what is going on with honda ...when i was a kid i used to love honda...but when i started to ride the only new 2 stroke quad you could buy was a banshee..so not long after that i started to love yamaha..so i got a new warrior a new banshee a new yzf600r streetbike..(dont have any of that now)...i stoped riding for a while and then iafter my son got a little older i got a 2001 raptor..thinking that my buddy was krazy for not getting the raptor he got the new z400 and not long after riding his quad ..i sold the raptor and got a z400..(cant belive i own a suzuki)but now looking back whats up with honda...the 400 ex is nothing compared to the z400 in stock form..and i knew the raptor was in a class of its own..but when is honda going to wake up and make a new quad ...even the 4x4 shootout honda lost...they dont even have rear brake lights...maybe because everyone is in front of them not behind to see the brake light ..j/k look honda really needs to get in gear and mak something to compete with the new 4 strokes....good luck to all the die hard honda fans ...p..s the 250 was and still is the best quad anyone ever made..

 

Because honda doesnt care about "shootouts". Frankly, I dont either! I dont care how a dumbass magazine rates the quads they test, especially when they rate a Z400 ahead of the Cannondale in a performance shootout.

Honda only cares about making a quality product that SELLS.
And they DO, and IT DOES.

-Matt


ps. Honda won the ATV class of the most recent BAHA 1K.......

 

the only reason they have sold is because there was not a good fast 4 stroke until now ..im sure now that the z400 and raptor and the polaris and the c-dale are out ..there sales are really down ..back then the only 4 stroke you could get that was a sport quad was the warrior ...sure honda can beat that ..but now there getting wipped ..its not about the shootouts .,..its about whats new and better ..and just about everything is better than the 400 ex...no reverse no liquid cooled ..comon the warrior will update with liquid cooled before honda does ..i mean comon the blaster even got a update....i think that one of the best 4 major companys like honda could come up with a rear brake light...its on the raptor ..banshee.blaster...warrior..z400..

 

Last shootout I read, the Z400 beat the 400EX in a drag by .16 of a second. That's 16 hundredths of a second. Not much of a margin, after all the hype we had to listen to for months before it was being offered.

I'm all for new/better quads, but for what is offered right now, I'll stick with my EX. It is still the best handler, most reliable, and ergonomically, it fits me perfect. It's not the fastest in a straight line, but it has been proven over and over that it is the fastest in the woods.

I'm very happy with what I ride, I hope you are too.

 

I love my EX but it's time for Honda to step up. There is no way that the Z400, Predator, Raptor and whatever else you can think of in that area aren't going to take away from 400ex sales this year. I think it was ATV Sport that said Honda dealers are all up in arms because Honda isn't giving them anything to compete with these quads and the dealers that sell them are getting more business. If that's true I think it's the kick in the @$$ Honda needs to break out and give us a little.
IMHO of course, Diggler

 

Yeah uglyzuki came with the 400 but look at the problems there having. Kawi the same thing, I love my Honda which has not gave me one prob yet. Yeah shootouts say Hondas the slowest bike but it forgot to mention the reliability on them and not every body that rides races each other most people ride around and have fun. imo thanks

 

Guys chill.......Honda guys have been hanging in the pits at races and asking the top pro's Farr,Balance etc.What do you want to see in a race Quad?Why do you like the Quad you are racing now?Theres an article in the new 4 Wheel Action magazine and shows a Honda guy probing Farrs brain.I guarantee they will be coming out with the new quad soon. late,zubbeyboy

 

Um, so you're saying that the process of making a quad, from asking the pro's what they want or think is good, from having engineers draw up some models on the puter, to testing them through the puters, to building a concept (usually multiple different concepts at varying times), then test concepts to figure out which is best, to beginning production of the thousands for the first run will happen soon? Honda fell asleep at the wheel AND I THANK THEM as I was going to get an EX until I heard about the Z a couple months before introduced. I now own two Z's (first week releasals at that), have had no problems at all, and all in all just can't stop smiling. I've ridden/owned almost all the major brands of machines and will not be brand loyal.

 

Come on guys...you should have heard about this already. Stop worrying about honda. They already have something in the works. I think someone finally realized that the most successful HP quad in the last 20 years is the 250r and they needed to bring it back. Im sure it will be a HUGE hit. They are looking to have mid 40s for horsies and they figure the new 250R will be almost 60lbs lighter than the 400exx. Thats a huge weight reduction. Plus the lickstart that brings back the old days kicking to the front not tha back like my 84 200x. I love my 400ex but i would park in in a second to jump on a NEW 250R

 

I love how folks use the term blown away. My friends have $14k 686 Raptors and if 3-5 bike lengths to the top of Olds is blown away, so be it. Spark's 465ex would be faster than their 686's anyway. You can buy Used EX's for $3000 put $3000 worth of engine/carb/exhaust/swingarm into it and there is nothing 4 stroke that touches it for the same money. The 400ex is to performance atv what the Civic is to the street racing world. Lowest cost of admission then it's the easiest, most available, most affordable, most researched hop-up market around.
I am glad it's not watercooled, one less thing to worry about. Harley has somehow overcome the watercooling issue on the Grand National ovals. I live in the desert and ride in the dunes, I know heat.
Don't forget it's a Honda too. I built my CT440 back in 98 and I have not had to pop the top since. Ross pistons rule. MX, Cross-country, trail, desert, dune, Michigan winters and Arizona summers. It's done it all. NO PROBLEMS.
As far as a new quad, it's coming. One of the New Zealand guys who works at an exhaust fabricator posted a while back they had an order for a 450 pipe that had similar specs but wasn't exactly the same as a crf450 pipe. Also, one of the national shops here in the southwest fab[ed] 3 sets of arms for an employee of Honda who is involved with their desert racing. It was completly different from any aftermarket frame, 400 or 250r. Should be interesting.