The History of Honda's TRX250R FourTrax 1986-1989

tblazier
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tblazier
Edited Date/Time 4/8/2022 11:57am
If you are a fan of sport ATV’s you should check out my latest video chronicling the history of Honda’s iconic TRX250R FourTrax. The video covers the changes Honda made over its four-year run from 1986 through 1989.

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JustMX
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JustMX 3/28/2022 3:05pm
3/28/2022 3:05pm
And those quads were still the thing to ride for another 10 years or so.

I knew one of the top 10 pro riders that went down to the local dealer that helped him and ordered an entire new engine from Hondas parts inventory.

Because they were so heavy those guys tweaked every possible fraction of hp out of them they could.

The quads that Gary denton, Donnie banks, and Brian mckinney raced sounded every bit as awesome as the production based honda factory bikes.

When honda and Suzuki came out with their 400 four strokes the value of those 250r machines dropped by about 80% in a couple of years.
2
jonesaustin
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jonesaustin 3/28/2022 3:12pm
3/28/2022 3:12pm
Very cool, I rode/raced the first 1986 quad and just loved it. Wish I had it now.
ACBraap
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ACBraap 3/28/2022 3:39pm
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JustMX wrote:
And those quads were still the thing to ride for another 10 years or so. I knew one of the top 10 pro riders that went...
And those quads were still the thing to ride for another 10 years or so.

I knew one of the top 10 pro riders that went down to the local dealer that helped him and ordered an entire new engine from Hondas parts inventory.

Because they were so heavy those guys tweaked every possible fraction of hp out of them they could.

The quads that Gary denton, Donnie banks, and Brian mckinney raced sounded every bit as awesome as the production based honda factory bikes.

When honda and Suzuki came out with their 400 four strokes the value of those 250r machines dropped by about 80% in a couple of years.
They've regained all that value since then. It's amazing what people are spending to built them up these days, even if mostly for nostalgic reasons. I don't think there's ever been a platform with more aftermarket options available than the 250R.
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Bigshow
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Bigshow 3/28/2022 5:05pm
3/28/2022 5:05pm
Loved my 250R's, esp the Lobo in my avatar. It handled better than any other quad I have ever rode.
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JoeWV
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JoeWV 3/28/2022 5:24pm
3/28/2022 5:24pm
Our 86 is awesome. Not goin anywhere.



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sumdood
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sumdood 3/28/2022 6:42pm
3/28/2022 6:42pm
Bought a brand new 89' from "Gold chain Bobby" at San Clemente Honda. I looked all over for an 88. I liked the red better plus that's the year for some fuck all reason they went from $2,999' for the 88's to $3,999' for the 89's. (I haven't watched the video yet maybe it explains why. Something about the 3 wheeler lawsuits ?) Anyway couldn't find an 88 so I got the 89' Kept it until a couple years ago. If space wasn't an issue I'd of kept it but we down sized our camp set up once the kids were on their own so it was just sitting. Rather have someone ride it so I sold it about a year before the prices on them skyrocketed, oh well... Laughing Lots of great times on that thing riding the kids up and down empty beaches in Baja and all over Ocotillo before riding double on them was some kind of crime... Angry Sad

Going up Shell Reef




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ACBraap
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ACBraap 3/28/2022 6:52pm
3/28/2022 6:52pm
sumdood wrote:
Bought a brand new 89' from "Gold chain Bobby" at San Clemente Honda. I looked all over for an 88. I liked the red better plus...
Bought a brand new 89' from "Gold chain Bobby" at San Clemente Honda. I looked all over for an 88. I liked the red better plus that's the year for some fuck all reason they went from $2,999' for the 88's to $3,999' for the 89's. (I haven't watched the video yet maybe it explains why. Something about the 3 wheeler lawsuits ?) Anyway couldn't find an 88 so I got the 89' Kept it until a couple years ago. If space wasn't an issue I'd of kept it but we down sized our camp set up once the kids were on their own so it was just sitting. Rather have someone ride it so I sold it about a year before the prices on them skyrocketed, oh well... Laughing Lots of great times on that thing riding the kids up and down empty beaches in Baja and all over Ocotillo before riding double on them was some kind of crime... Angry Sad

Going up Shell Reef




I think the price increase was largely the dollar vs yen. I recall CR250s also increasing from ~3200 to $4K from 88 to 89. I think my 91 CR500, purchased Oct 1990 was about 4200. My 1987 TRX 250R was 2500 summer of 1987.
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user760a
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user760a 3/28/2022 7:19pm
3/28/2022 7:19pm Edited Date/Time 3/28/2022 7:21pm
JustMX wrote:
And those quads were still the thing to ride for another 10 years or so. I knew one of the top 10 pro riders that went...
And those quads were still the thing to ride for another 10 years or so.

