Cannondale E440
Cannondale E440
CYCLE WORLD TEST
Biting bullets and shooting them back
JIMMY LEWIS
EVER SINCE TEIlY ANNOUNCED they were building a motorcycle, the foiks at American bicycle manufacturer Cannondale have been fighting an uphill battle. Make that climbing an icy cliff. But instead of jumping off, turning around or running away. they fought it out, sticking to their guns and making incredible headway in a very short time. If ever there were an underdog, Cannondale has been it.
Now comes the release of the com pany' s third-generation motorcycle, the E440. It's a competition enduro mount, and marks the first serious change from the MX400 we tested a year-and-a-half ago. Gone is the head set-mounted air filter, replaced by a tidy little unit that resides between the frame spars in the middle of the gas tank; most of the fuel is carried below the seat. Now, by simply unclipping the saddle, you have no-tools access to the filter, sparkplug and fuses. Upgrading the fuel-injection system to a GP Controls MC 1000 setup is a huge step for the future, with the igni tion timing and fuel delivery managed by a single ECU that's fully pro granimable via an underseat plug.
Reliability issues with a few engine bearings have been rectified, and the clutch has been upgraded~ yes, Martha, it's now hydraulically actuat ed. The entire layout of the bike is aggressive and super-thin, especially considering there are 2.5 gallons of fuel stashed within.
Provided you can get that much fuel inside, that is, because you have to burp the tank to completely fill it. The V-shaped layout requires that you fill the tank up, cap it, lay the bike on its side, stand it back up and then add the remaining half-gallon. The fact that the tank is black plastic doesn't help, becaj~se you can't see the fuel level through it at all.
ort~nately, thete ale lots of good thwgsto talk about Like the electiic starter: `~umh the green button and the engi~ne springs to 1-if~. It~s a tad reluctant to rev Up until it warms a hit and the EFE figures out which planet it's on. But after that; it's riproaring ready to go. as evidence&h all th~iechanical noise. The straight-cut gears, large case air intake right under your nose and revcrse-áountcd cylinder head ,with short exhaust all conspire to make quite a racket. The sound level is similar to that of a dry-clutch Ducati V-Twin. but is in no way as ear-pleasing.
The E440 has its own unique ECU settings. and by design deadens the power delivery at low rpm and small throttle openings. Then, in the midrange, the engine comes alive and pulls to far higher revs than common sense would dictate. It has way more bottom-end grunt than any other 400ish-cc enduro, and makes about the same midrange and top-end power as a KTM 400 E/XC Racing or Yamaha WR426. And it was the first sub-450cc bike to climb one of our "Death to Weak Motors" sand hills-twice even, and easily.
Everyone who rode the Cannondale was amazed at how smooth and easy it was to ride. Torque is astonishing; unlike previous `Dales, you cannot stall this bike if the throttle is opened the least little bit. But here's where the dreaded stalling comes into play: The EFI is so hyper-responsive that all of our old carburetor instincts got us into trouble. For example, if we grabbed a handful of throttle to clear an obstacle-say, a rock ledge-we were actually goosing it too early. The Cannondale responded immediately, forcing us to roll off. About the time we'd backed it down and the bike
responded to that in~ ` 1uitting the id~. a~nd need ed to gas it agai~i. So.. M~e'~i~ted the throttle at the same time th~4prque load hit't14~ motor, at the same time the extra gas sp~~j 1~dih~ combustion chamber. and sometimes it A little more flywheel weight would help liere~tt flcr adapting to the EFI's immediacy, it wasn't a pro1~1em. It just takes a while to unlearn all that carb-lag training.
While most of the time it's the rider who causes the stalling, the exception is when the fuel filter is dirty, some thing that the Cannondale is hypersensitive to.
That said, the EFI is 100 times better than it was on the MX400, and is getting better every day. We spent just 10 minutes with a Cannondale technician who had the GP Controls Pro-Cal program in his laptop. Based on some input we gave him, he modified our bike's transient fuel adjustment (sort of like a carburetor's accelerator pump) by leaning it out a bit, and the improvement was astonishing. In less than a minute, via a cable and a few keystrokes, he'd done 20 minutes worth ofjetting work. Too bad it got dark and the track shut down before we could experiment further.
