i didn't ride the 450 w/ 7gears but i did actually ride the 400ex and it did have 6 gears, I thought I was just imagining things and I counted like 4 different times and it definitely had 6

I think it would be nice to have a 6 speed in the 450r only for riding high speeds... I dont think you could hit the rev limited in a 6th gear unless it was geared right but I can tell you for those long straight roads where you are 5th gear pinned, a 6th gear would be nice to drop the rpms and keep up the speed..... I will say who ever said a 400ex had a six speed has lost it . you cant just switch out the trans... I( know the 86 87 200x ATC had a 6 speed.

Could be worse, I see some of the 450 bikes only get 4 gears! twentycharacters, I can't explain the Warrior, but the 2 strokes benefit from the 6 speeds more than the higher torque 4s do. It is kind of nice to not having to row a gearbox once in a while, the 450s give you more latitude to pull a gear higher than the old school pipey 2 strokes. I would still like a 6 speed to, but only if they lowered 1st thru 5th a bit, then made 6th a bit higher than the old 5th.

im pretty sure its a no but was there ever a xr400 with a 6 speed? and someone took the engine out of the bike and threw it into a 400ex?

Dude that's why you drop a few teeth on the front sprocket, 6 gears would be realy nice actually, this is why,

2 strokes have no power down low have awesome power up top, w/ 6 six gears, you can always stay in the perfect gear so you never have to drop out of your powerband, you just need to work the clutch more

6 gears on a 450? alright, modify it to lose power down low and place that power on top, let it act more like a two stroke, make the 450's even higher revving engines, you basically have a 450 2 stroke that doesnt foul a lot of plugs but goes through a lot of clutches

450s already have high enough rpms to sustain your 6 speed theory. a six speed tranny would take nothing away from a 450's performance down low - (you wont be using 6th as a low gear anyway); it wil actually enhance the usability of the engine. though they have some and some have more than others, the 450s are not know for being torque monsters to begin with. take the 450R for example, first is too tall and fifth is not tall enough. so, ok, i mess with my sprockets- now i make the final drive ratio for all gears suffer b/c i either want more top speed in fifth or a little lower first gear (depending how i approach adding or losing teeth).

if the tranny was correct for the begining and had a 6 speed this would not be necessary for most people (some may taylor it still); ratios would have been designed to make maximum use of the engine's power, like in the past and the final ratio would not have to suffer if i wanted a lower first gear or not - it would already be there...along with more optimal upper gears... i dont think you would burn any clutches by having a proper gear - you usually slip it when you are not in the right gear...

The Highland 450 is a 6 speed transmission, which I really think will be nice coupled with a 450 engine.

I think they all need too be 6 speed so open country guys have the extra gear, and woods guys can drop the gearing down where they have a lower gear ratio, and still have regular 5th gear speed. I agree with the other guy. My KFX 450R needs this...

I don't know if the Highland will ever make it to market though or survive.
It's a race bred quad, supposed to have like 70hp, race ready equipment, etc...
So it is going to be expensive....

They picked up the rights on the Cannondale frame, modified it, suspended it well, did the C'dale 250R conversion plastics and put in their mean azz Highland 450cc engine... EFI, dual exhaust, etc...

6 gears...5 forward 1 reverse = 6 lol....yea man u been bamboozled