I knew one of the top 10 pro riders that went down to the local dealer that helped him and ordered an entire new engine from Hondas parts inventory.

Because they were so heavy those guys tweaked every possible fraction of hp out of them they could.

The quads that Gary denton, Donnie banks, and Brian mckinney raced sounded every bit as awesome as the production based honda factory bikes.

When honda and Suzuki came out with their 400 four strokes the value of those 250r machines dropped by about 80% in a couple of years.
The value of these machines may have dropped 23 yrs ago when the 400EX came out..... all classic ATV's were just "old" at that time, early 2000's

....let's just say that values of classic, golden age two stroke ATVs has recovered....like you would not believe. Clean quadracers , 250R's , Banshee's etc are commanding ridiculous money....and the vast majority of the truly mint survivors are already in collections. Prices are way, way up.

If Honda churned out a fresh production run of 1989 250R's and sent them to dealers in 2022, they would fly out the door @ $12K or more
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sumdood
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sumdood 3/28/2022 8:16pm
3/28/2022 8:16pm
Yeah it’s insane. I’m hanging onto my 83 200X ATC
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AH387
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AH387 3/29/2022 5:48am
3/29/2022 5:48am
Very cool. I always loved the TRX250R. I never owned one but sort of always wanted to. I had 2 LT250Rs that I raced before switching to dirt bikes, as a teen. I loved the Suzukis too. It's crazy how the market did somewhat drop for a while when the 400 and 450s got big. But then it seemed to shoot back up again in the last few years, like someone mentioned above. A few times since, I bought another quad just to play on at our cabin (LT450R and TRX450R) and they are fun. But I just couldn't justify paying the prices for an older 2 stroke now. Plus, I would want to still ride it a bit. I assume most of the clean 250s are more for people who collect them now, right? I assume it doesn't make sense to ride them much, with parts being somewhat hard to get?
sndlbox
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sndlbox 3/29/2022 1:10pm
3/29/2022 1:10pm
Hey Tony!
Nice work!👍
And Thanks for the airtime!😁
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Sprew
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Sprew 3/29/2022 2:07pm
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JustMX wrote:
And those quads were still the thing to ride for another 10 years or so. I knew one of the top 10 pro riders that went...
And those quads were still the thing to ride for another 10 years or so.

I knew one of the top 10 pro riders that went down to the local dealer that helped him and ordered an entire new engine from Hondas parts inventory.

Because they were so heavy those guys tweaked every possible fraction of hp out of them they could.

The quads that Gary denton, Donnie banks, and Brian mckinney raced sounded every bit as awesome as the production based honda factory bikes.

When honda and Suzuki came out with their 400 four strokes the value of those 250r machines dropped by about 80% in a couple of years.
user760a wrote:
The value of these machines may have dropped 23 yrs ago when the 400EX came out..... all classic ATV's were just "old" at that time, early...
The value of these machines may have dropped 23 yrs ago when the 400EX came out..... all classic ATV's were just "old" at that time, early 2000's

....let's just say that values of classic, golden age two stroke ATVs has recovered....like you would not believe. Clean quadracers , 250R's , Banshee's etc are commanding ridiculous money....and the vast majority of the truly mint survivors are already in collections. Prices are way, way up.

If Honda churned out a fresh production run of 1989 250R's and sent them to dealers in 2022, they would fly out the door @ $12K or more
What are Banahee’s going for these days?
Pistonslap
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Pistonslap 3/29/2022 2:37pm
3/29/2022 2:37pm
Always loved the blue engine and T-seat on the Quadzilla.

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JoeWV
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JoeWV 3/29/2022 2:51pm
3/29/2022 2:51pm
Kinda off topic, but anybody know why all the manufacturers, except Yamaha, have quit making the 450 race quads? The market seems to still very alive for race quads, at least seems so at the gncc and local xc races. I would think ktm would be cashing in big time with a 300 tpi xc quad right now.
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bh84
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bh84 3/30/2022 7:48am
3/30/2022 7:48am Edited Date/Time 3/30/2022 7:50am
JoeWV wrote:
Kinda off topic, but anybody know why all the manufacturers, except Yamaha, have quit making the 450 race quads? The market seems to still very alive...
Kinda off topic, but anybody know why all the manufacturers, except Yamaha, have quit making the 450 race quads? The market seems to still very alive for race quads, at least seems so at the gncc and local xc races. I would think ktm would be cashing in big time with a 300 tpi xc quad right now.
It costs ridiculous money to race quads. Especially if you wanted to do it right. You can buy a stock 450 dirt bike at a dealer for 10-11k and have a bike capable of racing a national. You get a 450 race quad off the showroom floor and you've barely got a start on a competitive machine.

