...Western MA, I can't really say that I see more of one brand than another out riding, there are alot of Honda's, Yamaha's and Polaris out here.

 

Again, I dont see the point of this post. Honda didnt make the bike you wanted so you went with a manafacturer that does!!! Perfect!!!

Fact is, Honda is making ATV's that the majority of people want, that is why they are #1 in sales. If the MASS of people wanted all the features that Polaris, AC, CanAm, Kawi.....bla bla bla offer, then one of those brands would be the leader in sales!!! Simple as that. Why make what everyone else is making when your already #1.

 

Not everyone likes a big huge ATV with a nice smooth ride......... some of us like the workout required to keep those nasty riding sport machines on the ground - some of us like to ride hard for 30 minutes, get sweaty and beat up, then do it again after a break......some of us like the nice light handling of smaller machines.......

I get a lot more beat up riding a 800 pound Polaris, trying to control any bucking beast at that weight is not only impossible it hurts when you try to manhandle it........ some of us would rather be "riders" and not "drivers" since that is what you are on a machine so heavy your body cannot possibly have ANY influence on where the machine goes and when should that "perfect ride" get hairy.....

Some of us would rather drive a Corvette over a Cadillac...... that is why we have choices.......

 

<span class="FTHighlightFont">Not everyone likes a big huge ATV with a nice smooth ride......... some of us like the workout required to keep those nasty riding sport machines on the ground - some of us like to ride hard for 30 minutes, get sweaty and beat up, then do it again after a break......some of us like the nice light handling of smaller machines....... </span ft>

Hello??? I have a 400EX for when I when I want go out & thrash. But when I want to tour a mountain trail I want a big machine w/ power.

<span class="FTHighlightFont">Again, I dont see the point of this post. Honda didnt make the bike you wanted so you went with a manafacturer that does!!! Perfect!!!

Fact is, Honda is making ATV's that the majority of people want, that is why they are #1 in sales. If the MASS of people wanted all the features that Polaris, AC, CanAm, Kawi.....bla bla bla offer, then one of those brands would be the leader in sales!!! Simple as that. Why make what everyone else is making when your already #1. </span ft>

Point of the post? I've been a loyal Honda rider since 1985, and I want my favorite brand to get some cajones, step up to the plate and compete and build a competent trail machine.

Fact is: Honda is just barely the overall leader in ATV sales. But in certain segments they're getting absolutely blown away. The Polaris Sportsman outsells the Rincon & Rubicon combined. Furthermore, why is every major brand building the larger ATV's (except Honda)? Obviously there is a market there. Quit making excuses for Honda's apathy.

 

Honda is getting blown away in segments that are not high volume. Again for them to build a big ATV they would have to sell a pissload to make it pay off, and there just are not that many people buying big ATV's for Honda to wrestle customers away from the 3 that already make huge ATV's (800cc +). The majority high volume sales are small to mid size ATV's.

 

Action 450S: where do you live? Not a loaded question. I just want to understand your perspective.

 

As far east in canada as you can get without getting wet. No high elevation, but lots and lots of deep peat bog. I understand that you would love to see honda build a kick *** big quad that hands the rest their ***, and to tell the truth so would I. My comments here are only to propose why they have not as of yet, and probably will not..at least not until the bigger bikes are more popular and sell higher numbers.

Its all about numbers, not the technology or the capability of honda to make a bigger bike. The large bike segment is still a small portion of all bikes sold in North America, the competition for that small piece of the pie is pretty tight (in terms of the volume a manafacturer needs to move - not what we see on the trail in our riding areas)