A "Red" friend of mine has been insisting that the new Honda 700XX is gonna be the end all sport machine. I am a Yamaha fan through and through so of course I'm biased but I just can't see that ugly thing (with IRS) being as powerful and as fun as a Raptor. I've never ridden a sport quad with IRS but wouldn't that make it heavier? And it might be better in rocks but in sand and on fast trails wouldn't the handling be less stable than a straight axle?

 

i have not rode one but as far as power goes it should be pretty close with the raptor.....
but the irs does make it heavier in fact they are saying that the700xx should be somewhere in the class with the renegade 800 due to its wiegh so its basicly like a heavier and bigger version of the outlaw irs so depending on what you are doing or where you are riding is where the honda can do better then the raptor
in my eyes there to tottally diff quads and honda really screwed up making there first big bore irs


also i agree with you the xx is one ugly SOB i wouldnt buy one over a raptor any day

 

I have to totally agree that I dont really know about how it will handle but I dont like riding IRS machines myself due to feeling like it will tip all the time. and the xx is very ugly.

 

i think the raptor will kill it in drag racing and overall duning. the 700xx will be more of a back east trail quad. maybe if they come with a stright axle version it will give the raptor a run for its money. there are alot more upgrades for the raptor right now to and meny more to come. i here rocket factory is coming out with a 907cc big bore stroker kit for it in the near future.

 

The 700XX weighs about 110 lbs more than a Raptor 700, so handling and acceleration are going to reflect that. It will be like having a passenger on your Raptor all the time. The Honda is likely aimed at trail riders, but it only has a 3 gallon gas tank, so maximum fuel range is only going to be 30 to 40 miles. Sounds like a poorly thought out idea to me, ... a trail ATV that you cannot go anywhere with.

 

the 700xx is 100lbs heavier (they say 508 lbs with fuel/oil) than the raptor. and same displacement so already its at a disadvantage. and its way way ugly...

 

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: DesertViper

The 700XX weighs about 110 lbs more than a Raptor 700, so handling and acceleration are going to reflect that. It will be like having a passenger on your Raptor all the time. The Honda is likely aimed at trail riders, but it only has a 3 gallon gas tank, so maximum fuel range is only going to be 30 to 40 miles. Sounds like a poorly thought out idea to me, ... a trail ATV that you cannot go anywhere with.</end quote></div>

The weight of the Raptor "wet" and fueled is about 425 so the difference between the two is about 83lbs which is still enough to be noticable, however.

How do you calculate the range to only be 30-40 miles? Range varies a lot depending on how fast you are going and the terrain you are riding. I've found that a day of really tight trail riding about 30-40 miles on my Raptor uses about 1/2 tank of gas. I'd use even less gas on logging roads or more open trails. The fuel injection seems to really help with the gas mileage on the Raptor and it probably will on the Honda as well.

I might have considered the Honda over the Raptor except for the price tag was $2000 more for the Honda at the time of purchase. Personally, I didn't think that just adding IRS was worth $2000. As I have found in the past with Hondas, the 700xx seems a little overpriced. Around here, Yamaha dealers will dicker with the price a lot more than Honda dealers.

 

I was reading an article about the 700xx and they said basically the same thing, too heavy to compete with the raptor, more suited to compete with the renegade 800.

 

yeah thats where i heard it to but i cant remember if it was "dirtwheels" or "quadmag" either way honda didnt make a very good entrance into the big bore world hopefully next years xx will be optional between IRS or S and mabe some shaved off wieght

why hasent any body said anything about comparing it to the kawi 700?
it has apretty nifty wieght to.