I don't really think they're gonna take the CRF that's in the bike, and just throw it in the quad. They WILL de-tune it, for whatever reason you want to believe, but if they do the swap, I'm sure they'll do as Suzuki did with the Z. Get rid of the spendy nice carb in it, re-cam it, and voila. You've got a 35 or so pony ride that could really do a heck of a lot more with pipe, carb, jets, cams and then, you will be king of most hills. I sure hope that all y'all ex-die hards don't get pissed when they put reverse on it. We all know most of you claim you don't need it. I sure like it on my bike though. To each his own. I personally cannot wait to see what Honda's going to unveil, and I really cannot wait till Suzuki unveils the Z400's big brother the Z650 (speculation, just like crf450ex). But until then, see y'all on the trails.

 

just gear that 430EX lower and it'll pull harder. the handling of the EX makes up for lack of power

 

you're prob. right about the detuning thing............. i wish they wouldn't do that!! but the potential is still there

 

honda better because there going down hill

 

After reading all this, I will put my opinion in on the matter.

Honda built the CRF450R to be a motocross bike. A motocross bike is a maintence nightmare. Honda recommends you change topends in the 450 every 10-20 hours. How many atv racers would want this? Not me! Honda also spent millions of dollars in R&D on this motor and bike. Why would they spend more to tune it down? rodsquad has a LSR450R bike, so I guess he's just about the only person on this forum that can comment on that motor. I have ridden a 450 bike, and it flat out screams. But use some logic.

Why would Honda put this motor in a frame? As far as MX(which the 450's motor is INTENTIONALLY BUILT FOR), the 400EX still has very little competition. Everyone knows the Raptor isn't up to par for hardcore MX, the DS is too heavy, and plus, they're both over the AMA cc limit. Honda has it sweet with the 400, and they know it. People wouldn't still be buying them if they're not one of the best quads on the market. I spoke with our local Honda dealer a week or two ago, and he said he's NEVER had a 400 sit on the showroom floor longer than 3 weeks.

Back to my logical reasoning. I think it's a commonly stated fact that Honda makes some of the most reliable quads on the market, if not the MOST reliable. Why? BECAUSE THEY'RE SIMPLE! There's really nothing on a Honda that isn't quite easy to understand. Think about it.. How many old TRX300's do you see broken down? A few.. How many do you see running? ALOT. The 450 motor's are very high tech, and possibly too complicated to run right for the "joe schmo" ATV racer, or rec. rider. So instead of the million dollar CRF motor, why not slap the 400EX's bigger brother in a frame? The XR650 motor has proven itself over and over, time and time again. Very reliable, simple, efficent, but VERY popular. It has won many desert titles, and has proven to be an all around good motor.

Do you guys see where I'm going with this? Now I hope the 450 comes out in an all aluminum frame, race susp., etc just as much as the next guy, And if it does, I will have one sitting next to my other quads. But until then, look out for Cannondale. They're playing for keeps.

 

Well said LSBanshee. The CRF450 motor also uses a little oil when ran like it was built for{hauling boody}. Most non-racer types are not going to want check and fill oil after every ride. Just blow and go are most riders pre-ride inspection. Honda could easily build a less tweaked CRF450 motor that wouldn't use a little oil or require as much maintanence that would of course be Honda bulletproof that could still have at least 40 hp. That would still be enough to spank Raptors and Cannons stock for stock.

 

Thanks rodsquad. You wouldn't happen to want to trade that beast for an 89 250R would ya? hehe. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

Yes, Honda could tune it down, but why? Like I stated before, they really don't have a reason to. I haven't rode a Z yet, so I can't talk much about it, but Honda doesn't have to worry with the Raptor and DS. They know that hardcore racers are either going with a project quad, with a bike motor, or a big bore 4 stroke. The AMA's limit of 440cc's kicks the Raptor out of most classes, while the 400 mainly dominates. I will also say that the 400EX outclasses mostly every other quad in the 400cc range. So in my opinion, Honda has the mini(TRX90), beginner(250EX & 300EX), and race(400EX) crowd, so now they need to capture some of those duners they lost to the Raptor. What motor? XR650

I would like to meet up with you sometime and watch that 450 perform. I know the one I rode was amazingly fast.

 

what i would expect..

disc brakes
crf450
5 speed
electric start
10"travel front and rear
45" wide
liquid cooled
dohc

thats a stock mild racer.

 

think of the 2010 quads [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

 

isn't the limit 450cc, well it is for bikes, CRF450, YZ450F,AND THIS WEEKEND KTM IS TESTING THEIR 450 AT THE CMRC event in pleasent valley, so is the quads 450, or 440???????

four strokes require more maintenance (a high tec race one anyways) the 250 and 426F's require valve adjustments frequently, and a top end replacement is a lot more costly. on a two stroke you can almost always tell what's wrong by looking at the plug. but 4-stokes sound sweet!!!!!!