The aluminum chassis is first-rate, and as stable and flex free as it looks. Overall, the bike has a competition poise. The Ohlins suspension is stiff in nature yet super-plush. The E's rear end feels much freer than the old MX's-especially that showroom bounce that would have scared you away before. We found that with the stock settings, you could do just about any type of riding, from ripping up a friend's golf course-like ultralight runway to full-on motocross laps. Just add a bit of compression and rebound (which also affects compression) damping for the more aggressive activities and go. We even competed in the opening round of the Grand National Cross Country series on a stock-suspended C440 (a cross-country version of the E) and came away impressed despite the relentless Florida sand whoops.
For general enduro use, though, some of our riders felt the standard 4.7-kilogram fork springs caused the front end to ride too high, making the bike want to stand up in turns. We swapped over to 4.5-kg. springs and rectified the problem, as well as aiding front-end traction in loose rocks and slippery stones. But as stiff as the overall setup is, it's amazingly plush and progressive. And it is still the most stable dirtbike out there, reminiscent of old Husky desert sleds, yet it still turns.
The Cannondale is tall and feels as heavy as the scales say: 268 pounds without fuel. Even so, it has a light feel on its wheels, capable of easy pivot turns or log hops. Yet the reach to the ground for short guys or even average-sized riders can be a bit apprehensive. You do not sit in this bike like a Suzuki DR-Z400 or Yamaha WR. The seat is thin and built like a brick covered with sandpaper. It will introduce you to "monkeybutt," yet you can sit anywhere you want, because there's nothing to stop you like a fat tank or a bulging tailsec tion. Nothing hooks or grabs your boots or legs, either. And as exposed as the front frame rails appear, they don't seem to hit the ground lii ruts any more than anything else out there.
The brakes are super-strong and have great feel, and the beefed-up clutch never squeaks or slips, even in really tough going. But the cooling system is a bit "different." We never got it to boil during normal riding, and when we moto crossed it with a very aggressive (read: high-rpm) rider, it worked fine the whole moto. But when we got back to the pits and threw it on the stand, it steamed out a few ounces of coolant. The radiator likes a little air space inside, but we'd fab up a coolant-recovery bottle if hard stop-and-go riding was in the cards. And if you do get the engine really hot and stop, then go to restart it, the EFI takes a second to factor in the "radiated heat" at the engine-temperature and air-pressure sensors. As soon as the coolant gets flowing again, though, things smooth right out
Other interesting find ings included a loose swingarm-pivot bearing on the countershaft side that allowed a small amount of play. This, in turn, caused the frame to vibrate about twice as much as normal. We replaced the bearing and pivot and everything stayed tight.
Second, the headset has snug-fitting seals (remember, it used to be the airbox) and these drag a bit, giving the front end a steering damper-like feel until the frame warms up. Applying seal grease helped this a bunch.
Third, the gearing is a bit on the low side. First will pull stumps and fifth is way too buzzy on fireroads, even though there's a good gap from fourth, making top gear sort of an overdrive. We went down from a 50-tooth rear sprocket to a 48 and this helped, but we'd go even small er as there was still plenty of torque to pull first in the worst conditions and the gaps between gears weren't really gaps yet. At first, the shifting was a tad notchy, but the more time we got on the bike, the better it felt. It definitely breaks-in.
Finally, a serious issue is noise-and not just because our exhaust pipe cracked; it needs to be rubber-mounted. Though the exhaust note itself isn't obnoxious, the combined intake, exhaust and mechanical noise all make the bike quite loud while riding it or standing nearby. And while from a dis tance the Cannondale is no louder than any other competi tion-oriented Thumper, we feel that's too much for trail rid ing. But Cannondale is conmiitted to fixing things, so don't be surprised if these problems are rectified by the time you read this.
So, where does this leave the E440? Cannondale has improved its motorcycle by leaps and bounds over the previ ous model and is poised, with a few refinements, to have a top-flight, competition-ready bike straight off the showroom floor. The enduro's strong motor, thanks to the wonder of laptop tuning, possesses the ability to go from flame-thrower to trail-plonker with nothing more than a 45-second down load. Little doubt it should be able to meet California's strict green-sticker emissions requirements, as well. The bike makes no excuses in the suspension or handling departments, in a packed field of competition. And the retail price of $7495 isn't that far out there anymore.
You have to admire Cannondale's ambition and persever ance, because it's finally starting to pay off. No, the E440 isn't a Honda or a Yamaha just yet, but that's probably not what a Cannondale buyer wants in the first place. It is a bike with character, like an Aprilia or Bud!, Husaberg or VOR. It's very different, and at the same time, uniquely good
CANNONDALE E440
$7495
