The problem is that they never seem to leave the motors that they transplant into their quads the same as they are in the dirt bikes. For some reason, they De-Tune them. The DRZ400 motor that they put in the Z400 is nowhere close to the same in performance to the motor that is in the dirt bike. I realize that there is more weight involved, but they took a lot out of the motor too. It is unlikely that if they ever did build a quad with the CRF450, that it would be the same animal that it is in the bike.

As far as the Fuel Injection goes, even though Honda has all of the technology to produce a FI quad, it is highly unlikely that they would do it due to the additional cost. Having the Technology is one thing, making it work is another. That and the fact that most of the componants needed are generaly out-sourced as opposed to being in house, this would drive up the cost conciderably.

I'm sure that what ever Honda decides to do, it will be a reliable, well made, well thought out quad. They just need to do it SOON!

 

Good post RPM. i agree with what you said. What i mostly dont understand is why they would put a a high performance motor in a very light motorcycle, then detune it for the heavier sport quads. You think it'd be the othe way around.

 

I don't think there would be that much additional cost. Honda sent out a questionare and a bunch of the questions were on EFI including how much more would you pay for a quad with EFI and the 4 options to choose from only went from $50 - $200. One thing I will repeat from one of my earlier posts is this. The only quad Cannondale was making a profit on was the Cannibal and it was $7000. If Cannondale can make a profit on this bike with EFI and Aluminum frame as well as aftermarket parts there is no way Honda couldn't do it cheaper. Remember Cannnondale had huge R&D costs for dirtbikes and quads because they are a bicycle maker they had no engine technology. Honda has all the technology and then some not to mention pockets that are so much deeper than Cannondale's that it's not even funny.

I think the manufacturers think us quad riders can't handle power or they are still punch drunk from law suits from 15 years ago. Dirtbikers and snowmobilers and now even personal watercraft riders get all the hp. They still treat us like we can't handle it. The media doesn't help either if a snowmobiler of dirtbiker is hurt badly or killed it's a tragedy if the same think happens to an atver it's because atvs are dangerous.

RPM,
we have some great debates in these topics I haven't been involved in a good topic like this with you in a while. Ride hard, Diggler

 

DirtDiggler,

You can bet that if they gave you a range of what you would be willing to pay for EFI, you can bet they will take that top amount ($200) and add at least 10% to it. A prime example is the Rincon with its Automotive style Automatic Transmission. Honda had all of the Technology, and yet the Rincon is the most expensive quad in its class and it still comes with drum brakes. From reading previous posts, I have no doubt that the Drums work just fine, but the argument can be made that Disk brakes would be more efficient. My bet is that they went with what they already had to keep the cost from escalating any higher on a quad that was already at the top of the price list.

No matter how deep the pockets of any company is, the bottom line is to pull the highest percentage of profit that you possibly can. C-Dale may have made a profit off of the Cannibal, but it wasn't enough, and you can bet that if Honda can't sell a quad with a high enough proffit margin, they won't do it.

Da Beech Man & DirtDiggler,

You can bet that all the Law Suits & Litigation that came about in the 80's still has a lot of the manufacturers scared. Honda probably more so than any of the others. As a result of the popularity of the 250r, there were several serious injuries that caused Honda to take a hard look at their responsibility and potential monetary losses. They havent forgoten what they learned and neither has any of the other Big manufacturers. Once you add the Tree Huggers and the Polaticians, you have what is commonly known as a "Cluster F***".

 

how about a sport quad with an easy to reach choke lever!!

 

Cannondale took a beating on the dirtbikes and the other 4 versions of the same quad. I think if their pockets were deeper they probably could have got to see the whole thing to profitability. In a nutshell I guess my point is Honda can do whatever Cannondale can do cheaper and make more profit off of it than Cannondale. If Cannondale only had the Cannibal and 1 or 2 bikes they would be more profitable.

I agree with what your saying about the Rincon completely and I'm sure they would do something similar with a sport quad but then no one expects them to put out a full on race quad either. Hell we all know better than that. I think everyone wants a good platform. A tough frame and a step up in suspension from the 400ex. I would be willing to take a 450r motor and "retune" what they "detune out of it. Honda has been known to get a lot out of a little I ride with two Z's regularly and in a drag they are a definitely a little quicker but in all out performance it isn't night and day in stock trim so I would say even though it's outdated the 400ex has stood the test of time. Most of the new sport quads copy the 400ex's frame geometry and some parts are even interchangeable. Anyways I wouldn't put it past Honda to give everyone just enough to shut them up and make money off of them. If anything this thread is more of a wish list for us Honda dreamers anyways. I think it's pretty wild that skilled riders post better mx track lap times on a 400ex than a raptor that speaks volumes.

 

You guys kill me, I don't log on for awhile and here we go again.

What you wanted was a CANNONDALE that said HONDA.

Smitty

 

actually Smitty your not far off and I know this is going to sound like a shot but we want a Cannondale type quad with Honda realiability and security. I love riding Cannondales and my best friend has one and he loves it as well but he will admit to having his fair share of problems and now he's not sure where the whole thing is going to end up. You can look on here or on either Cannondale related web sites and the forums have people posting a lot of problems. I know there are people posting problems with the Honda as well but I bet Hondas out number Cannondales buy over 100 to 1 and the posts of problems don't show that ratio. Again if you take this as a shot I'm sorry I don't mean it that way I'm only stating what I've seen first hand and read on the forums. If there weren't as many problems and recalls I would probably have one because I don't think anyone else has that kind of nads to release something like that. My main point with bringing up Cannondale was just that if they can make a profit on an aluminum framed, fuel injected and extremely fast quad with good suspension and tires than Honda can do it cheaper. I'm not sayin that to nock them either it's just a fact that when it comes to resources or money there is no way to compare the two.

 

lol, you and your 2 pumps. I jsut dont want a quad thats a little faster than a 400ex. Because they are poopy slow. And i dont want that upgraded to just slow like your 250R's Dabeech =Þ


And smitty you are right. What i want is a cannondale. But they are out of business in the atv area. They had the right ideas. But getting it to work financially doesn't happen. And now everyone with those quads is going to have a very hard time replacing OEM parts. They made them well though, they dont have problems like my damn 01 rappy. They could have made a 650cc that would have put the others to shame.

 

Your in oregon, you aint that far away buddy. Your **** whoopin is coming soon enough.