Now that there is a 650 Kawasaki and 660 Grizz the supposed 700 Sportsman, will we see a 600 or bigger 4x4? Also the Raptor the DS and machines like that will Honda answer back with some new stuff?

 

I don't think they will join the bigbore war. They have always had machines that weren't the faster, but could always hold their own, especially after 5-10 years of abuse. I think they will have to come up with something new in both areas, or they may be in trouble.

 

They will have to in order to stay in the business. I dont know a thing about the sport quads, but as far as the utilities go....Honda is out of the game. I have enjoyed my Honda quads....but they will be the last ones.

 

4x4 comment:
haha. I respond that they don't need to get in the race. They still own the market. Ultimately the people you find here are hard core ATVers. Most people with ATV'S just use it for their farm (and don't have the internet like us rich people - well not all of us are rich but many of the teenagers here are and just don't realize it).

The big bore war...I don't see what Honda would offer with more cc's. I don't see more cc's as a benefit on the 4x4's. I mean, if someone wants to go that fast-why get the 4x4? You wanna go fast and go mudding--well the 4x4 just really isn't the answer. What this market needs is more sport-utilities, and i emphasize the sport part- like the Wolverine. An updated Recon-like 4x4 would be a nice addition. But 650 cc's for a 4x4- what can it do other than get that 5-8 mph on top end- that the Honda's can't? please answer this.

High-Performance Quads:
On the other hand, Honda may need to address this. There is just a ton of competition out there, not like the 4x4's where Honda is sufficient. The 400ex is losing and will lose shootouts vs DS, Raptor, and Cannondales. The 400ex just isn't doing it for people any more. I think the high cc 650 would be the choice they make simply because it would target people who look at cc's at the end all be all. I would prefer a CR 450 but that's just me. I just hope it doesn't feel like a dirt bike on 4 wheels (and ATVS ARE NOT DIRT BIKES ON 4 WHEELS EVEN THOUGH I DESCRIBE IT LIKE THAT TO PEOPLE WHO DON'T KNOW ABOUT THEM).

So that's my 2 cents

 

These forums give a false reading of what the market is. Alot of people don't care to have the biggest quad with the most features,they simply want a quad that gets them around comfortably and is durable.They also aren't willing to pay $7000 for an atv. Alot of these companies are hurting,the pwc market is next to nothing and snowmobile sales are in a serious slump. So they are turning to the strong atv market to try and pull in more sales and this displacement war is that effort. Your always going to have certain classes of machines,out selling others. But chances are the strong sellers aren't going to be the high displacement machines. Most sales are going to be made in the 300-400cc class of atv's,just like they always have been.