While watching motocross one day a commercial came on and it was for Yamaha ATVs, at the end of the commercial it says, "Yamaha, reliability second to none.". I don't think that Yamaha makes the most reliable quads. It's been pretty well astablished that Honda is the manufacturer of the most reliable ATVs. Who are those Yamaha guys trying to fool?

 

Second to none.....what exactly does that mean anyway??

 

It means No one is better than yamaha when it comes to reliability....

 

Well, at its most conservative interpretation, it must mean Yamaha thinks they are now at least as reliable as Honda, or anyone else, and possibly more reliable. But you know how statistics are, the answer depends upon the statistician...hehehe

 

The Bombardier DS650 is the most reliable quad made yet. The Rotax motor is bullet proof and I don't see any reason why people would disagree other than "not knowing." The DS650 is obviously "over engineered" for reliability and even a Honda 400EX can't compare for reliability. The only people that are gonna disagree with me are the ignorant "brand loyalist's"..... Not all but MOST Honda people fit in this catagory..

 

We had a Blaster and a 300EX at the same time, and they got ridden by the same bunch of kids. They both saw a lot big of air time! The 300 is still going strong, years later. The Blaster had cracks on the swingarm, everwhere there was a weld!! Right now it is sitting in the garage with a broken frame!!

 

i currently have a 2001 400ex and my last quad was a 92 baster, the blaster was ridden hard and had few things wrong with it when i got it, after i put a couple hundred dollars into it, it was a great quad and it nver broke down, as or my 2001 400ex, it had the sh*t beat out of it for 2 years and everything is broke, im pretty satisfied with most of the quad (especially the subframe and rims) but te fasteners and engine seem pretty crappy, honda has a reputation for being good but i would much rather have a yamaha, im not brand loyal or anything but yamaha just seems to be better

 

IMO Yamaha reliability is a joke. I am needing another 1-way gear now....the last time I was in the shop picking up a 1-way gear another guy was there getting one for his Big Bear. I will be purchasing an LA designs 1 way soon.

 

3TV,
how can you put a bent tie rod on any ATVs reliabilty record?ATVs dont come from the factory with bent tie rods,they become bent as a direct result of the rider.

If I run into a wall with my Lexus 300 and smash up the front bumper,do I blame this accident on my front bumper?

I think NOT!

Bill

 

I've had the pleasure of owning alot of different off- road machines over the past few years and so far I've had good luck with all of them except for two of my Honda's. The first problem was a 1986 CR500. This thing was shiz! Enough said. The next problem came with my 250r. It is by far the most unreliable quad or off-road machine I've ever owned. It is always something with it. Mostly it has been my fault, i.e.- hole in top of piston due to lean condition, toasted clutch due to improperly adjusted cable. Some of you may be saying, "Well, if you can't maintain your machine properly that's not the machine's fault." True. However, my point is that the R is not at all forgiving. Were as I could run my 400ex all day with a smoltering hot engine, get off and kick it, **** on it, run it off a cliff, or drown it in a lake and it will still fire right up when I hit the magic button. So what am I trying to say? Everything is on a case by case bases. Just because my R seems to be very finicky doesn't meen that Honda's aren't reliable, it means that I need to pay attention to the maintenance of it. My Yamaha's were very reliable, but then again I have a buddy that probably thanks God every night that he bought the extended warranty for his Raptor.

JP