You'll need:
Engine work
exhaust
intake
race ECU or Power commander for FI machines
shocks
a-arms
swingarm
subframe
steering stem
nerf bars
rims/tires
bumper
tether
seat foam/cover

Thats just a start.

I had all this and more, but because we didn't go crazy on the engine my machines weren't competitive at all at US nationals. Guys in B class show up with haulers and 2 or 3 quads worth 30-40k each. I raced Pro-Am unlimited and barely made the mains.

The KTM quads were only made for 2 years but they were the closest out of the box to being truly race ready. Problem with them was parts got hard to find fast and we could only get 15 hours out of a top end. Once we switched to Yamaha it cost twice as much to be competitive.

Eventually the money stopped making sense, 2008-11ish was the heyday for ATV racing's second wave. Since then its really died off. Now I've got a race quad with 20k invested I'd be lucky to get 8 for.
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Micahdogg
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Micahdogg 3/30/2022 11:36am
3/30/2022 11:36am
JustMX wrote:
And those quads were still the thing to ride for another 10 years or so. I knew one of the top 10 pro riders that went...
And those quads were still the thing to ride for another 10 years or so.

I knew one of the top 10 pro riders that went down to the local dealer that helped him and ordered an entire new engine from Hondas parts inventory.

Because they were so heavy those guys tweaked every possible fraction of hp out of them they could.

The quads that Gary denton, Donnie banks, and Brian mckinney raced sounded every bit as awesome as the production based honda factory bikes.

When honda and Suzuki came out with their 400 four strokes the value of those 250r machines dropped by about 80% in a couple of years.
That's odd, in the midwest we did not see that. The 400EX was the "cool" thing in 99, but it did not take long for people to figure out that it just wasn't able to do what the 250R did. A friend of mine raced several R's and jumped all over the 400EX...after big bores and hot cams and all the doo-dads he was left with disappointment.

Another friend jumped on the 400Z bandwagon, but it too was not able to do what the R did. By now we were nearly 15 years after the R and if you had something built with a lonestar frame, esr goodies, it held its value.

The hybrid quads with 426 engines (using 250R chassis) were interesting if you had deep pockets, but it wasn't until the production YFZ450 that people seemed satisfied to retire their R's. And around here they only experienced a lull for maybe 10 year. Now they are back, partially due to inflation, but partially because they are classics and pieces of history.
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Tracktor
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Tracktor 3/30/2022 3:39pm
3/30/2022 3:39pm
JustMX wrote:
And those quads were still the thing to ride for another 10 years or so. I knew one of the top 10 pro riders that went...
And those quads were still the thing to ride for another 10 years or so.

I knew one of the top 10 pro riders that went down to the local dealer that helped him and ordered an entire new engine from Hondas parts inventory.

Because they were so heavy those guys tweaked every possible fraction of hp out of them they could.

The quads that Gary denton, Donnie banks, and Brian mckinney raced sounded every bit as awesome as the production based honda factory bikes.

