I started this thread on the old site, thought it would make for some good stories here. I want to hear about every bodys first quadracer. First owned, first ridden, first seen whatever! The first quadracer I ever saw was an 85 250, My parents bought an 84 Subaru and the dealer was also a Suzuki dealer It was the spring of 85 and I was 8. Every time we went there for sevice I just drooled on the new quadracers. My friend Geoff got and 86 250 when he was 12 I got an 86 230 quadsport. When I was Fourteen I FINALLY GOT A 90 250 WITH ALL THE LRD GOODIES, IT RIPPED!!! Sold it to my friend ryan many years ago, Just got it back last fall, including the title I signed when I was 14. It will soon be my Evil Hybrid
Got my 90 Zilla from his boss in 07 found the old site in 09 and know own 5 quadracers + other quads. Lets Hear about everybody else's first Quadracer.
The first quadzilla I ever saw was in 1988. I bought it and still have it. It went through several pipes, bills, Paul turner and then had CT do mild port, head, kehien PJ carb and CT pipe. I was happy with that for 20 years but its time for restoration. Went with complete bottom end rebuild, Q did top end, more aggressive dune port,Rxed carb, v2.0 pipe, v2 reeds and I treated myself to new PEP shocks. Just powder coated or chromed most everything for shine and I am replacing every bearing, seal, rebuilding all brakes, calipers, master cylinders, +3+1 stem and desert foam seat,lowered pegs.....Too bad my budget is shot so I am going to have to wait until next year for new plastic.
Now I just need to find time to put it all back together. I was riding my built raptor today. Other than the nice electric start it just doesnt compare to the power and stability of the zilla. Its fun to keep them alive and blow by most other quads on a 25 year old bike.
The first Zilla I ever rode was the one in my avatar. Owner Mike McGee rider of record and Charlie Lamson needed a rider for the '91 Baja 500 but I was already chasing/pitting another ATV. They called to ride the Nevada 500 later that year. First time riding one was the race quad in Ridgecrest the day before the Nevada 500. Rode the 'scenic' route tonopah to tonopah loop broke the rear shock spring, next pit greg row lends us his spare. We finished 2nd Class 25 3rd Overall ATV. Beating Greg, but losing to Doug Roll of Roll design on his banshee. Got asked to ride the next race the Baja 1000 if Mike finishes well he wins the Class 25 Championship. Prerunning in Baja with two bikes and one breaks down. I prerun alone down Diablo Dry Lake to Matomi Wash turn back north on Puertocitas Rd to north of the San Felipe airport runway. Looking for painted arrows on rocks & pink ribbon tied to shrubs for 6-7 hrs all by myself in a place I never been.... Yeah I got spooked a few times.
First week in November we're down there at contingency row pushing the Zilla thru downtown Ensenada to tech inspection. I see dirt bags Derek Nye, chat with him since he has connections to the magazines...which pays off. The race starts no problems I get on with two Prestone antifreeze bottles full of premixed race gas hooked to my butt pack with the radio in it in case of emergency. I ride to the bottom of Diablo Dry Lake pour in both bottles, my ass lighter by 4 gallons. Find out when I get to the next rider change at the San Felipe pit we are first overall ATV! Still gotta go thru the notorious San Felipe whoop section then over Mikes Sky Ranch to the west coast then up to Ensenada for the finish... 40 miles before the finish at Ojos Negros pit we are 4 minutes off the lead, but its cool all we needed was to get fourth in class to seal up the championship. Fog and poor conditions adds 17 minutes off the leaders finish. Mike locks up the year end points and is given some paltry amount of cash lol... I receive two trophys for two races on the Suzuki Roll C&J LT500. I get asked to race again but wasn't able to till the '93 Baja 1000.... That year it was punishing as you had to do two loops down to Matomi wash then back to Ensenada. Mike gets stuck in Laguna Salada mud next to Ricky Stator... After 6.5 hours the Zilla makes it to me I ride to zoo rd but the call is made to pack it in.... Derek sees me down there and no
**** my pic gets in the mag....ha!
I'm two out of three finishing the 1000
Sorry for the novel.
