Just gotta say this is one of the best machines out there I believe. Bought one Valentines weekend for my girlfirend who is new to the atv world. This machine is awesome. In two weekends she is doing every thing and going everywhere. Hills, deep mud with stock tires, leafy off cambered hills, everything. The machine is so sure footed and handles so easily even in 4wd. Plenty of power in automatic and even more in esp. Starts in gear, has working brake lights, what more could anyone ask for. Great instrumentation. I am 6'3" tall and 180lbs. and its very comfortable to me. She is only 5'3" and around 120 and she has no problems handling this machine. Its so easy to ride she looks like a pro riding in only three weekend rides now totally less than 40 miles and eight hours of experience. I am impressed. Just wondered what your opinion is on this wonderful machine from Honda!

 

triplestrocker i have one, and i really like it too. 5600 kilometers and 280 hours. mine is all stock except for a winch and i'm always pulling out polarises from thr mud at snow that i just went through. haha. this one spot a polaris got stuck going forward so i drove right beside him and stopped, then backed up and got right out, he was so mad. haha. its a great machine...

 

I like the AT but two drawbacks- the suspension isnt all that great, all stiff but great for tight turns and the second is that the ground clearance is pretty low at 7 inches which I had been stuck going through 8 inches of snow. Other than that, great machine, nice bells and whistles with the esp and auto option. Wish it came with a IRS.

Quickhonda

 

quickhonda ure right, the suspension does suck, too stiff. ground clearance isnt bad where i ride.

 

What a great question...I just purchesed an '05 AT yesterday and rode it for 6 hours today at an OMV park in Missouri. I decided to go easy on it for the first three hours and then I put it to the test. It performed extreamly well. I just sold my '03 rancher ES 4x4 to a friend so that I could by the AT...what a good decision. The only thing the I was skeptical about was the power in AUTO mode. I have read in the forum that some users say that the machine lacks initial torque power. I did not find this a problem as I was easily able to accellerate up muddy hills WITHOUT losing any speed. Back to what I was saying about my riding today...I did get stuck once in a mud pit...I blame that on both the depth of the mud (up to the "honda" sticker on the tank) and the fact that the mud was so soft that the tires could not grip. The stock tires are "spin" tires so if you plan on mudding you may want to think about an upgrade here.

Another thing about the power of the 400 engine is that at times I felt a little like I was riding a sport bike. I was easily able to whi the back end around in a sand-like material.

I couldn't be happier with this machine...plenty of power plus all the extras

 

They get better with some miles put on them. I noticed a difference around 160-170 miles. The power starts to come on a little stronger.
I had my ECM changed(I bought the first one on the floor in 2003), that is when it really woke up. (For you guys who just bought one you do not need your ECM changed. You already have the new version.)
I put a Perfex Long Travel Suspesion kit on it too. It helps quite a bit. Smooths out those little bumps that previously annoyed me. It also raised it a little. Looks a little tougher like that.

 

12pointbuck,

What park did you go to in Missouri? I work in Missouri and some friends and I are going riding in March.

____________
2005 Honda Foreman 500 4x4
Ramsey 2500 winch

1994 Honda Fourtrax 300 4x4
25" Gators

 

Hey Yoda

GOt my CDI (ecm and clutch) replaced and noticed big difference! shifting gears is more smoother than the previous one. I bought it last summer. Also could you tell me more about the new perfex suspension? i believe the manufacturer is canadian?

Quickhonda

 

The perfex system is from a Canadian company. I bought mine from Honda Parts World. Like $80.00. 2 hours to install by myself. The front softens up alot. It simply changes the position of the shocks.
I was really thinking of buying a diff. quad before the ECM and Perfex system. Now, I'm keeping it for a while. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

 

can i have the website if available? i tried looking at www.perfexcanada.com but it is french, no english. also checked out www.motovan.ca and still nothing there.