a friend of mine has a new honda 450 and i want to race them. i need to make sure that they won't beat me. i am pretty sure that i can beat them off the line, rite? what about top end? neither are moded, except for my UNI air filter. NO NEED TO START A BASHING ON HERE!!!, just want some TRUE FACTS and opinions before i race them. thanks alot.

 

While on my Sportsman 500, I raced a Mojave 250 on a flat dirt road. It was dead even the whole way. I knew the Sportsman was no drag racer, but I was hoping it would do a little better than that. The Sportsman is too heavy to be a speed demon.

If you want to impress your Honda buddy, then take him on a trail that's littered with beach ball sized boulders. Once there, you can take advantage of your ground clearance and the front locker. While your buddy picking up the back of his quad to get his rear differential off the rocks, you'll be riding away.

 

WileyCoyote said it all.

i used to ride a SP500 on the rocky trails with my buddy on his Foreman. we swapped ATV's for a little while and i was astounded by the # of 'clunks' off the rocks. the Sportsman out-shines a Foreman big-time!

as 4 racing, BOTH ATVs are for UTILITY!....maybe you should compare a 400EX to a Predator.

-MT

 

Sportsman
- 11.8 inches of ground clearance
- disc brakes
- Smoother ride because of Idependant rear suspension
- True 4 wheel drive (all four wheels pull evenly together (locker) - Huge Advantage in the mud!
- Weighs 70 pounds more
- Much faster -Quicker acceration
- Available in automatic only
- Top Speed @60mph

Foreman
- 7 inches of ground clearance
- drum brakes
- Rougher ride - solid axel
- Limited slip front end (3X4)
- Weighs 70 pounds less
- Top speed @ 55mph
- Much slower
-Available in manual shift and electric shift

 

thanks for the response, i think i will still race them to see who has the faster quad, i guess i will hold the brake and press the throttle just a little bit to get the belt ready to fly off the line. i think once i jump off the line first, the honda won't be able to catch up, since i have higher top end, i think? Any other responses would be great if anyone else has any experiences on these things. thanks, PB500

 

Depending on the length of the race, I'd say the sportsman will win. Granted I've never raced one, actually I don't race much seeing as how I bought a UTILITY and not a SPORT bike. Most of my riding is on tangly trails and mud/bog where speed doesn't matter anyway.

The ride is rougher, but the forman will sit flat and handle better when you have to take turns at speed.

 

foreman 450es top speed is rev limited to 49mph unless they changed something this year

 

I have raced 3 different Honda 450's and beat each of them off the line and top end with my 00' sp 500. I have yet to race one with my 03' 500 HO but it beats my 00' hands down so I wouldn't be worried, I would even make a friendly bet [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img].

 

If your Sportsman is a HO, I would bet on it, all the way.

 

our magnum's top speed is about 60...it took probably 1/2 mile to get up to TOP speed...it will hit about 55 then slowly...I mean slowly...gain speed. I know it will out run a tb 250...lol