My friends has had his 400 for about 6 months and the paint on the frame is chipping away and starting to rust in spots that do not even come in contact just all over. We were wondering if this has had happened to anyway else, The honda dealership is saying they are trying help but honda itself is screwing around. Thanks in advance.

 

Having the same problem here. Hubby says its more where the weld spots are. Starting to rust also.
Need to find some quality paint to fix it.

lilred

http://albums.photopoint.com/j/AlbumList?u=1464970

 

My 2001 Foreman 450s is doing the same thing, I thought it was just 1 spot, then I found another and then another and in places where there has been no contact by anything that could have chipped it. It seems to be happening near welds on the frame and on the racks, I guess its time to complain!!

 

Those are spots where the chassis is flexing due to stress. You didn't see this so much on the older frames because they were powder coated. Powder coat is much tougher than paint.

This stress is from bottomming out the suspension and possibly hitting stuff (like trees).

Surface rust is really nothing to be terribly concerned about. If it particularly bothers you, get some touch up paint and apply over affected areas.

If you are getting a lot of this, it may be time to make a decision if you'd rather replace or have to weld cracks in the frame in the future, or if aftermarket shocks are the way to go. Consider the chipping paint a warning that the chassis is undergoing stress in that location.

 

Honda is investingating this on his quad and they said it shouldn't be happening. So if it is happening to you say something maybe we can get some action............