I don't know enough about the Asian atv timeline- but from what I can remember growing up, and still to this day, the American / North American atv seemed more in tune to what riders want, in terms of CC's & features. The Suzuki KQ was without doubt a leader in innovation- hell, who else offered a 15 speed 300 cc 4x4! Their one piece engine / tranny / differential (no drive shaft) 2001 KQ is a bullet proof tank- and I think they were also the first to offer a front locking diff (?)

I believe Polaris, can-am & Arctic Cat have been making twin cylinder cvt driven motors far longer then Kawasaki- These 3 manufactures have been making recreational twin cylinder sled & boat motors for decades.

And good luck finding any honda other then the rincon with an IRS- or any asian atv under 500cc with an IRS- Both Can-Am & Polaris make smaller atv's with IRS (300-400cc) Like the Polaris 300cc Hawkeye with IRS or the Outlander 400- It's almost like if you go smaller with an asian model, you sacrifice a lot of features, but that's not the case with Polaris or Can-Am. The IRS, locking diff, digital dash & disk brakes follow to the smaller BRP's & Popo's.

Case in point- Compare the 2001 Polaris SP400 to the 2001 Honda 350FW 4x4- One of them has disk brakes, IRS, true 4x4, a full auto trany and is liquid cooled- the other has a solid axle, front & rear drum brakes, a 5 speed toe shifter, is full time 4x4 (3x4) and air cooled-

Can you match which is which???

 

Whoa this thread is out of hand glad I could help.. After careful thought and reflection I have come to this. CVT is still kinda poopy for me.. The Rincon suited me the best after owning and trying many other quads including big mama jama HP monster Vtwin ATVS. My trails here are beautiful to be honest I hate slow muddy rocky horsefly infested trails. My little 39 HP rincon flys on this stuff and no overheating or my legs roasting on a hot day. SPecta is right on the money with his cadilac hauling bricks analogy this machine loves and I mean LOVES being ridden like a raped ape on trails that I would consider groomed like where I live. I hold this thing to the bar for 6 hours and it just loves me back.. You known what happened to my brute with the same riding??? Welp it had to be fixed alot.. and I mean alot! Thing almost bankrupted me LOL thought I would never wheel again hahaha LOL so funny but OMG. I agree with the tires being the a huge factor In ruining the trails the monster spinning power doesnt help either I am friends with the local trail master and I think if he sees another person with mudzillas he might shoot them. The club here is actually trying to get a certain tread depth banned from all trails here in central maine. OMG before I forget I almost T-boned a moose doing like 50 the other day my head almost slapped its man parts!!!!!

 

I rode all day with a guy on a 680 Rincon on a 50 mile trail and gravel road run, I found the ATV similar,in speed,suspension and ride. I give the Rincon a slight edge in speed,but it has no low range and true AWD which showed it face on some nasty slow sections.

The thing is the two ATV should not even be similar,the Rincon is Honda's flagship big bore bad boy,and mine is a far from Polaris's top of the line model, Theres a SP600,700,800 and 850 now.

Honda cant stand still,its going to hurt them.

 

I believe Polaris, can-am & Arctic Cat have been making twin cylinder cvt driven motors far longer then Kawasaki- These 3 manufactures have been making recreational twin cylinder sled & boat motors for decades.

For this point I was only refer to a actual V-Twin motor!

And good luck finding any honda other then the rincon with an IRS- or any asian atv under 500cc with an IRS- Both Can-Am & Polaris make smaller atv's with IRS (300-400cc) Like the Polaris 300cc Hawkeye with IRS or the Outlander 400- It's almost like if you go smaller with an asian model, you sacrifice a lot of features, but that's not the case with Polaris or Can-Am. The IRS, locking diff, digital dash & disk brakes follow to the smaller BRP's & Popo's.

Wow this statement could not be farther from the truth, all three major Asian MFG have IRS quads under 500 CC's starting with on of the biggest sold In the Grizzly 450 and dont forget about the Grizz 400 or 350. Honda has there 420 Rancher AT and Suzuki has there KQ500 and 450 AXI units.

Case in point- Compare the 2001 Polaris SP400 to the 2001 Honda 350FW 4x4- One of them has disk brakes, IRS, true 4x4, a full auto trany and is liquid cooled- the other has a solid axle, front & rear drum brakes, a 5 speed toe shifter, is full time 4x4 (3x4) and air cooled-

Can you match which is which??? [/quote] You are right the older Hondas did not mach up very well but a better mach would be the the Sp400 vs the Grizz 450 with a Full IRS and locking front diff and low range.

 

I completly forgot about the smaller grizz- I kept thinking about the big bear or what ever it was called with the solid axle-

 

What I see doing the most trail damage is the idiots, all ages.

#1 sport quads, I hate sport quads
#2 big bores and RZRs.

Out west I have no doubt that we have different trails conditions and riders but this is what I see almost everyday.

Mix in a few Budwisers and we have trail damage and garbage.

I guess in all reality its not the ATVs but a lot of the folks who buy them. After all guns don't kill people.

For me and where I ride the only time I would like more hp is in the winter in deep snow and a 750 KQ would be my choice.

 

For me I would take a 350 ES over a Sportsman 400 any day of the week, had a Rancher and loved it. Good at everything but not the best at anything.

The 400 is under powered and again the old style CVT that Polaris used/uses is THE worst in the industry, period.

The so called engine braking is pathetic. You start descending a steep hill and it disengages, freewheels and gains speed and you have to give it throttle to re-engage it and then it locks up the rear wheel, as far as I'm concerned they’re death traps.

Re-shocking a SRA makes all the difference in the world in ride quality. I've ridden trails that crossed side hills and watched an AC 500 roll on its side due to it's high center of gravity.

I will take a low center of gravity SRA over a large heavy IRS ATV any day of the week, but that's what I want for the places that I ride.

 

You would not make it very far down these trails with a sra- You'd spend more time on your feet lifting your rear end off of stumps & rocks then you would sitting on your atv- Been there / done that-
My honda 350fw didn't have the muscle to get me out of many mud pits, and the axle was always hitting the swamp stumps and rocks. Most of the trails around here are covered with stumps & boulders.

But I do agree- i hate sport quads (or any atv with an obnoxious loud exhaust)

 

You guys should not hate Sport quads themselves as much as hating the rider. That is like saying I hate guns cause they kill people. JMO

 

You're right- I mostly hate the loud pipes they put on- the noise pollution is the biggest complaint around here- if people didn't have to listen to them, we would all benefit.

The other reason I'm not thrilled about the sport quads is they ride the same trails as we (4x4's) ride, but because they don't have 4x4, they constantly wind out their tires trying to get traction and create ruts, holes and dig up roots everywhere.

Even the cops around here will (I was personally told by a cop) do everything they can to grab a sport quad and impound it- but said they don't really bother so much with the utilities because 9 times out of 10- utility owners stop and talk to the police instead of running… and believe me, I’d have no problem on my outty 800.

They are good for motocross tracks and indoor arenas- not good for the trails. Just my