Ask the Editors: Where Have All the Sport Quads Gone?

What you’ve witnessed is the result of a combination of factors; some within our control as an industry but many outside of that. The early to mid 2000s birthed an incredible boom in sport/ performance quad interest. Started by the popularity of Honda’s 400EX in the late 90s, things got hot in a hurry. We had big bore performance options from Yamaha (Raptor 660R) and Can-Am (Bombardier DS650) shortly thereafter. Then Suzuki released the more complicated but ridiculously versatile Quadsport Z400 (a machine co-branded with Kawasaki and Arctic Cat) which proved to be game changer right out the gate.

Right around the same time our cousins in the 2-wheel industry were transitioning from 2-strokes to 4 and new race classes were being established. Once the moto scene settled on a displacement of 450cc for its premiere racing class, ATVs quickly followed suit. Before long we had 450s from each of the four major Japanese manufacturers, Polaris joined the fray, as did Can-Am. Austria’s KTM got on board. We even had a 450 from Hyosung/ United Motors! Factory race efforts and contingency returned. Things had never looked better for the sport/ performance ATV segment.

Then in 2008 the tide began to turn. Thanks to a recession (you may remember the housing boom that left banks with more property than they had returns on loans)- one of the first markets to feel the pinch was the sport ATV segment. By and large unless you were a racer, sport quads weren’t necessary investments so much as recreational purchases. Demand dropped and dealer stock sat idle.

As if this weren’t bad enough, the government decided to get involved with some pretty harsh regulatory antics, the likes of which caused Suzuki to decide to simply stop importing the Quadracer LTR-450 altogether. Factory support began to dwindle and one by one, each manufacturer began pulling the plug on production.

Now for 2016 Yamaha is the last company to manufacture a stock racing 450. There are rumors that Honda will release a brand new TRX450R for 2018 but to date nothing has been confirmed. However, this doesn’t mean all hope is lost. Take a look at our 2016 Sport ATV Buyer’s Guide here– while Yamaha is the last man standing, there are still brand new sport machines available at dealers.

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