Personally, I dont think they will.

Look at the past... Honda had the 250R, which is now the most popular fourwheeler for racing(mx, tt, Xc)... Yamaha and Suzuki tried to do one better when they came out with the Banshee and the 500 Quadracer. Honda did not answer, they just made the 250R.. After Yamaha and Suzuki came out with their answers to the 250R, the racing scene had to adapt with an Open class and limitations for the added cc's..
Then the 250R was cancelled. I am not 100% why, but maybe becuase of the 2 stroke emission issue... The Banshee is still being built and the 500 was axed after the '90 model year.
The 250R continued to dominate the racing scene even though it wasn't made anymore and just about every after-market company has parts for the 250 and you really dont need many stock parts to build a 250R... the Banshee is used alot, but not as much as the R and one dont usually see too many Quadracers at the track...
Then Honda came out with a new hi-performance quad and everyone was anxioous to get their hands on it, this was the 400EX. Pretty much the same frame geometery and suspension as the R but with a 4 stroke...
Now this was the top 4 stroke out at this time and most loved it... Following, Bombadier came out with the DS650 and Yamaha came out with Raptor. Both quads push the limits and had 600+ cc's..
Now we're in the same predicament that we were in back when the Banshee and the Quadracer came out. The racing levels now are set with a 440 cc limit for this year in AMA 4 stroke classes. They will have to create either a new 4 stroke limit or these higher cc quads will have to run the open class.
Most local races and some sanctioned races are letting them all run together as some did in the past, but I think history will repeat itself.

The 400 will get a few changes but I dont think they will come out with a quad similar to the others. The 400ex with its 260+/- cc difference and better suspension isn't far ebhind the others and some say that the 400ex is better on the track..
Who knows, Honda may only make the 400 fro a few years and then stop making it and let everyone scamper like they did with the 250R. This is probably they're way of making their product more popular and adds to sales for other and new models.

I could be wrong about this and this is only my opinion, but I dont see Honda coming out with a 650cc quad, only a few changes to the 400ex...

I will probably get tons of flames over this, but remember I am just stating my opinion......

 

I couldn't agree with you more. I do hope they come out with a big thumper, but i'm with you. Something to add to your post is that the 400ex sales haven't dropped that much since Yamaha and Bombardier came out with their thumpers. So why make a new quad? They could probably get alot of sales on it but it will take away from the sales of the 400ex. What does everyone else think?

I'd also like to add that Suzuki has been quiet for to long. I know there probably isn't as many Suzuki fans out their as there as Yamaha and Honda. But thier 4-stroke 400cc bike that their building will be something to recgon with. I'll just stick with my 400ex though.

 

i personally dont think honda has to answer to @#$#....ive driven the ds, and the all mighty raptor, even when deciding on my quad.....to me the 400 is still the better bike....just because those two have bigger motors dont meen jack.... however, i think honda will come out with something way downt the road just to shut those yamy's mouths.....

i think the new post should be......is yamaha still trying to find the answer to try to match the Hondas suspension.......

300ex compared to blaster and warrior.... winner is honda
400ex and 250r compared to banshee and raptor,,,,winner again is honda......dont make me get into 4x4's,haha...j/k.....anyway, just my 2 cents.....dont start a battle pleeeeeeeease..thanks

 

Yes, I would be interested to see Suzuki come out with something.

However, it would be nice if they started making the 500 again, but I dont see it happening. They were fun to ride, but not as nice as the Hondas.

 

I agree with you and I should have included that in the first post. Honda doesn't have to answer to anyone. They dominate in most aspects!

 

i think honda should come out with a 2 stroke 400 or 500r which would just beat anything else out there

 

Ya that would be nice! A 250R with a CR500 type engine in it!! That is what I am trying to build, but since the CR500 doesn't have a counter balancer, I will probably have to go with a LT500 engine from a Zuk!

 

I think they'll squeeze a few more ponies out of the 400EX and re-design the crankcase to fit in a reverse gear... and maybe add some aluminum to keep the weight the same... but other than that... what else do they have to do, to have the perfect quad anyway?

 

Honda doesn't have to answer to anybody.
They already built the best, did it for 4 years.
They aren't even looking back to see if anyone is gaining on them.

 

your analysis is exact, but I don't think you can copy/paste a situation 10 years later.
anyways, big bore or not, 2 stroke rules!