The Cannondale X440 was the swansong of Cannondale motorcycles, a subsidiary of the well-known American bicycling company. In the late 90s, Cannondale tried to move into motorsports, with an off-road bike and an ATV. Long story short, it was a disaster. $80 million later, the company declared bankruptcy, having left behind an interesting story of what happens when you can’t live up to the hype. The X440 and X400 were spec’d with premium components, like Ohlins forks and rear shock, Magura controls, and Fuel Injection. The company said all the right things when developing the bike – Dirt Rider magazine even named it the bike of the year two years before it was released! Unfortunately, things did not work out as one might hoped. Want to learn more about why this bike flopped? PulpMX has an interesting read on the X400 as part of a “Worst Bikes Ever” article. Find it here. Find this piece of history for sale with bidding up to $3,500 in Labelle, Florida
