Cannondale Mx400
CW RIDING IMPRESSION
Cannondale MX400
World's fastest mountain bike
JIMMY LEWIS
IMAGINE A BICYCLE MANUFACTURER PREPARING TO JUMP INTO THE motorcycle market. Even with considerable financial and technical wherewithal, it wouldn’t be easy. And in the case of the new Cannondale MX400, it’s even more difficult, because in typical fashion, the forward-thinking American company is bucking the technical norm, breaking rules along the way. Is this a fairytale in the making?
It didn’t seem that way at first. Besides the long delay between introduction and production, the MX400 has been fighting a long, loamy uphill battle. This shocking new four-stroke motocrosser has flair with an unusual twist, breaking from the mold in a few areas such as its fuel injection and “backwards” cylinder head. On the Cannondale, exhaust flows out the back, while the fuel/air mixture enters from the front, air drawn through a frame-mounted filter behind the front numberplate.
The fresh thinking doesn’t end there, however. Using a chain-togear drive to spin the cams allows the frame rails to be thinner around the head. Separating the gearbox from the crankcase allows the use of the optimum lubricant for each, while preventing cross-contamination. And the cassette transmission and crankshaft reside in a one-piece centercase that incorporates the cylinder block.
As I anxiously watched the bike I was slated to ride being assembled at the Bedford, Pennsylvania, production facility , it was obvious that there is some serious team commitment behind this project. As with any first-year operation, the delays were a culmination of continued testing, vendor-supply problems, and re-testing to make sure the final product would be as good as it could be.
Following the factory tour, we headed off to a local natural-terrain test track for my eagerly awaited first ride. We were accompanied by most of the guys from the testing department, each riding (and thrashing!) his own MX400 test mule.
With a push on the starter button (yes, the Cannondale is the first I production MXer with the magic button), I was ready to roost. The well-calibrated fuel injection meant the bike fired right up without any need for a choke lever. The snappy throttle response suggested spoton jetting.
The next thing I noticed was that the bike is loud. No, make that very loud, thanks to the intake noise emanating from behind the front numberplate and under the tank, rather than being muffled by a closed, underseat airbox as on a traditional dirtbike.
After a few minutes spent riding back and forth for Brian Blades’ camera, I frankly wasn’t too impressed. There is a small glitch in the fuel-injection mapping right as you crack the throttle off idle, the engine barking for about the first
three strokes and then tapering off for about the next three before it picks back up. It’s not a hiccup, there’s just a dip in the delivery while the computer tries to figure out what’s going on. If it were a carb, I’d have tweaked the fuel screw and sorted it out in a moment. But because the end-user fuelinjection-mapping tool was still a few days from readiness, we weren’t able to alter the mapping.
Also, between the mapping problem, the high compression (12.5:1) and the racy state of tune, the bike stalled a few times, emitting a loud screeching noise from the one-way bearing that connects the starter to the counterbalancer shaft. The idle needs to be set higher than on most Thumpers to compensate.
I also noticed that the footpegs felt quite a bit lower than on most other MXers. A tape measure confirmed my suspicion, indicating that the pegs sit 2 inches farther from the seat top than the norm. They don’t hit the ground or anything like that-the front of the forward-curving downtubes drag in ruts before the pegs hit-they’re just lower than I’m used to. Overall, the Cannondale just has a different feel.
Not that it doesn’t have its good points. For one, the alloy chassis brings a new level of solidness to the four-stroke arena, with steering that is very precise yet requires minimal effort. Stability also is first-rate; on rutted, choppy straightaways, the MX400 refused to be upset where other bikes would have danced all over the place.
Some of the credit here must go to the Öhlins suspension. The plush 46mm fork does a great job with standard settings that will please motocrossers and supercrossers alike. Choppy ruts and small rocks that usually send your front end off in another direction in turns are sucked up, so that you don’t even feel them.
Out back, the linkageless Öhlins PDS shock absorbs everything asked of it. In fact, this is the first four-stroke on which I’ve been able to pound across the tops of supercross whoops. It hooks up and grabs traction even if the front end falls in, and it still keeps going straight. Amazing!
Big guys over 180 pounds will fit right on the bike without the need for stiffer springs; at 175 pounds, I was on the light side of the range with the spring ^ preload backed way down to get the desired 100 mm of sag. Overall, the MX400 has a nice, light feel to it, yet hugs the ground like a much heavier bike.
The motor isn’t too shabby, either, even if my first impressions were a bit lackluster. There isn’t the ferocious midrange snap of a Yamaha YZ426 or the monstrous torque of a KTM 520 SX; rather, the 432cc, dohc, four-valve MX400 combines the smooth, linear pull of the KTM with the power of the Yamaha. Plainly, the Cannondale is very easy to ride and rarely gets out of control. This type of power delivery could be called “bland,” but that term is relative. How bland is a 40-plus-horsepower dirtbike? “Rideable” would be a more suitable word.
The MX400 spreads its power out over an extremely wide range, similar to the VOR 503 we love so much. As a result, the motor is indifferent to gear selection and can be revved or lugged with comparable results. Doing an entire lap in a single gear will be an option at many racetracks. And with five speeds, there will always be a right gear for the track. Rev-happy riders and torquers alike will find a happy companion in the Cannondale.
The following day, we headed to Cemic’s MX track, a jumpy outdoor course with a few elevation changes. Before we even got started, I was informed that the footpegs were going to be raised on the subsequent production bikes, proving that Cannondale is receptive to input. The company’s slogan that the MX400 is “handmade in America” rings true, with updates such as this being a quick and simple change on the production line. Cannondale test rider Keith Johnson already has raised the peg mounts on his racebike.
I wish we could have tinkered with the fuel mapping, but riding the bike around the track at race speeds, you never get down in the rev range where the glitch is. It’s only noticeable while riding slowly in the pits, and more than
likely will be rectified before the first production bike rolls out of the factory.
The MX400’s good points shined even brighter at the bigger track. Shifting is very solid, especially at full power under a load. The clutch has a good feel, with an average pull at the lever, and never faded or got hot. The brakes are plenty strong and progressive, though the rear can be largely ignored because there is quite a bit of engine braking to slow you down. Though the Cannondale doesn’t look or feel overly slim, there are no hang-ups in sliding forward and back. Likewise, the bike feels much lighter than it looks. In fact, it seemed lighter than a YZ426, closer to that of a 520 SX, just not as compact feeling. And for some reason, it felt heavier in the air than it did on the ground. The claimed weight is 250 pounds without gas-not too bad for a bike with an electric starter.
Long motos are less tiring than on a two-stroke, as the long-winded pull of the four-stroke motor makes it easy to ride comfortably, going a lot faster than you think you are. The Cannondale is closer to a YZ400 than a YZ426 in this regard. And if you ride the bike harder, it actually begins to work better. The MX400 responds well to aggressive riding, and in the two days I spent aboard the bike it never did anything strange. It is a very confidence-inspiring ride.
So, is the Cannondale a threat to the current motocross establishment? In a word, yes, but not at the moment. Some of the MX400’s individual traits point to the future of motorcycles, but the overall package isn’t nearly as perfect as some of the other bikes out there these days. Can you Win races on it? Yes, and for some riders it might very well be the best choice.
For a first effort going up against companies with decades more experience, the Cannondale comes in way above expectations. Without having ridden it back to back with the competition, I’m reluctant to make direct comparisons. Yet I’d be willing to bet that a few of the MX400’s traits are already class-lead-
ing, and will only get better with the efforts of the hardworking R&D team. The Cannondale saga isn’t a fairytale yet, but it definitely has the makings of a Cinderella story. □
