You think the atv's are lacking. They stopped production of the Goldwings for a year and come out with more luggage space, more protection from the wind and weather and more suspension upgrades.

A whole year off and that's it???

 

Fact is Honda is number 1 in sales despite not having all these "must have" features. That tells me most of these "must have" features are a niche of sorts.

The numbers don't lie if honda was truely in danger of losing the number 1 sales spot they would release something to fill that void.

Those sales number reflect that the majority of people still prefer reliability over all other features offered.

I have owned all other major brands... and I ended up on a Honda again it wasnt the features or the arm pulling horse power. It was i can trust it to run day in and out with little to no maintenance. The trail riding I do I often trailer them a long ways I cannot afford to have my machine not working right after I get to the destination. I have had no where near the luck with the other brands as the hondas i have purchased.

Bottom line is that ATV riding is fun because it gets you outside and you get to hang out with all your buds.

Only my Hondas have made sure I can do that day after day.

 

unit- where are you getting your numbers that honda is #1 in atv sales- their web site ?
I'm not sure I would call the features that honda lacks (that comes standard on every other atv) a "niche"... would you but an automobile that still uses drum brakes, an 8-track radio and a 3 speed tranny? nope.

What you're basically saying is that you have no intrest in the basic advancements of atving- and as long as it runs and gets you out is all that matters... which is fine if that's all you want, but understand that's like saying you'd be fine driving a car that hasn't been updated in 15 years
As far as "reliability" goes- there's just no hard data to back that up. Maybe 15 years ago, but not today, especially since 2005.
I've owned 3 honda 4x4's- and all 3 of them left me stranded- both my rincons were low milage, unmodified atv's- both had tranny issues; slipping, hanging in gear and not shifting properly.
I've read where people have ruined their rincon 650 motors because of tranny failures- because the tranny shares the same oil as the motor!

Honda has plenty of TSB's and known issues (like any other atv)- Being a honda loyalist is great, but you can't deny the fact they are seriously behind the "standards" of atving when compared to every other atv in class. Just go to the dealer showroom and compare them...

 

Sun November 07, 2010
"Honda leads the overall ATV market, but Polaris is No. 1 in side-by-sides, with North American market share approaching 40 percent, according to James Hardiman, an analyst with Longbow Research in Independence, Ohio."

If I bought a new ATV today I would seriously consider a new Rubicon.

I thank God that back in 2001 when I bought mine that I did not settle for something less bacause it had more features than mine did.

I have riden a lot of new ATVs and I am still comfortable and confident with the one I have.

 

Honda has a large lineup between their sport quads and utility atv's-
They are inexpensive and plentiful, so if I read a statement indicating honda is #1 in sales- I would assume it's overall sales and not just sport utility atv sales. Honda is not selling more sport utilities then polaris or yamaha, maybe sport quads- I'd bet my rene on it. You can buy a new honda at 1/2 the price of a new can-am.

It's like when everyone was saying ford is the best truck because they are #1 in sales..... not really. Ford is #1 in sales because they sell one of the least expensive trucks and it's affordable. Quantity has nothing to do with quality.

I would buy another honda- after they step it up and stop being so stingy with their features. I actually think the new grizzly is way more comfortable then the sportsman-

 

If you were a Honda stock holder, would you just be satisfied to hear you're still number one in sales? Wouldn't you like to know that the percentage is on the decline? And why?

 

The best for who?

I would never say that Honda is the "best" ATV out there. I'm sure it's the best for a lot of people but not for everyone.

The more I have thought about it the shorter my list gets. Right now I would have to choose between 2 if I were to buy a new ATV today.

If you were a Honda stock holder I seriously doubt that you would even care how many sporty utility ATVs Honda sold.

 

I would. But then I guess I can see their logic. Let's not try to be too competitive.

The point was the #1 status they have is steadily being gained on. Why does the off road division of the company not have the same drive the auto division does? Just how well would they be doing selling cars based on technology that has been outdated?

 

Honda is the #1 motorcycle manufature in the world. 13.3% of Honda's sales for 2010 were motorcycles, ATVs and personal watercraft.

How much of that 13.3% do you think were sport utility ATVs?

What % of Polais' sales would you think is sport utility ATVs?

Who do you think is most reliant on the number of ATV sales??

I have no idea what motivates Honda but I do know they think differently than the others do.

For me and my riding style the only thing my ATV lacks is HP in deep snow and I'm not so sure more power is really worth the trade off "for me".

I'm sure it's the marketing department and not the engineering department. Honda had power sterring on the shelf for years before they finally put it on an ATV. I'll bet they have everything else too like lockers and OHC engines for TLC.

For what ever reason they just choose not to.

 

but there is a "best" when it comes to features on an atv- whether honda owners want to acknowledge it or not...

for example- a front diff that offers a locking feature is always better, 100% of the time, then a front diff that doesn't offer that feature- no matter what you ride or your riding style. Disk brakes are better then drum brakes- all of the time. They stop evenly, perform better under high stress and are not prone to trapping water and rusting out like a drum is. A 650 cc motor that's rated at 35hp is not as useful as a 650cc motor rated at 55hp- it's just not, no matter what you ride or how you ride it.

You can say that a honda rubicon meets your needs, that's fine... but you cant say that a honda rubicon has better features then say, a polaris 550xp- What are sport ute honda riders going to say in 2014 when they still have not incorperated a front locker- "they just didn't feel like making it"
Would you actually go out tomorrow and buy a new 2011 truck that came with 4 drum brakes, a 3sp tranny, a cassette player and manual locking hubs when it's sitting next to a new 2011 truck that has 4 disk brakes, a 6sp tranny, shift on the fly 4x4 and a dvd system for the same price... Both will NOT get you from point A to point B just the same-

Your logic that honda is #1 because of sales is like saying a ford escort is more reliable then a ferrari- since escort sales are higher?????


scoots 100% right- Forcasting the future sales and current / future market trends is very important- of course a stock holder would be interested to learn why polaris is leading in sales.

You'll see- honda will offer these features within the next few years or they will face the reality of losing customers to polaris or suzuki (seems like most honda fans go to the sportsman or king quad when they finally jump onto another atv )