Autumn Offers Year’s Best Riding

My first taste of autumn came aboard a Thundercat, in northern Minnesota near Walker.

Good day, and a happy autumn to all of our ATVMagBlog readers. It’s the first official day of fall, and the leaves have just started turning here in Minneapolis. Tundra dwellers and mountain people, though, have all seen the end of summer coming for a few weeks now, and many northern and high-altitude locales are already in the peak of fall color.

I saw the first signs of nature’s transformation two weeks ago, while riding in northern Minnesota with Kale Wainer from Arctic Cat and Rocky Cutsforth from Rox Speed FX, testing our built-out Thundercats (read the story coming in an upcoming issue of ATV Magazine). It was a bright, sunny, cloudless day, a great sign: here comes the year’s best time to ride.

Whether you’re in Southern California waiting for the summer heat to dissipate, or just dreading winter’s coming onslaught from somewhere more season, this is the time to rack up as many miles as you can, while you can.

I’m always riding, but fall is by far our busiest season at ATV Magazine with several new machine introductions, our ATV Trials event (we’re doing it in Moab, Utah this year) and various other excuses to ride. Tomorrow I’m off to the airport again, heading to the southeast part of the country – and the forecast’s calling for good weather, and warmer temperatures than we’ve got in Minnesota. [Read more]

Product Spotlight, Star-Tron Fuel treatment

If your big into the marine world, especially with ocean going vessels you probably are already familiar with this product.  As a power sports enthusiast with many motorcycles and other small engines I have tried nearly every fuel treatment or stabilization product that I can get my hands on. 

Star-Tron is the latest in  my quest for the “best” in fuel stabilization.  Star-Tron’s claim to fame is in the marine world in controlling water in the fuel and problems with Ethanol and MTBE in marine spec’d tanks. 

Product Description

Yamaha’s new YZ engine design, will the YFZ benefit?

Regular readers of my articles know I am not an engineer, nor some fancy pants engine builder, I don’t claim to be either.  What I am is a motorcycle enthusiast with a side of ATV interest. (read my bio HERE )  So when the motorcycle side of the industry introduces a interesting new concept to mass production, my eyebrows raise and my mind thinks “Will this translate to ATV technology and design?”

Inside the new YZ450F engine

Yamaha has pretty much shocked the motocross world with a complete redesign of their YZ450F motocross bike, especially in the engine department.  In a nutshell Yamaha has turned the engine (specifically the top end) back wards putting the intake in the front and the exhaust in the rear.  The cylinder is also offset from the crankshaft to maximize the transmission of the downward force on the compression stroke.  When you think about it, that is how it should have always been   Mass centralization is the name of the game as well as more power from the better flow characteristics.  Now this concept is not entirely new, Yamaha used this type of layout on their 2 stroke GP bikes in the 80’s.  Of course Cannodale used a similar layout as well as Huesaburg has their intake in the front although their engine is even more radical as it uses a stacked transmission (much like a sport bike).  Usually these types of radical departure from the norm either succeed or fade into obsucrity (a-la the CRF250 with its dual exhaust).

Why go into all this when the development is not even on an ATV?  Well much like my last blog entry, I want to ask the question,  When (and if) we will see this technology be translated over to the ATV world?  My personal opinion is “yes” but probably not for a few years.  However in saying that, why is it that sport ATVs generally lag behind in the performance development?  The only notable exception is with the LTZ450 having EFI before the motocross bike, but even that is a moot point as Gas Gas pioneered EFI on a dirt bike and ATV back in the early 2000’s. I am interested in your thoughts on the subject.  Leave a comment or discuss it on our own ATV Forum.

Engine configuration explained

250″F” based sport ATVs, Is there a market?

This is something I have wondered about since 2004.  Why 2004 your ask?  Well in 2004 all the major motocross bike manufacturers had a 250cc “F” (high performance 4 stroke) in their line up.  This obviously was the last nail in the coffin for the 125cc 2 stroke motocross bike. 

Is the ATV world ready for a 250cc, 40hp, fire breathing sport quad?

Seeing the success of how the manufacturers transitioned a version of their motocross/off road 450cc “F” engines into a decent sport inspired frame and suspension, one would think the next logical step would be a light weight sport inspired quad with a borrowed 250cc “F” engine.  It seems logical that there should be a market for it as a stepping stone for racers up and coming out of the mini atv ranks.  I mean, the mini race atv market has some excellent high performance machines to choose from to get the future Tim Farrs and Bill Balances off to a good start.  And with some of the Asian brands (such as Pitster Pro and SSR) bringing legitimate mini racers into the ring, youth atv racing has a good foundation.  It must be noted that NONE of the major Japanese manufactures currently build a race ready mini atv.  

Unlike up and coming youth racers in motorcycle motocross, stepping up from their 85cc two stroke or 150cc four stroke mini cycles to full sized (125cc two strokes in the past)  250cc four stroke machines, youth atv racers have really no stepping stone to the 450cc ATVs if they want to be riding a legitimate race machine.  Even a recreational sport ATV user could benefit from having high performance 250cc ATV, not only as a stepping stone, but they could be priced affordable between the youth ATVs and the 450’s.  My guess would be they could be priced in the $5,000 range.  A 250cc “F” based ATV (if designed right) could be incredibly light, agile, and powerful.  Typical stock 250 “F” motocross bikes make just under 40 horsepower from the factory and are very quick revving, having redlines up around 13,000 RPM.  For some reason my logic and thinking must flawed or outrageous, because we have yet to even hear a rumor of any such ATV.  My eyebrow raised a bit when buzz of the Raptor 250 coming out, until I saw in the specs that the power plant would be just another ho-hum low compression air-cooled 250cc SOHC engine (probably borrowed from the XT or TTR250).  Like we haven’t seen that for the last 20 years.

My opinion on why such an ATV has not yet existed is as follows.  In racing the current AMA/ATVA sanctioned class rules for Pro “A” and Am “A” production classes state machines up to 450cc.  At that skill level why would a racer choose a less than maximum displacement machine.  To best market these machines the AMA/ATVA would have to make a dedicated up to 250cc class.  Although even with the current classing I believe that a skilled “B” and “C” riders could be very competitive against 450’s.  The current mentality in ATVing is still predominantly Bigger is Better so initially they would be rejected.

Credit: Motorcycleusa.com, even in 2007 the 250F's put out amazing power.

On the recreational side I think its an even tougher sell.  Borrowing the mentality from the racers of Bigger is Better (or faster), the average recreational rider is usually less informed or even ignorant about the shear performance differences of say a 250EX (14 hp) vs. a CRF250 (38hp) powered ATV.    The reality of it is 90% of the ATV riders (including me) could be classified as average riders, recreational riders would find a machine like this a very agile and easily ridden trail machine without all the clumsiness of an overpowered 450.  Think of it this way, it is like the difference between a Ford Ranger and a extended cab long box F150, but all you use it for is commuting to and from a desk job, the Ranger is the more logical choice.  Marketing would have to be very skillful in how they advertise and present the 250 “F” machines, so buyers don’t think its an overpriced “chick” quad.

Anyway, that is my opinion.  I do not claim to know anything and it is all speculation.  If you agree or disagree or have an opinion of your own, please leave a comment OR visit the ATV MAGAZINE FORUM and tell the world what you think.