Yeah, the rumor mill over at Dirt Wheels is alive and well. Supposedly, they claim they have seen Honda working on a new 250 sport-utility. It's supposed to be very light, powerful and competitive with the other manufacturers. They even said faster and sportier than a lot of the bigger utility machines from Honda. Anyone else seen this yet in the July issue? It's in the "Over the Bars" section in the top-left corner.

 

I'm not going to hold my breath. I just read the article. - I always thought that it would be nice to have a 4x4 Recon for where I ride. If it could be light to maintain it's agile handling. That area is wide open since Yamaha stopped making the Timberwolf 250 4x4.

Now, I'd like to see something like a sport quad 4x4 with the 400ex motor. (WITH REVERSE)

I don't have anything to say about the 650R. I'm still worn out from all the gossip before the 450R came out.

 

there are several things that i wouldnt mind having in a new honda. over head cam 4 valve engine mounted inline with the driveshafts. simple engine with no electronics. probably kick or pull start, no battery. 6 speed tranny with a super low gear down from neutral, then 5 driving gears up from neutral. 2wd/4wd switch with locking front differental.

 

I need another 4X4, so I find this machine very interesting. I just hate the current trend toward huge, heavy ute machines. Nothing bigger than a Rancher for me! A lot of ute owners have never even ridden a sport bike, and have no idea how clunkey their big machines really are. Even the best "sport/utes" fall way short.

Hard to imagine what engine they would use, but look at the success of the 250 cc 4-stroke dirt bikes. They are milking ~35 hp out of these little things! One of these engines in a mid-size sport bike frame (replacement for the aging 300EX?), would be a sweet machine. Perhaps some engine technology will filter down to the ute market.

 

I like my Foreman but there are a couple things I miss. I miss being able to tip my quad up on it's rear rack without hurting my back. I also miss being able to just pick up my quad and move it out of a spot when it's stuck.

375 lb. 249cc (not just 229cc) 4x4 quad sounds nice to me. (with selectable 4x4) & (reverse)[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

It is easy to forget that you don't need the horsepower, if you don't have a bunch of weight to lug around. The technology exists to really lighten things up, trouble is that it costs $$$. Manufacturers (and the aftermarket), just keep adding features that weigh the machines down.

I have a friend who has a 700 lb. Polaris. That's 200 lbs. heavier than a Rancher, and a whopping 300 lbs. heavier than the excellent little Recon.

 

you dont mind a heavy quad untill you get stuck. sure its nice to have all the bells and whistles, but when your sinking in the mud its nice to have something under 300lbs. I know this from expierence. i've stuck the foreman ES many many times, each time taking up to two hours to unstick it. Recently i got my 200s, and i realized how nice it is to have a light weight. jsut make a very powerfull sporty machine with 4wd and give it some options. make racks that are easily removable, and all sorts of other things that arnt required to make the machine run. i love my little 200s jsut because its soo simple and light and has jsut as much get-up and go as the foreman. i jsut want an all out fast trail machine that can still pull a car up a snowy hill. i dont know why people complain soo much about machiens that are not electric start. my 200s almost always starts on the frist pull without the de-comp cable, even after it has just been rolled or submerged. anyhow, it would be nice if honda came up with something small and powerfull.

 

i would like to know where you got the july issue of dirtwheels whe only the june just came out. or do you mean last july?untill that new 250 comes out. long live the mojave!

 

I had a 87' or 88' suzi 125 2x4 dont think because it is 2 wd it wouldnd go through mud it only weighs in the upper 200s if that. Still runs just not good if it got stuck pick up the front move it over then do the same with the back, simple.

 

My July 2004 issue came a few days ago.[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]