Reader's Rides Photo of the Month
Dear ATV Rider,
This is a picture of my 5-year-old son, Zackary Miller on his Kawasaki KFX80. He has been riding since he was 3 when we purchased a XR50. He is looking forward to racing in our local motocross competitions and loves to go on trail rides with his grandparents and the rest of the family.
Autumn Miller
Wise, Virginia
Autumn,
Thanks for the great picture; it looks like Zackary Miller is quite a thrasher!
Photo Caption: 5-year-old Zackary Miller of Wise, Virginia boldly battles the elements and risks life & limb to catch some wicked air on his fire-breathing KFX80.
Keep on rockin' it, Zack.
Do you want to see your picture on ATVRideronline.com? Send us your best photos for a chance to be part of our Reader's Rides feature at ATVRider@primedia.com.
Hi,
I am a fan of your magazine and the owner of a Kawasaki KFX 400 and a new Raptor 700R. I'm interested in buying an exhaust for my new Raptor and I read your article (March 2006, page 40). I was wondering if you have tested any other exshaust systems like the Fatboy4 from Duncan Racing, the Big Gun Evo from Alba and some other serious racing products.
I also wanted to ask you: Why didn't you test the DMC Afterburner Comp system, and only the Quiet4, like the 2 Series from White Brothers (E2 and Aluminium Pro full system)? I'm interested in buying the Fatboy4; what is your opinion of these products? Do you know any details such as horsepower and dba? Please advise me what to buy and notice that I do not care about the noise.
Keep up the good work!
Thodoris
Germany
Thodoris,
We set the criteria for the test to be under 96 dBA since the Raptor is a trail quad. This eliminated most of the pipes you mentioned, hence they are not in the test. Sound is a huge issue here in the States. Whether our readers realize it or not, it's one of the leading causes of trail closures. Big Gun and Alba do make quiet pipes; we even sampled one of Alba's stealthy exhausts on their 24-Hour machine (May 2006) and it worked very well—92 db!
If you're racing closed course, then the White Bros Alumimun Pro would be my first choice; it's well built and makes good power. As for the Fatboy4, it's a motocross pipe and we couldn't test it on the trails here. Duncan does make a spark arrested pipe that is good, but loud.
Bryan Nylander
Hello,
I just finished reading the April '06 Big Bore Shootout and I feel it may be a little bias. I believe that you chose the wrong ATV out of the Kawasaki stable. Putting a solid-axle quad in a shootout with IRS machines is like comparing apples to oranges. If the 2006 Brute Force 650i would have been chosen instead, the outcome may have had a different ending.
Thank you for listening to my rant.
Message Board member: "cochran"
Cochran,
It was Kawasaki's decision to go with the Prarie 700 and Brute Force 750 for the two categories (not ours). If big green had provided a Brute Force 650i, we would have tested it.
I'd hope the BF 650i turns easier than its 750 sibling, or the Kawi might have been worse off than the Priarie did. The solid rear axle didn't hurt the Prairie as much as its weight did; it was nimble and had a good motor and was only marginally off in the rocks. But its weight made you feel those uneven trails more.
Bryan Nylander