I bought my first quadracer a few months back, a 91. I drooled over them in 3&4 Wheel Action when I was a kid. I rode my first one when I was 18 and sadly a close friend was in a accident and paralized on that same 4wheeler. I've been thru a host of quads over the years but the quadracer always eluded me untill now.
I had seen my first quadracers at a local motorcycle shop in maryland when i was about 8 and always wanted one. But we lived in a not so good area with nowhere to ride so i had to wait til i was 14 and my father and i picked up a 90 lt250. Tons of problems but we got them worked out. I eventually sold it and made my way through 250rs banshees, etc. in 2005 i bought a yfz and really got back into riding again, but still had the itch for a suzuki, did research and hunting from 2010 to 2012, finally landing a very low hour bone stock 87 zilla. So pretty much come full circle from the exact year and make of the bike i drooled over when i was 8, to actually owning one.
First 250 I ever saw in person was my friend Casey's. He had been running an old 125 utility fourtrax to pull a small trailer around our neighborhood for years mowing grass. He bought a brand new 87 250, and we terrorised the edges of the CSX line by our houses. I had an 86 TRX 250r at the time. I rode the Zook a few times, but preferred my Honda at the time. First Zilla I ever saw in person was only 2 years ago, right after I bought my 86 250. My buddy Richard blew his zilla up, locked it up on a ride and wanted me to buy it for 900 bucks. I still haven't ridden a 500, I'm too busy constantly tinkering and breaking and fixing my RM/LT LOL.
My first quadracer was an lt80. Well, I don't know if that's considered a quadracer or not but my dad traded my uncle a blaster for it in 93 it was a 1991 lt80 and a 1993 blaster. My dad got 4 boasters off a rich guy that bought them for his family and didn't realize they were sport bikes with no electric start and no reverse my dad paid $6000 for all 4 with a trailer, they were literally 3 months old and 3 of them hadn't even been started. The lt80 was pretty built by my uncle not sure what all was done to it exactly but it kept up with my brothers bone stock blaster. So if the lt80 isn't a quadracer than my first quadracer would be the zilla I'm currently rebuilding. I loved my lt80 we all called it lil zilla, I've never really been obsessed with quadracers I always knew the 250r's were fast and had never seen a zilla in person until I test rode the one I'm rebuilding. I have to say coming from a banshee the low end torque had me addicted. I've been obsessed with this zilla ever since and spend way to much time online learning about them.
Found my actual very first quadracer tonight my son dug it outta my old hot wheels bin.
I have grown up looking at the same Zilla my dad had bought brand new. Its a 1990 and my dad rode it a handful of times. As I got older I really wanted a quad of my own and the old man would never go get one. When I was 10; right before I left for school and my dad had left for work, I went into our garage and managed to get the quad to fire up. I quickly opened the garage door and ripped up the rode, took it top speed, which to me felt like I was doing well over 100 mph lol, then hurried back and put everything the way I found it. All day long I could smell 2-stroke exhaust on my clothes and was loving it. Then the bus ride home I could still smell it worried my dad would be able to as well and when the bus pulled up out front of my house my heart sank cause there was my dad looking at the tread marks I had left coming up out of our driveway. I thought my life was over. He just looked at me and said, "I didn't think you were even heavy enough to kick the thing over." He allowed me to ride it, with his supervision a couple of times and then he bought me a Yamaha Blaster 2 weeks later. The LT sat around for years then was moved outside to rot, my dad gave me the LT last year and I have been doing a full restoration on it, this is what it currently looks like.
Randy, that quad is coming along.. Nice. I got sidetracked doing the restoration on my on my V max, riding it, and 4 wheeler trips so my zilla still sits in pieces. You guys are motivating me to put it together....Oh by the way, thats a dang nice headlight and chrome cage I see in that back storage bin. LOL--at least part of my zilla will be going for a ride soon.. I like that big pipe! IF I ever get mine together we will have to meet out at St Anthony or Little Sahara for some fun. m Which one is closer for you?--MIke
Distance don't bother me any I will go to either one. I used to live in St. Anthony I still have friends up that way.