[erichonda30]

Haven't been on the forum for like 3 years and now i just found out KTM stop making ATV's ....................very depressing.

Still have my 2008 525XC with only 60 hours tops on it.

 

[erichonda30]

I thought i was on their site a few months ago still seeing the ATV in XC form. Might have been longer.

 

[Dragonz]

Lots of quad riders also stepping up to dirt bikes as well.You can ride a quad for so long before you hop on a dirt bike and put your hair on fire.You goy=tta remember most quad riders start of on quads because quads are easier to ride and when they get better they go up to dirt bikes,eventually.I mean if you keep seeing people on dirt bikes at the track and your'e the only one with a quad…one day you are going to own a bike.It's stepping stone kind of thing when it comes to off road riding,and manufacturers can see this in their sales.KTM had no trouble selling 8-9K dollar dirt bikes when the economy was down,so they put their eggs in that basket and kept it moving! Hope KTM makes another quad one day,because I would put a deposit on one today,I ride mine in the dunes and nothing comes close to the overall experience of my 505!

I beg to differ on the point of guys starting on quads as a stepping stone.
Sure some do, but many others (like me) have gone the other way.
Not saying I don't still have bikes, but I am now only interested in racing on the quads.
Why, because it's different, because while there are some things you can do on a bike that you can't do on a quad,
there are a lot of things that you can do on a quad that you can't on a bike, or you can just do them better.

Reality is quads are still a very young sport (though some of us riders aren't )
Bikes have had a much longer competition history, both on & off the road, & so the scope of what can be achieved that is new & different is getting much smaller.
On a quad, not so much.
We are still learning just how fast these things can really be ridden, how high, how far they can be jumped, what setup is the best most ultimate setup for suspension, engine, brakes.

To my mind this is the great sadness of KTM & many of the other manufacturers backing away from the quad market.
KTM bought some new thinking, better brakes, better quality & lighter chassis, tried some different things with suspension (no-link rear).
Not all was perfect, but it did give us a great platform to start with.

 

[Z3r0Eff3ct]

I agree that quads are NOT a stepping stone to bikes. That is 977GT3s opinion. I never liked anything on 2 wheels. I was never a fan of bmx bikes, not dirt bikes, not street bikes, not mountain bikes, nothing on 2 wheels. And was always into 4 wheels, sports cars, go karts, quads.

Quads are a small % of sales for these manufacturers. Not sure what the number is but I assume it is between 1% and 5%. Anyone know?

 

[sticko2]

I don't know the figures but I'm sure race atv sales for these companies must be tiny in comparison to dirt bikes. And also how many hundreds of other Honda / yamaha / suzuki / kawasaki products do you get? Generators, lawn mowers, road bikes, marine engines the list goes on and on. They are all businesses at the end of the day and if the figures aren't stacking up then they get the chop. It's been said a whole load of times already ktm just unfortunately got I to it at the wrong time. Probably was a good time when the wheels 1st started turning on their atv design and testing. By the time they were in shops things had changed.

 

[christph]

You would think that quads would have more of a following, especially among older guys who can't afford to break something. I own a motocross bike--a CRF 450--but I like my quads better. I can go faster on quads and get my adrenalin rush without the risk. A few years ago I broke my collar bone on my CRF and I've been risk averse on it ever since. I ride my quads to the limit, however, and have yet to have a serious accident. Knock on wood.

 

[Z3r0Eff3ct]

CAN AM announced no 2016 model either. :-(

All manufacturers out of the game for 2016 at this point with exception of Yamaha.

 

[quad97]

That's a bummer for the sport. With the state of the economy combined with the popularity of side by sides, it's hard for the industry to rebound. Back to the days of the 1990s when Yamaha was the only company producing any new quads. I hope it's not 15 years before we see new models of anything else again.

 

[Z3r0Eff3ct]

Not sure if economy is the issue. Maybe it is. Sport quads are more geared towards younger riders, and no one young has money these days.

If economy would be that bad, side by sides wouldn't sell. Side by sides are selling at double or triple the price of quads and it's a quickly growing business.

I have a feeling it's a combination of these factors:

-More youngsters growing up in urban environment.
-More environmentalists making our life harder and tracks and riding places shutting down left and right.
-Less tracks allowing ATVs (for MX). I live in NJ and the closest place to ride is 3 hours away and it's open only on select dates. I've rode 3 times this year due to this.
-Less tracks and less places to ride, means less friends riding and less quads being sold. Less quads riding, means less tracks allowing them. It's a domino effect.

Yup all that. I mean can't name many friends that have the cash available to buy a quad in today's day and age. Side by sides are selling because older people are riding them and they have both cash and established credit as well.

Lastly, notice all manufacturers still selling 90s and 250s. So sport quads are not dead. The kid quads get sold because daddy and mommy is buying it.

 

[Z3r0Eff3ct]

Add one more thing to that - injuries. So many people getting injured on quads.

 

[quad97]

I agree with pretty much everything you said. All the tracks cutting the quads out killed the MX racing classes around here. The last series that allowed them in the area did away with them this year. Now I have to drive from Montana to Washington for the closest place to race. We have an ATV only MX track built now at the motorcycle club, but most of the guys that still have quads have them setup for the flat track and won't take the time to swap their tires and jack the suspensions back up to ride on it.

 

[doubleA_Ron]

I would have to agree, I think with side by sides becoming more popular and the price to buy and set up a new quad in the economy people are switching gears. On top of that most people have a hard time getting a loan for a new quad and buy used so that brings sales down, which is sad because its such a fun sport to be a part of. I hope sport quads aren't phased out, but people need to pump money into it to keep it alive and that's the hard part.

Hoping for a new KTM quad in the near future, they had something going with their first attempt.