Well said Moose, life to short to ride just one....[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-blush.gif[/img]
Where are your minds I was going to say brand. Next time 2012 I might buy a yamaha we'll have to see what looks interesting by then!!!![img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

 

I'd actually rather go with Yamaha, but they don't have a 2-up and don't have the onboard storage my quad's have. Yamaha is less than a mile from my house. Polaris is more like 10 miles. It would be more convenient if Yamaha comes out with a quad with the X2s features. Yes, I like the dump box/rear seat. I probably use the dump box more than the rear seat.

 

I'd really like to see Honda come out with a two-up machine. Not for me, but I think they would capture a lot of the market if they built it well.

I'd also like to see a bit more power for those who do choose larger machines, and either low range or a 5 speed (dual clutch would be OK) with a really low first gear.

I don't think Honda will ever come out with a really tall machine with wallowy suspension. On the Rincon it's evident that they spent some time getting the suspension's spring rates and damping right, so it floats over rough stuff, yet doesn't show the excessive body roll in fast sweepers or off camber stuff like some other IRS machines.


Interesting description of Honda's riding area. From some of their designs I would guess their testing area lacked a super-steep and long decent...

ReconRanger: Any idea how you got selected for this? I'd sure love to have the ear of whoever decides what new products Honda will develop...

 

2-Up Machines.......you and the wife can roll it togther, and both get killed. At least the kids will get twice the insurance, and be twice as rich!

 

Wow, Recon tell us how you really feel. I don't think your message was very clear[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

 

2 -ups are designed for two people and are much safer while riding with 2 than a reg quad. More dangerous to ride 2 on one that was designed for one. At least it's a legal way to get you and the wife killed. Insurance company would probably deny the claim alltogether if you were doing it illegal.

 

Yeah, having 2 people on a two up machine is a lot safer than riding double on a normal ATV, where the passenger's weight ends up pretty much over the rear axle.

Also, those longer wheelbase machines can go up some super steep stuff w/o the front wheels coming up.

I wouldn't buy one myself, but I've run into lots of couples who want to go riding together but the lady doesn't care to operate her own machine.

If Honda never offers one, they will just continue to buy Outlanders and other brands.

 

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: Turfguy

Wow, Recon tell us how you really feel. I don't think your message was very clear[img][/img]</end quote></div>

If I needed to carry a passenger, I would just get a side-by-side. If I needed a side-by-side, I would just get a Jeep or small truck.

What I don't like about a 2-up idea is the clunker factor. Utes are clunkey already, and you make the machine bigger and add the weight of a passenger, and well...I would rather be in something with a rollcage.

 

Gawd, Recon, I guess if YOU don't own one they're no good. Have you ever tried one? Clunky is pretty funny. I've ridden with my 350 lbs. and a passengers 200 lbs. without an issue. Again, you paint a broad picture. I've been on other quads and there wasn't one as stabile as my X2. And, again you are saying that anyone who rides one is going to roll and kill a passenger in the process. I've put about 1500 miles on mine. I rolled it on its side on one ride (without a passenger) down a trail that was not marked well and ended up being a motocross trail. It was on an off camber downhill turn where the lower rut was about a foot and a half below the uphill rut. I would have made it except for a steering error on my part that popped the front right tire on a 3" high rock that was the last little bit needed to go over. If I was 1/2" to the left I would have made it. Unstable vehicle. Not in the least. Bad trail that I should never have been on. Yes. Mind you, this is after rock covered trails, mud and snow hill climbs, up rock stair steps (some of them almost vertical and 3' high), through mudholes with submerged rocks about a foot high, over trees that had fallen down and were 15" off the ground, etc. If it was unstable and "clunky" I would think rollovers would be the norm instead of a rarity. Hmmm. I guess I'll have to buy a lightweight 4x4 that can't handle the industrial sized wood chipper when trucks can't get it up the slippery slope to the road or maybe a shorter quad that is a lot more likely to do an end over end going up the ungodly steep hills I've been up and down. NOT... To each his own. I'd pit a Polaris, CanAm, or Arctic Cat set up for two riders any day of the week against a regular quad going up and down steep hills. As JeffinTD said, my wife doesn't want to be the driver on a quad. She just wants to spend a day with me and enjoy one of my hobbies with me. I've seen the squat that a hundred pounds puts on a single rider machine. No thanks. They're not built for it. As for the side by sides, the only one that is legal in this area (50" gates) is the Polaris RZR. They didn't have it out when I bought the X2. I can't afford one now and probably wouldn't buy one anyhow. They are great machines but the waterholes I go through (even with a passenger) on my clunky machine are too deep for the RZR as far as the seat height goes. So, I guess I'm stuck with a clunky quad that can probably leave your 420 in the dust. Just a guess. Again, I hope Honda puts out something like the X2. I'd give it a good long look when it's time to purchase again. I'm not blind though. Honda has a long way to go.