When honda and Suzuki came out with their 400 four strokes the value of those 250r machines dropped by about 80% in a couple of years.
I raced them in the early '90's. Was spon sored by LRD because he is local to me not because I was all that fast. He gave me a full Denton engine & hand coned pipe. That thing barked so hard. Was such a fun time as there were only a handful of us diehards still racing quads so everyone knew & supported each other for the most part. Pretty much only Honda part was the gears/cases etc. Everything else was aftermarket towards the end. LED(LRD new name) has even developed gear sets for them since discontinued. I got out late '90's & went back to bikes after riding a 1996 CR250......Catch quite a bit of shit from my kids for that era of my racing "career" but you had to be a man to ride a quad on a track designed for bikes. Two completely sets of physics which is what ultimately killed Quad MX, IMO............
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AH387
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AH387 3/31/2022 6:25am
3/31/2022 6:25am
Tracktor wrote:
I raced them in the early '90's. Was spon sored by LRD because he is local to me not because I was all that fast. He...
I raced them in the early '90's. Was spon sored by LRD because he is local to me not because I was all that fast. He gave me a full Denton engine & hand coned pipe. That thing barked so hard. Was such a fun time as there were only a handful of us diehards still racing quads so everyone knew & supported each other for the most part. Pretty much only Honda part was the gears/cases etc. Everything else was aftermarket towards the end. LED(LRD new name) has even developed gear sets for them since discontinued. I got out late '90's & went back to bikes after riding a 1996 CR250......Catch quite a bit of shit from my kids for that era of my racing "career" but you had to be a man to ride a quad on a track designed for bikes. Two completely sets of physics which is what ultimately killed Quad MX, IMO............
Well said. Back when I was still running the quads, I was just a kid and had minimal mods on my LTR. But I was thinking that a lot of the MX tracks were pretty gnarly for quads. I rode at the old FOX Raceway (in PA) and it was rad for quads. It was actually in 1 of the Huevos videos. And once I switched to dirt bikes, it made a lot more sense. I still think quads would be cool for TT style racing. I wish that would get bigger. That type of racing is perfect for racing quads.

Pit Row

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rf928
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rf928 3/31/2022 6:50am
3/31/2022 6:50am Edited Date/Time 3/31/2022 6:51am
I feel like the attitude towards quads from the bike side has really softened a bit in the last few years. I raced growing up from 04-12 and experienced the heyday of the industry, or at least the best I could in Canada. I remember even in 2011 there were a couple 250R’s at the track here, they could hang with the modern 4 strokes no problem.

You guys are right, it was plain scary to race on a track just after 10 motos of bikes. You took your life into your hands. And then you took your life into your hands riding back to the pits when the bike guys let you know how much they loved you being out there on a quad.
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eric513anderson 3/31/2022 8:43am
3/31/2022 8:43am
JustMX wrote:
And those quads were still the thing to ride for another 10 years or so. I knew one of the top 10 pro riders that went...
And those quads were still the thing to ride for another 10 years or so.

I knew one of the top 10 pro riders that went down to the local dealer that helped him and ordered an entire new engine from Hondas parts inventory.

Because they were so heavy those guys tweaked every possible fraction of hp out of them they could.

The quads that Gary denton, Donnie banks, and Brian mckinney raced sounded every bit as awesome as the production based honda factory bikes.

When honda and Suzuki came out with their 400 four strokes the value of those 250r machines dropped by about 80% in a couple of years.
user760a wrote:
The value of these machines may have dropped 23 yrs ago when the 400EX came out..... all classic ATV's were just "old" at that time, early...
The value of these machines may have dropped 23 yrs ago when the 400EX came out..... all classic ATV's were just "old" at that time, early 2000's

....let's just say that values of classic, golden age two stroke ATVs has recovered....like you would not believe. Clean quadracers , 250R's , Banshee's etc are commanding ridiculous money....and the vast majority of the truly mint survivors are already in collections. Prices are way, way up.

If Honda churned out a fresh production run of 1989 250R's and sent them to dealers in 2022, they would fly out the door @ $12K or more
Sprew wrote:
What are Banahee’s going for these days?
Anywhere from $5,500-over $11k. That’s what I’ve seen them posted at. Wether or not they actually get that price who knows. But average listing is around $7,500. Insane considering you could buy a brand new one in ‘06 for $6,250 ish
1
Sprew
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Sprew 3/31/2022 9:15am
3/31/2022 9:15am
user760a wrote:
The value of these machines may have dropped 23 yrs ago when the 400EX came out..... all classic ATV's were just "old" at that time, early...
The value of these machines may have dropped 23 yrs ago when the 400EX came out..... all classic ATV's were just "old" at that time, early 2000's

....let's just say that values of classic, golden age two stroke ATVs has recovered....like you would not believe. Clean quadracers , 250R's , Banshee's etc are commanding ridiculous money....and the vast majority of the truly mint survivors are already in collections. Prices are way, way up.

If Honda churned out a fresh production run of 1989 250R's and sent them to dealers in 2022, they would fly out the door @ $12K or more
Sprew wrote:
What are Banahee’s going for these days?
eric513anderson wrote:
Anywhere from $5,500-over $11k. That’s what I’ve seen them posted at. Wether or not they actually get that price who knows. But average listing is around...
Anywhere from $5,500-over $11k. That’s what I’ve seen them posted at. Wether or not they actually get that price who knows. But average listing is around $7,500. Insane considering you could buy a brand new one in ‘06 for $6,250 ish
Thanks for the response Eric. I have two sitting in the garage that were lightly used when the kids were young.

