Rooster, I did happen to purchase the first 400 AT the dealer received, but it hasn't changed. When I went to pick up my 500 Foreman this past November I walked down a line of about 15 Ranchers and Recons (including AT's) and almost every one had orange streaks running down the front of the rear fenders. Some of them even showing small amounts of bare metal beneath the welds. Because I am so finicky about this kind of stuff, it was the first thing I checked out on the Foreman. Even the little metal tabs that secure the brake cable to the rear suspension is different from the Ranchers to the Foreman as far as paint coverage is concerned.

Man, I can hear people all over the world saying "This guy is a nut."

Just a side-note, we here on the Honda forum hear so much about how behind Honda is on technology. I just prefer to think that Honda likes to perfect everything before being released. I can tell you that the disk brakes on the new Foreman have been worth the wait. Hopefully they'll have the rears perfected soon. I've had a Kodiak 450 and now the Polaris HO, both having disks. I'm here to tell you that the disk brakes on the Foreman are incredible. No wheel hop or fading no matter how hard you apply stopping power. Now if they would only put the blue plastic on the 4x4.

I keep adding stuff you guys aren't even asking about. It just keeps coming to mind.

 

what did you think about the engine braking on your 500 H.O

 

To be honest, I'm not really qualified to answer the engine breaking question. I live in flat land Florida where engine breaking isn't that critical. Where I hunt in Missouri only has a couple of small declines that might even test the EBS. I would never get to test it like you would in Utah or other hilly areas.

 

I saw a new 500s today at my local dealer,it will take some getting used to.:;[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]