Hello all... been away from here for quite a long time. Me, I haven't really ridden any to speak of in quite a while either. A back injury will do that for you. But anyways, on to the topic....

Anyways, I guess you could say I'm "old school" as my idea of a true "R" bike would be say an '89 250R. Since those days I haven't seen anything from Honda on 4 wheels with the R designation. But I'm sure there are some guys on here that can comment one way or the other.

Are these true "R" bikes?

Looking at them, they seem to 'look' the part... ect. Love the kick start... hate the hood and headlight arrangement. Dunno why they didn't stick with the old 400EX arrangement as that is about the best look ever.

Getting back on the performace subject though... do these RIP like an "R" and are the RELIABLE/LONG LASTING like the 250X/300EX?

 

i have got a 400ex, had it for over 4 years and love it. i was looking into the 450r's. the more i talked to people the more i didn't like it. nothing any one could tell me made me want the quad, all i wanted is more power out of my 400 with out ruining the reliablility, they say that the 450's rip and rip hard but u have to check the compression like ever 10 hrs or something like that and expect a rebuild after every 100 or so. for me the type of riding i do i don tneed that, haha i like riding not rebuilding every 4 or 5 months. they say that the hrc power up kit will lenghten rebuild periods and perf increases are worth the price it cost. i guess its just like the 250r with rebuilding, idk thow never had one, just more complicated. haha. as for the 250r an awsome motor, got to ride a hoped up one, wow, but the quadzilla 500, oh my i can't belive some one would EVER need that much power ha, okay mabe i could but dang, i never got out of 3rd gear. as for reliablility like a 300ex haha, actually honda would have its work cut out to match it. my 300 surpises me every time i ride it. best bang for you buck quad i have ever owned. bowz

 

Ugh.....

I was afraid of that. What happened to Honda 4 stroke bullet proof reliability? I guess it flys right out the window at some point?

Now keep in mind I have been inactive for some time.... But I was afraid of this because I didn't like what I was seeing some years back with the early 400EX machines. I loved everything about them for a woods ride... except the blue oil smoke I saw from a bunch of them out on the trails after some use.

Did Honda ever refine the 400EX to bulletproof status in the following years?

Me being old school, you know I piloted all the two stroke racers. The 250R, the Banshee, the Tecate 4, the LT250 QuadRacer, and the LT500 QuadZilla.... LOL .... all the screamers. Even the highly modified Blasters were fun but had pitiful breaks.

But at the same time, the 250X, Mojave 250, and Warrior 350 earned my respect the hard way in the woods. Slower, heavier and a lot less rippy... but they never needed anything. Just gas and go until time for an oil change, and nothing else but normal wear and tear like brakes and bearings.

A 4-stroke that needs rebuilding that often really defeats the purpose to me. But not to sound like a Honda basher, I'd also like to say.... This whole thing sorta sounds like what I saw happen when Suzuki got back into the sport segment. Boy did I ever want to badly run out and get an LT400. But I didn't and I was glad too. Some of my friends did, and ended up having issues with breaking the frames and so forth. I don't know if Suzuki addressed that or not. But that's why I don't already have a Suzuki 450.

 

The 450R does not require compression checks every 10 hours and rebuilds every 100 hours! Only if you don't do the recommended stuff, like changing the oil every 2-3 rides, and checking (and adjusting) the valves every year or so.

Of all the 450s the general opinion is that the YFZ, not the 450R, is the true 250R replacement. And there are guys pushing 300-400 hours on those motors without a rebuild.

 

Blue smoke???? Funny, I remember blue smoke coming from every 2-stroke I have ever seen, all the time! And, all those top end rebuilds on those 250R's.......what was that all about?????

Just for the record, I have an 00 400EX (that I bought in 99), and all that has ever been done to it has been replacement of the rear axle bearings (and that was largely my own fault because I rode it for several hours in a heavily silted desert flash flood!). The engine has never needed to be touched........the machine is absolutely bomb proof, and I would venture to say that it has all of 15,000 miles on it!

As for the 450, it's the king of long distance desert endurance racing, and that's all I really need to know! You know, jump on your quad and ride 1,000 miles non-stop. Without an oil change, a valve adjustment, or changing piston. And, all this in the most dusty conditions you can ever imagine (go rent Dust to Glory). In the long run though, this machine will do best in the hands of an enthusiast who is into redundant maintenance........

 

450r rebuild every 100 hrs? HAHA thats funny. They dont need rebuilt every 100hrs. They are just as reliable as any of the other hondas. They run like mad in the upper rpm range like a 2 stroke but lags a little on bottom. They like to be run hard. My neighbor traided his raptor for the 450 and said it was like night and day. There is a kid up the road from me that bought the 450r when it first came out and he beats the living crap out of it and has not had any problems at all. He runs it in the mud and everything. I hate to see him beat it so bad but I guess thats what kids do.

 

I have an '04 450R and yes, it is an R! It has earned the designation not only at Baja but also in XC and MX. Just look at the national standings!
I rebuilt my top end after TWO YEARS! Not because it needed it, but because I went to a 480 jug! The original piston and cylinder are still in great shape and I could reinstall them and continue using them if I so desired.
Kind of funny that the people that say in the posts that the 450R needs to be rebuilt every 100 hours, or less, are always people who don't own one. Just people who have "heard" that they need to be rebuilt that often.
I will also have to agree with Recon about the 400ex. I have a 2000 sitting in the garage and all it has ever needed is new axle bearings. Oh yeah, I do need to change the oil and gas it up too! The 400EX is bullet proof!

 

Well, thanks everyone... and if I may be honest here, let me say the following...

On the subject of the 450R, what I was told here in the first post by Bowz is also the word I have heard on these machines floating around locally and elsewhere.

The word I heard on the valves was that these things had a unique valve setup, which was cause for frequent attention for the valvetrain.

Likewise I also heard that they needed refreshing way too frequintly for a 4 stroke.

But you know... it is hard to know for sure unless you are getting your info from a very trustworthy source you have full confidence in. I thought about the fact that is engine is liquid cooled and a Honda too, so the shoe sorta didn't fit to me. But then I thought of the 400EX and decided I might ought to come here and ask the masses to see if I could better judge the info I've been getting.

Understand what I mean?

 

The 450 is a true "R" no doubt. The handling and such is a bit different, but it is a race oriented bike through and through. As with any higher performance engine, it DOES need more maintenance, both PM and rebuilds. you are never going to get the hours out of it like a 400EX is capable of, but that should be expected considering the perfomance gap that is also associated with the motor. If you want a new race quad and have to ride red, there is no shame in owning the 450r.

 

On the subject of ATV racing....

While I understand what is going on in that world somewhat helps with innovation and advancement in consumer quads.... And while I also understand that what is going on in that world strongly influences the reputation and therefore SALES.... I think others should think about that objectively also.

If you just look at sport quads from the inception, through the giant gap, and into today, I think you would see that the racing is more about advertising and sales than it is about anything else.

With that said, racing has NO INFLUENCE on my buying decisions. The reason being is that I have raced ATV's and DirtBikes in my younger days... and if one thing is certain, it's that almost nothing remains "production/stock" and unaltered on a racing machine.