Ill vote for the 600 2-stroke.. that sounds like fun ;-)

 

I heard a Honda rep tell a Suzuki rep that they were going to release a 550cc 4 cylinder 2 stroke engine! Plus Honda was going to kill all the tree huggers to get past the 2 stroke emissions problem!

 

Chris,
There are people waiting up to 8 deep in the Chicagoland area for Raptors. THAT is what upsets Honda. Local dealers are selling the 400ex's for $4895 now. A year ago, there were no deals on EX's. It's perceived product value has taken a major hit. Market wise, Honda needs a larger displacement, water-cooled, electric start quad WITH REVERSE to compete in this new segment. If I were buying a quad today, knowing that my racing days are over, I would buy a Raptor. It's worth the extra $1600 I would have pay over a 400ex. What Honda should do is bring out a 650ex with all the bells and whistles and update the 400ex with reverse. This isn't what I personally want, it just makes the most sense market wise.
And you keep trying to say that it won't be much faster [650ex vs400ex] You are SO wrong. I rode an XR650 today. I currently have a 93 WR500 and recently sold a 99 KTM300exc. It is much faster than either bike. As I posted before XR650 @ 49hp vs XR400 @ 30hp, That's alot of extra power. Plus the aftermarket has had a year to work on that engine which translates into a big headstart over the Raptor. This quad may or may not come out next Thursday, regardless, it's on the way.
Go put your money down today. If it doesn't come out, get your cash back. If it does and you don't like it I promise you can make a few hundred selling it to the next guy in line, ask the 2 guys in line behind me on the Raptor list.

 

I just had to answer this while everyone is sharing their "dreams" about honda's new quad. Why dont they just take a RVT racing street bike engine and put it into a laegers frame works shocks, reverse, electric start, chain driven and optional 4-wheel drive.