 

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: MooseHenden

Gawd, Recon, I guess if YOU don't own one they're no good. Have you ever tried one? Clunky is pretty funny. I've ridden with my 350 lbs. and a passengers 200 lbs. without an issue. Again, you paint a broad picture. I've been on other quads and there wasn't one as stabile as my X2. And, again you are saying that anyone who rides one is going to roll and kill a passenger in the process. I've put about 1500 miles on mine. I rolled it on its side on one ride (without a passenger) down a trail that was not marked well and ended up being a motocross trail. It was on an off camber downhill turn where the lower rut was about a foot and a half below the uphill rut. I would have made it except for a steering error on my part that popped the front right tire on a 3" high rock that was the last little bit needed to go over. If I was 1/2" to the left I would have made it. Unstable vehicle. Not in the least. Bad trail that I should never have been on. Yes. Mind you, this is after rock covered trails, mud and snow hill climbs, up rock stair steps (some of them almost vertical and 3' high), through mudholes with submerged rocks about a foot high, over trees that had fallen down and were 15" off the ground, etc. If it was unstable and "clunky" I would think rollovers would be the norm instead of a rarity. Hmmm. I guess I'll have to buy a lightweight 4x4 that can't handle the industrial sized wood chipper when trucks can't get it up the slippery slope to the road or maybe a shorter quad that is a lot more likely to do an end over end going up the ungodly steep hills I've been up and down. NOT... To each his own. I'd pit a Polaris, CanAm, or Arctic Cat set up for two riders any day of the week against a regular quad going up and down steep hills. As JeffinTD said, my wife doesn't want to be the driver on a quad. She just wants to spend a day with me and enjoy one of my hobbies with me. I've seen the squat that a hundred pounds puts on a single rider machine. No thanks. They're not built for it. As for the side by sides, the only one that is legal in this area (50" gates) is the Polaris RZR. They didn't have it out when I bought the X2. I can't afford one now and probably wouldn't buy one anyhow. They are great machines but the waterholes I go through (even with a passenger) on my clunky machine are too deep for the RZR as far as the seat height goes. So, I guess I'm stuck with a clunky quad that can probably leave your 420 in the dust. Just a guess. Again, I hope Honda puts out something like the X2. I'd give it a good long look when it's time to purchase again. I'm not blind though. Honda has a long way to go.</end quote></div>

This thread is getting stupid!

Yes...I have several buddies who have 2-ups, and yes I have ridden them, and yes I am absolutely unimpressed! There is a point where making it bigger and heavier, just doesn't make any sense anymore....and we reached that point long ago.

We have a great system of woods trails in the local mountains! Even the guys who don't have 2-ups, fear to ride up there. I on the other hand, ride it like a motocross course! One Polaris rider, even commented that my Rancher was the "perfect trail quad". Another Polaris rider said I made the nasty technical stuff "look easy".

It will be interesting to see where design is 20 years from now. The pendulum in utility design has swung way to far in the huge/heavy direction, and I predict it will swing back the other way...to trimmed down very light, very agile machines. Kids will look at what is being ridden today, and laugh, just the way we laugh at the tank like cars that our grandfathers drove in the 60's.