Cheers
1
eric513anderson 3/31/2022 4:33pm
3/31/2022 4:33pm
Sprew wrote:
What are Banahee’s going for these days?
eric513anderson wrote:
Anywhere from $5,500-over $11k. That’s what I’ve seen them posted at. Wether or not they actually get that price who knows. But average listing is around...
Anywhere from $5,500-over $11k. That’s what I’ve seen them posted at. Wether or not they actually get that price who knows. But average listing is around $7,500. Insane considering you could buy a brand new one in ‘06 for $6,250 ish
Sprew wrote:
Thanks for the response Eric. I have two sitting in the garage that were lightly used when the kids were young.

Cheers
No problem. I’ve got a 96 I bought off my dad that he bought brand new. I grew up riding on it as a little kid. It’s not going anywhere!
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kaboom645
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kaboom645 4/1/2022 9:15pm
4/1/2022 9:15pm
I remember back in the late 80's there was a lot of talk about the California air resource board outlawing 2 strokes back then. Add in the investigations by the CSPC and the bad press and the writing was on the wall as the whole quad industry shifted towards utility style quads through the 90's. The TRX 250R actually kept a stranglehold on professional racing as the quad of choice through the 90's and it wasn't until factory support and the rule change requiring the factory frame that came along with that support that you seen them be no longer the ride of choice
user760a
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user760a 4/1/2022 9:56pm
4/1/2022 9:56pm
Sprew wrote:
What are Banahee’s going for these days?
eric513anderson wrote:
Anywhere from $5,500-over $11k. That’s what I’ve seen them posted at. Wether or not they actually get that price who knows. But average listing is around...
Anywhere from $5,500-over $11k. That’s what I’ve seen them posted at. Wether or not they actually get that price who knows. But average listing is around $7,500. Insane considering you could buy a brand new one in ‘06 for $6,250 ish
Sprew wrote:
Thanks for the response Eric. I have two sitting in the garage that were lightly used when the kids were young.

Cheers
Care to tease us with pics?
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Bigshow
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Bigshow 4/7/2022 3:44am
4/7/2022 3:44am
Here some pictures of my Lobo.



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AH387
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AH387 4/7/2022 4:47am
4/7/2022 4:47am
Bigshow wrote:
Here some pictures of my Lobo. [img]https://p.vitalmx.com/photos/forums/2022/04/07/542359/s1200_1077204_659582434070446_1829525650_o.jpg[/img] [img]https://p.vitalmx.com/photos/forums/2022/04/07/542360/s1200_000006.jpg[/img] [img]https://p.vitalmx.com/photos/forums/2022/04/07/542361/s1200_unnamed.jpg[/img] [img]https://p.vitalmx.com/photos/forums/2022/04/07/542362/s1200_unnamed.jpg[/img]
Here some pictures of my Lobo.



Looks amazing. That's 1 heck of a machine.
1
ACBraap
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ACBraap 4/7/2022 10:34am
4/7/2022 10:34am
JustMX wrote:
And those quads were still the thing to ride for another 10 years or so. I knew one of the top 10 pro riders that went...
And those quads were still the thing to ride for another 10 years or so.

I knew one of the top 10 pro riders that went down to the local dealer that helped him and ordered an entire new engine from Hondas parts inventory.

Because they were so heavy those guys tweaked every possible fraction of hp out of them they could.

The quads that Gary denton, Donnie banks, and Brian mckinney raced sounded every bit as awesome as the production based honda factory bikes.

When honda and Suzuki came out with their 400 four strokes the value of those 250r machines dropped by about 80% in a couple of years.
Tracktor wrote:
I raced them in the early '90's. Was spon sored by LRD because he is local to me not because I was all that fast. He...
I raced them in the early '90's. Was spon sored by LRD because he is local to me not because I was all that fast. He gave me a full Denton engine & hand coned pipe. That thing barked so hard. Was such a fun time as there were only a handful of us diehards still racing quads so everyone knew & supported each other for the most part. Pretty much only Honda part was the gears/cases etc. Everything else was aftermarket towards the end. LED(LRD new name) has even developed gear sets for them since discontinued. I got out late '90's & went back to bikes after riding a 1996 CR250......Catch quite a bit of shit from my kids for that era of my racing "career" but you had to be a man to ride a quad on a track designed for bikes. Two completely sets of physics which is what ultimately killed Quad MX, IMO............
Surely we raced each other then, I was also an LRD guy in the late 80s/early 90s. Some of the things LRD did were amazing, like the old G5 engines, and great pipe development. Ultimately I had a lot better results leaving LRD, and working with a friend to tune my engine for me vs the Denton spec LRD was selling (which was a great package... if you were built like him, and had the same riding style and conditions).

