Reconranger, I like your thinking. Years ago when I quit racing, I was very very close to taking the engine out of my '95 XR650L dual sport and having a frame built for it from Laeger. The quad was an '87 Fourtrax 250R, full national LRD kit, every option available, set up for Motocross. Basically a Pro-Caliber bike...not that I was a pro or anything. The only thing it needed was the aftermarket frame, it had Laeger A-arms, Swingarm, Ohlins all the way around. I figured go ahead, pay the $2,500 or whatever the going rate was at that time for a custom Laeger frame, and have the baddest trail quad around. I wish I would have done that...we ended up selling the quad for $4,500. What I didn't know was that a year and a half later I was going to pay over $6,000 for a new 400EX. Back when I got my 400, they were order only basis(Late '98, early '99). I ended up paying just under $7,000 by the time they tacked on all their misc. charges, and stuff. Man, I wish I had that Laeger 650 today!
All that aside, I guess if I could pick one model and one model only, I would have to go for the 450. Realistically, on all but the widest, most wide open trails, the 450 will be able to keep up with the big bores just fine...but with less weight and better handling characteristics.
I remember the night I stayed up to here about Hondas new quad(250EX), I was bummed out...TO SAY THE LEAST.

 

how many cocktails did you have before this one?

 

14, for what it is worth, I agree with you. Honda has once again done what they are famous for. Build a bike just to get by and have their customers by it just because it is a honda even if it isn't what they really want. How many people contemplated the air-cooling of the 400ex, but bought one anyway? Honda could sell lightbulbs to the blind! Everyone complains about the 400ex, but they still sell A LOT of them. Lets compare:

Did honda ever release a two-stroke screaming street bike to the public? Yamaha, suzuki, and kawi all had their twins and triples. They were the talk of all of the magazines and still the talk of riders from that era.

What is honda's biggest crotch-rocket? Its a 954. Yamaha has the 1000cc R-1, Suzuki has the GSX1000 as well as the 1300cc 'Busa, Kawi has the 1100 ninja.

Who was the first to leave the two-stroke atv market? Honda left in 89, suzuki in 92, yamaha is still going. Kawi might have been the first (88? I can't remember) but they couldn't sell their ill-handling bike so it is understandable. Honda sold every 250R they could produce, but pulled it and left the sport market to eagerly rush out to buy a detuned, underpowered 250x. Which by the way, wasn't made in 89 or 90. So basically honda pulled their entire sport atv market for those two years.

I am not really up on the utitlity atv market, but I am sure honda's 500cc rubicon is the biggest they offer. Lets see, kawi has the 650, yamaha has the 660, polaris has the 700...

Do you see a pattern here? Remember, history repeats itself. Honda will continue to do this, all the while selling people on their "reliability". "Reliability", what a loaded word. Basically it is what Honda buyers use to justify their purchase.

By the way, 14's comment was aimed towards the 250ex which honda planned as the replacement for the 300ex. The 300 is manual clutch, 5 speed, chain drive, all the things that are needed in a sport quad. The 250ex is auto clutch and shaft driven.

 

good luck guy's ,i will buy a honda if they come out with a big bore or a 500..that would be sweet..

 

they have the 650 Rincon, one of the best utility atv's ever, NOW W/ GPS!!

 

Right now Servoce Honda is making a new quad...they are bringing back the 250rs.. Check them out www.servicehonda.com

 

as far as Honda crotch rockets go they have the RC51 which is either 999cc's or 1000cc's and they still list the CBR1100 for whatever that's worth. Not like it's helping us ATVers.

 

Servicehonda is just a place that snags 250r engines and 400ex frames and matches them up, they arent with honda, but just another type of honda dealer, giving the customers what they like, so to speak. and i think that your idea about honda making more than one sportquad is accurate swiftballs400ex, thats what i think theyre doing to.

 

I gave up on Honda in 02, I held on to my 250R for an extra couple of years (it cost me a new ported cyl, 2 pistons, a hole in the case & 2 tranny rebuilds!! It was a great quad but a 16 year old quad requires a lot of upkeep) because my dealer said that honda would come out with a new 4 stroke, I waited on the Raptor in 01 (thank goodness I got the 02!!) because they said the XR650 was coming out in a quad, when he said the same thing in 02 I waited till after the dealer show (& all they had was exciting new graphics!!) & got the Raptor & haven't looked back.

If it comes out this year or not it's too late, I love my Raptor & wouldn't trade it for a YFZ let alone for a Honda that might (or more likely) might not be on the way!! JMO

 

Heres my Question. How many times since 1988 did Dirtwheels hint at a new earthshattering Honda race quad from reliable sources. I gave up on Honda back in 1995 how many years have you guys been waiting?