Are the New Honda ATV’s as reliable as the old Honda 3 wheelers are, you could not kill one if you tried. They are 20+ years old and still going strong after.

 

I'd have to say NO, I had an out TRX200 3 wheeler and I never touched it I didn't change the oil in like 2 years I sold it and the guy still owns it today. I believe it was a '85, I'm saying this becasue my 300EX is a "newer Honda" and I've had a lot of trouble with it ( dropped valve, broken cam-chain ) that's my experience with old VS new.

Where do you live in IL?? I'm in Emden IL. It's population is about 500, not very farmiluar to most

 

I have to say no also but then again the bikes and trikes from the early to mid '80's weren't as big or technologically advanced eitheir. My '86 250 fourtrax has never had the top end off of it and it still runs good. Only thing that I have done to it is regular maintenance. I just bought a foreman 450ES so will have to see how long it will last.

 

This whole reliability thing is a waste of time. I like to post reliability issues too see who likes to argue and who dosen't. Comparing a honda Big Red 3 wheeler to a 300 ex is apples to oranges. I'm sure that the 300 is both riden harder and faster and at higher engine rpm's so what do you think that will do its long term reliability? Its not rocket science people. Reliability is a factor of basically three things:

1) All things being equal sometimes you do get a lemon, due to bad metalurgy of the components or improper post
delivery inspection or what ever.

2) If your lucky and your lemon free then It depends on how the machine is treated. Is it used at 100% of its
capacity all the time and did you take the time to properly break it in before bagging it? Anyone can cause a
failure if they run something hard enough.

3) Proper maintenance is important. Lubrication and tolerances are very important. If these are consistant then
chances are your machine will run consistantly too.

The great thing about having to choose between manufacturers is that you get to choose! All quads are strong in some areas and weak in others so buy a machine that is strong in the areas that are most important to you and I'm sure you'll be happy with your Purchase.

Happy Riding !

 

Sorry one other thing to mention is that life is a compromise. Sooo

With the complexity of the machine going up so does the maintenance go up. And Generally more maintenacne is required on a more complex machine to acheive the same reliability as a simpler machine.

 

thumpers have many moving parts compared to a 2 stroke. No way you can compare the reliability of a 2-stroke to a thumper. The thumper will lose everytime if they are both maintained correctly

 

honda wrote the definition of realiablitlity my 300 is a 97 and it fairly new i bout it new and i has never broke down... and startes evry tiem u hit the little button

 

you cant really compare old to new, because of the different technology used, so its obvious the old hondas are more reliable. One thing you can compare to is hondas reliability with technology compared to the other manufactures reliability using technology, and IMO they dont compare, honda by far has them beat in reliability issues. Go ahead and say "but the 400EX is out-dated" but you notice the two new hot quads (KFX, Z-400) seemed to have copied the 400's suspension. SO its obvious that honda did something right, now we're just waiting for them to do something right again (new sport quad) but if i go on and on about that its gonna be in another post.
just my $.02

 

I also have to say no, with one caviat, I have a foreman 2003 450ES and the technology that is in that unit could not possibly compare to an old Z-50 like I had when I was a kid, there is so much that can go wrong in today's designs. I have to say one thing though after owning a 92 quadracer and having to maintane that quad I am certain Honda is still a leg up on the competition. Everything is relative and far as I am concerned Honda is still the best out there, that's why I bought one.

 

crbm opened stale can of worms but I can't resist response. Having been a full time line tech for 17 years, and 6 years part time before that, I've been around that long. I remember working on Honda's atc200es flagship back in 83 when it was new!! What we have now is vastly superior in most every way and I would say just as reliable. But then, we have to wait around 20+ years to find out, don't we? If I were to give out the reliability award to a Honda model, it would have to be the humble trx300 series made from 88 to 2000. In terms of longevity, some of the newer models maybe even better, time will tell. Take the rubicon for example, from reading the forums this model has a very good reliability reputation. Yet, I have personally seen mucho problem with them, including several oil pump replacements (sticking relief valves) and a few transmission failures, one rod that came undone at high speed and just destroyed the engine, not to mention an assortment of angle and speed sensors. Keep in mind we sell hundreds tho, and these problems (at least the major ones) have all pretty much been on first year (2001) models. Eighteen months ago I was VERY concerned about the Rubicon's reliability. As of now, I have seen no problems like this for quite some time so I think Honda's got them fixed, and they will go down in the annals as reliable. Dabeechman makes an interesting comment on the reliability of two stroke vs. four stroke engines. Certainly the two stroke is easier to rebuild, and in high performance applications superior in terms of power output. My primary experience with them is working on rotax sled engines all these cold winters. For living with on a day to day basis tho, the two stroke lives much more on the edge, and they aren't as efficient as the four strokers. Something as simple as a partially clogged jet will make your four stroke run poorly, but will burn your two stroke down.