Once we got the shots we needed, I asked him what he thought about the overall feel of the bike. To him the stand-out things were the explosive power out of the corners and the light feel. Kyle said it was having the ability to come out of a tight corner and clear some of the jumps that didn't have much of a run was really nice, and the nimbleness allowed for him to make corrections in mid-air with ease. For being a bone-stock ATV he was very impressed. In the corners the bike went exactly where he wanted it to go, and in the rough he never felt uncomfortable like the machine would get away from him. When comparing it to his race machine, he felt just as comfortable on the FXR even with the short amount of seat time he had on it.
On the opposite end of the spectrum he felt that the transmission gearing was too close for off-road racing or any kind of track that had long straights. Another issue he had was with the reverse kick-starter and his boot getting hung up on the rear fender when he would follow through on the kick. It's just one of those issues you have when dealing with a reverse-kicking engine and not necessarily a fault. Finally, the only other thing he felt would make a good change was the seat foam. The seat on this machine was very squared and made sliding from side to side while cornering a bit difficult for him. He felt that if the foam was lowered and rounded a bit, the seat would be perfect. Adding to this list from my own evaluation was the front-brake master cylinder performance. While lighter riders take less effort to stop, I had to fully bottom out the brake lever to get strong stopping power. It's my belief that a better master cylinder could remedy this problem. In the end when you look at what you're getting for the price you're paying, this machine can't be beat.
Since this came from a pit bike company and the company video shows full grown adults burning laps on it, I handed it off to a few Pro and Pro-Am off-road racers from the WORCS series that happened to be at the track that day as well. While this was a huge change from the 450cc machines they were there practicing on, they came off the track with huge smiles on their faces. When asked what one word described this machine for them, I got the exact same reply: FUN! They knew it wasn't the fastest thing in the world but they were surprised at the power it did have and how well the suspension soaked up the jumps that they flat-landed without compressing their spines. The next thing out of their mouths was where could they get one? Is this the new pit bike for fullsize riders? Quite possibly. Many of our fullsize riders feel that a few of these on a track all at the same time would be a very fun time.
Overall
Does Pitster Pro have the next machine to dominate the Mini ATV market? I'm not going to say yes, but I do believe they have an excellent platform to start out with and give the current competition a run for their money. For the price of $3,595.00 you get a good performing bike that seems to handle really well and can deliver quite a punch. If you feel the need for more power beyond what the engine can produce, that is easily remedied by doing some engine upgrades that are readily available through Pitster Pro or many of the other companies that produce Pit Bike components. For now this is a very fun bike that has a lot of potential for advancement and growth in an ever expanding youth ATV market and after this test we look forward to seeing bigger and better products to come from this company.