a machine as fast as a built 440EX with alot more performance options left down the road and not spend as much money. the EX is a great machine it just gets expensive when you try to make it faster than some of the other quads out today. to each his own. just plan ahead and look at what your really wanting out of your ATV. as long as your having fun it shouldnt matter what machine your sitting on.

Posted by: bama400ex

get a 400, they are great quads. and if your wanna build one up to race, parts are alot cheaper for the 400ex.

Posted by: bama400ex

A)no B)dunno? C)is that a bad thing? D) no, it improves it. if you add a 440 kit to the 400, you are hardly taken it within an inch from its life. maybe its not important to everbody, but to me the bang for the buck is very important. and it is to most everbody i know to.

Posted by: bama400ex

well its all according to what you want middle. im not trying to talk you out of a cannodale. if you think you need one or want one then go buy it.but if you are just getting started in racing i think the better choice would be a 400ex.sure everbody wants to jump on the cannondale bandwagon. but with all the nice high tech features come alot more maintence. if you are new to racing 4 wheelers i think it would be better just to start of with a 400. they are great quads and they can be made to fly no matter what people will try to tell you.and if you change your mind you can always trade it in. but you will have to take a lost.well im sure you'll be happy with either one. thats just my 2 cents. well good luck.and cd, im not trying to prove you wrong, but the fact that you pay $3.75 for race gas is nobodys fault but your own. whats wrong with a 10.8 to 1 J.E. piston? you could run 93 in it.and another thing buy a fst oil cooler kit for a buck 25.im sure all that compression on an air cooled motor it does run hot.what was you thinking?and cannitor, loud pipes save lives.