I miss racing them, but I sure don't miss the money pits that racing quads are. I'd be retired by now if I'd have invested instead of blowing all that $ on racing.
1
Bigshow
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Bigshow 4/7/2022 12:08pm
4/7/2022 12:08pm
Bigshow wrote:
Here some pictures of my Lobo. [img]https://p.vitalmx.com/photos/forums/2022/04/07/542359/s1200_1077204_659582434070446_1829525650_o.jpg[/img] [img]https://p.vitalmx.com/photos/forums/2022/04/07/542360/s1200_000006.jpg[/img] [img]https://p.vitalmx.com/photos/forums/2022/04/07/542361/s1200_unnamed.jpg[/img] [img]https://p.vitalmx.com/photos/forums/2022/04/07/542362/s1200_unnamed.jpg[/img]
Here some pictures of my Lobo.



AH387 wrote:
Looks amazing. That's 1 heck of a machine.
Thank you
TJMX947
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TJMX947 4/7/2022 12:47pm
4/7/2022 12:47pm
tblazier wrote:
If you are a fan of sport ATV’s you should check out my latest video chronicling the history of Honda’s iconic TRX250R FourTrax. The video covers...
If you are a fan of sport ATV’s you should check out my latest video chronicling the history of Honda’s iconic TRX250R FourTrax. The video covers the changes Honda made over its four-year run from 1986 through 1989.

Such a cool video, quads were my first love but I quickly realized that racing the GNCs was just not feasible for the average guy. As a kid I loved reading the write ups on the tricked out mini quads and I dreamed of building one and using my CR80 engine in it!

I have a friend who was pretty hardcore into quad racing and he still uses a thumb throttle on his KTM 450!!! He mentioned in the 90s he had a Laeger 250R that cost about $20k+ to build and he always had 4 250Rs sitting around just to keep one running.

Question - Brian Mckinney. Was he from North Carolina? I remember that name from back in the mid 90s while reading pro results in the magazines.
JoeWV
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JoeWV 4/7/2022 2:21pm
4/7/2022 2:21pm
JoeWV wrote:
Kinda off topic, but anybody know why all the manufacturers, except Yamaha, have quit making the 450 race quads? The market seems to still very alive...
Kinda off topic, but anybody know why all the manufacturers, except Yamaha, have quit making the 450 race quads? The market seems to still very alive for race quads, at least seems so at the gncc and local xc races. I would think ktm would be cashing in big time with a 300 tpi xc quad right now.
bh84 wrote:
It costs ridiculous money to race quads. Especially if you wanted to do it right. You can buy a stock 450 dirt bike at a dealer...
It costs ridiculous money to race quads. Especially if you wanted to do it right. You can buy a stock 450 dirt bike at a dealer for 10-11k and have a bike capable of racing a national. You get a 450 race quad off the showroom floor and you've barely got a start on a competitive machine.

You'll need:
Engine work
exhaust
intake
race ECU or Power commander for FI machines
shocks
a-arms
swingarm
subframe
steering stem
nerf bars
rims/tires
bumper
tether
seat foam/cover

Thats just a start.

I had all this and more, but because we didn't go crazy on the engine my machines weren't competitive at all at US nationals. Guys in B class show up with haulers and 2 or 3 quads worth 30-40k each. I raced Pro-Am unlimited and barely made the mains.

The KTM quads were only made for 2 years but they were the closest out of the box to being truly race ready. Problem with them was parts got hard to find fast and we could only get 15 hours out of a top end. Once we switched to Yamaha it cost twice as much to be competitive.

Eventually the money stopped making sense, 2008-11ish was the heyday for ATV racing's second wave. Since then its really died off. Now I've got a race quad with 20k invested I'd be lucky to get 8 for.
Yea, I understand they’re expensive to race. We’ve got 2 TRX450s we do off-road/woods racing with. But what’s stopping an OEM from making a more race ready quad instead of giving it all to aftermarket? They can make the bikes pretty dang great off the showroom floor, just seems a big missed opportunity for one of the big guys to capitalize on, especially if they made decent youth race quads too. The production 50s and 90s available are terrible.
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