When I bought my new 700 Grizzly some friends of mine are die hard Honda "Quality" fans. I made 3 trips to the local Honda-Yamaha dealer and rode all the good used stuff they had to see what the wheeler would be like in a couple of years. Rincons, Grizzlys, Kodiaks, Ranchers, Foremans. Every time I was there someone was unloading another quality Honda for repair. I don't think Hondas are bad, I just don't see why they have the cult following. After all if Yamaha or Suzuki were still making 1995 Kodiaks and what ever Suzuki made 15 years ago I'm sure their quality would be extremely high as well. With 15 years of refining a solid rear axle unit with no suspension travel and an air cooled engine Honda better have excellent quality or why else would we pay a premium price for a 15 year old chassis. Maybe someone could explain to me why Honda has such a high perceived quality yet they still have so many problems.

 

i don't feel it's right for you to come into this forum and bash another brand. if you don't like something just keep it to yourself rather than saying there things suck?

 

I've owned all brands and Honda has always had the reputatation for quality and it showed. Lately I think they have slipped a little bit (MX bikes) and do not offer all the class leading features like they once did. I belive they are coasting a bit in the ATV marketplace but still do good buisness because of their name and more importantly, they do not build junk. That said, you'd be hard pressed to buy a POS from one of the big 6 unless you buy an offbrand from China, Taiwan, etc.

 

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>i don't feel it's right for you to come into this forum and bash another brand. if you don't like something just keep it to yourself rather than saying there things suck? </end quote></div>
Aaaaa where did he say Honda's suck?

Anyway, here is my take on this.

Way, way back when, when Honda first came out about the only thing you could get was a Harley, BSA, Norton, Indian ect ect.
If the build quality of a Harley was a 6 a Honda was a 10. Look at the castings of 60's motorcycles. Tell me who made the best casting? People found out if you wanted to ride and not work on your bike you buy a Honda. Honda was FIRST to come out with superior quality.

When Yammie and the Zuks came out they had a lot of learnig to do to catch up to Honda. They cought up, but Honda was the FIRST with quality. That is the name people remember.

Flash foward to the 2000's and newer. Most new quads had disk brakes and lockers, and, and, and..............Not Honda...........they did not have to...........they were Honda............the FIRST to build quality.........and people remember that name.

When Honda looses enough market share they will have to step up to the plate and offer something cool.

Until that time, Honda will just kick back and make money. Why? Because Honda was FIRST to build quality and that is what people remember.

 

Honda has put faith in contracted parts manufacturers that have let them down with their poor quality.

Also, consumers lack of maintainance will kill a quad.

If you would see what I see working for a dealer, you would understand also what people put these units through. There are more quads out there that have not needed repair than there are that do. They are capable of doing tasks that 1/2 ton pick-ups were doing a few decades ago. At a cheaper price. Since utility quads are one of the largest markets out there, you will see more units in for repair, naturally.

On the average, the majority of units through our shop is for normal maintanance

Many posts on here revolve around DIY repairs. People trying to save a buck instead of paying high labor costs charged at dealerships. Technology has surpassed the backyard mechanic. To work on these units and not cause any more damage than already done, they seek good advise that can be found by many of the forum members, here. There is a lot of smart people who hang out here.

----- Gimp -----

 

I want to say thanks for the answers, except for that Polaris rider. A bit insecure I'd say. I like most consumers are guided by advertizing and was looking for a good used ride. The Hondas held too much value priced themselves out of contention. I bought an old 97 Kodiak. after riding if for a while the constant shifting was wearing me out so I wanted an automatic or belt drive. I must have to much time on my hands as I started looking at web sites like this one and others. I started looking for a Rincon or Rubicon. After the pricing shock I checked around for other brands and ride quality is what drew me to the Yamaha. My local dealer had a 2005 Rincon for $5,000 with 11K miles and a 04 Grizzly 660 with 3K miles for $4,400. I had sent for the Grizzly DVD from Yamaha so they talked me into getting a 700. But the price was still too high so the 660 looked like it was moving to my house. The local dealer had a used 700 that they sold new 6 weeks eariler and the price was still higher than I wanted to pay. Still looking at a 06 left over Foreman ES but I knew if I didn't get what I wanted, I be buying again and spending money again. I'm a firm beliver everything breaks. I just wanted to know why every person and dealer talked about Honda quality. Even as they were draging a Rancher 350 off of a pickup with a broke rear swing arm. The dealer told me they weld a lot of swing arms.

 

I have had around 10 atv's in the past 11 years for my wife and I all honda's I have only had one atv with problems I believe I got a lemon because my brother got one the same day and had no broblems and still has it i had nothing but problems with the trany so my dealer gave me a option to trade in my 2003 rubicon and get a 2005 rubicon and he made it right on the trade to make it right. But I have ran the others hard and no problems but I try to keep up on the up keep the best I can I will admit I am harder on my atv then most people are. I ride with a lot of makes and models they all have there ups and down's if I could take all the goods out of all brands there would be a little I would take out of them all. this is just my .02

 

You're going to see some Hondas with problems, it's simple math, they sell more ATVs than anyone. When I go to the trails I'm constantly seeing Hondas, mostly ranchers and Foremans and some Rinnys.

 

The ranchers were one of the best things honda came out with a few years ago they were a great price for 4x4 and would go almost any were I now people that still have them from when they first came out.

 

I had 3 different Honda 3-wheelers growing up. Those were virtually indestructible. We all remember Honda "quality" from them. Now fast forward 20 years. Honda makes good atv's but I believe they have let their following down with not keeping up! Forget the marketing hype on the 800+ plus class. Most buyers are in the 400-500 cc range. I wanted a machine with auto, IRS, true low range for hunting, sport trail riding, hill climbs, mudd holes, and giving the kids rides. I'm your average ATV buyer. The rancher, rubicon, & foreman are solid machines. But dollar for dollar take a good look at the competition, they offer more in this class. They had to "one-up" Honda to get people to look at their atv's. It took a lot to get me to switch. I hope when the 2008 utility line-up comes out, they make changes.