I'm not looking to start a flame war but I think I have a valid complaint. Why doesn't Honda produce a good high performance quad? The 400ex is a great quad but it is confused. It has excellent handling and suspension but it is outfitted with an air cooled motor and electric start. That doesn't add up to a high performance quad. Then the 400ex isn't a sport quad in the traditional sense because it doesn't offer reverse gear. Why is it so hard for Honda to come out with something that is truly high performance? Yamaha, Bombardier, and Cannondale have figured it out, why can't Honda? I wish I could go back in time to '87 where a guy had the choice of all kinds of no holds barred high performance quads.

 

If you compare the MX bikes of 87 to the hi po quads of 87 you will see that they were not necessarily race bikes stock. Today if you go to an atv national I am pretty sure there isnt a pro rider who doesnt have an aftermarket frame and suspension. However, to get a modern MXer up to par all you need is some shock revalving, pipe, porting, and a few other bolt ons.

There is a chance that Cannondale has produced a race quad. However, the jury is still out and I have never even seen on of their quads.

Since you discredited the 400EX based on electric start and air cooled. I would like to discredit the Bombardier based on the fact that it needs a diet and that I doubt there are really that many at any national race events. Unless you count SCORE.

The Raptor on the other hand seems pretty sweet. However, just like Honda could have done better with the 400EX; Yamaha could have done better with the Raptor. For starters if they wanted to do the hi po community a favor they would have made a 400 4 stroke quad, and not an extreme big bore. However, they didnt want to compete directly with Honda so they made the 660 Raptor. I am not saying that the Raptor cant compete with the Honda, but I am saying they wanted to offer an option to the Honda that was like the 400EX, but not close enough so it would be a choice between Yamaha and Honda.

Adam Smith

99 400EX

 

The 400EX isn't a real sport quad? It isn't a racer? You need to go to all the different types of ATV racing and let all those ignorant wanna-be racers know this vital information so they can go get a real quad.

 

Going by the reasons you stated, I don't think ANYONE makes sport quads. Raptor has electric start(disqualified), so does the DS650(disqualified), wait... the Mojave is kickstart!

 

I got you 80sguy. I see the date of your post. You had me for a second though.

 

I know honda can and they have shown they can with the legendary 250r. I think they just don't want to.

 

Basically I am disappointed with Honda's offering in the high performance market. I don't consider the 400ex as high performance because it has a dated 400cc air cooled engine. Also it isn't a great sport quad because it lacks reverse. The DS, Raptor and Cannondale more fit in line with what is high performance but they to are not without fault.

Here's what I think, Honda should build a new quad using an updated 250R style frame and put in a counterbalenced version of the soon to be released CR 450F engine. The machine should be free of frills like electric start, then you would have a four stroke version of the 80's style high performance quads. For a sport quad, just put reverse on the 400ex, or even offer a new engine in the 650cc range to compete with the DS and Yamaha.

 

I thought your original post was a april fools joke.

You need reverse to be considered a 'sport quad'. Thats the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard. I dont believe the 400ex is the ultimate sport quad but it is good. It has some flaws and lacks a little power, but hopefully this will all be changed when the rumored 600ex comes out.

 

Who got sued the most over injuries from atv's and three wheelers the most? This is why honda is soft on high performance anymore. They also have huge inviromental concerns that no one really looked at until Honda said they was weaning away the two-strokes. I want to go fast but I don't want a 10 year old with attorney friends getting hurt on a bike that he shouldn't have been on in the first place. Then turn around and sue Honda and others for it. This happened a lot during the 80"s and thats where the 250r ended. Very sad day in american history. I respect Honda for just doing the 400ex and the durability and testing behind its products.

 

Here's my .02 ...

Around 1990, Honda, Suzi and Kawi all got out of the performance ATC/ATV industry for a reason: PUBLIC RELATIONS. They were all getting major black eyes thanks to all the (under-16-year-old) kids getting killed on these machines in the 80's. Thus, Honda, Suzi and Kawi decided that the cost of dropping their performance ATC/ATV products would be far less costly to them than the bad public image that their names would receive, due to all the law suits. They didnt want to be seen as bad guys....especially since ATV's were a very small part of their overall product lines. I am certain this is why Honda NEVER answered to the Yamahas Banshee by coming out with a 500R.

So the manufacturers all fell back on what they had come up with in the SPORT quad market (even Yamaha). And just kept churning out the same machines, with different colors and such, year after year, in the 80's. Nothing new, nothing fast.

Then, in 1998, roughly 10 years after the last production hi-perf. quads were seen (and after the US government stopped leaning on the manufacturers NOT to put R&D into new performance quads) Honda stepped forward and came out with the new, but green, 400EX. I say green because the 400EX, focuses on safety and being environmentally friendly....THEN ON PERFORMANCE.

I do give Honda full credit for being the first to have enough sack to release a new, performance-minded quad. It's not high performance, but its not another 300EX either. It was a MAJOR risk for them, but I am certain that due to the positive response (how well the 400EX sold/sells), they would now be foolish not to capitalize further on this major market...it's all about business, and the all-mighty buck.

I have my doubts that Honda or Suzi or Kawi will release any more truly high performance quads--they just don't want the 80's all over again. Case in point: why did Honda's re-name their product line "SPORTRAX"...I can think of 2 reasons: 1/ They will only make "sport" quads going ahead 2/ They plan to come out with a new HIGH performance/race "Fourtrax" lineup. Needless to say, I am hoping for the latter...but only the responses from the competition and from the market will hold the answer to these kinds of questions.

It's time for Suzi and Kawi to step forward and give us something better than the lame QuadRunners and Mojave/Lakota's. Once there is real competition in the performance ranks, there is a reason for the manufacturers to come up with something new, and stay one step ahead of the 400EX's, Raptors, Cannondales, and whatever else is next................

Word.