Dont get me wrong i love HONDA and i will only buy honda but everyone made a huge deal about it to me they made it sound like its the best atv ever mabey it is but it has altime 4x4 and limited front slip they could have at least gave a swhitch for 4x4 and 4x2. its not the price that bothers me just that the Rancher from my poin t of view is just as good

 

HH-One of the best things you can do is voice your opinion is writing to Honda of N.A. They do consider the fact that it takes time and effort to sit down and express your likes and dislikes about products. And, I guarantee you they will contact you, if you write them. They will answer your concerns of lack of or needed options of fucntions and why they have not incorporated them into the design or feel something is better.
Buth the bottom line is, you have to make the effort to voice your opinion to those who can make the change. At least you will get the answer as to what you have posted straight from Honda and not through conjecture of those who really don't know (like me). I don't know about the 2WD/4WD switch, but the disc/drum brake question I did get answered by writing a letter.
Hope that helps. If you need the address, let me know.

 

TxDoc2,

You mentioned that Honda responded to your question concerning disc/drum brakes. You have my curiousity up. Did you ask them why they have not used disc brakes yet? If so what was their response? Just curious.

DJ

 

I will get the letter out tomorrow and post it. Basically, they said discs are on the sport bikes and will eventually be on the others, as well-if they can get some safety concerns engineered out. Basically, they have concerns with applying the brake when moving backwards down a hill and not having the control of how much brake is applied over time. They feel that right now, the drum is able to be applied with more consistent control without locking and causing loss of control in the above described situation. But, I will post their quote for you.

 

Apparently Honda hasn't been riding any of there utilitys in the rough conditions, what kind of bull is this that the drum holds more consistently with better control...Just my opinion but I don't think Honda wants to spring for the extra bucks for the retooling to put the disc on the newer bikes what do you guys think and I am not badgering Honda just looks like Honda would catch up with the times like all the other atv makers are if they are good enough for there sport bikes looks they would be good enough for there utiliy bikes.

 

Deej-here is the quote "Our engineers also have concerns with disc brakes on ATV's, some of which are:the effectiveness of aparking brake when applied over an extended period of time, the bonding through rust or corrosion between the pads and a disc when left parked for months at a time. Also, some performance concerns in some situations such as backing down a steep hill where a disc brake can be too abrupt causing a roll over. But, with a drum brake, the trailing edge angle of the brake shoe can be designed so that braking force in the reverse direction is different than while moving forward. We do understand the benefits of disc brakes and as concerns are overcome, then more applications will see production.Our sport models TRX400EX and TRX300EX, both feature triple disc brakes."
That is Honda's current reasoning. I guess if anyone does not like it, they will have to voice their opinion to Honda, as Honda has control over production decisions. No one in the forums (yet) has such control.

 

Have to say I would rather had the disc brakes on my than the drums that wouldn't the other day. I tried climbing a hill and didn't make it, and I don't think that drum brakes helped me any with backing off, I went off it faster than I went up.

 

Thanks Atving,you always come in and clear up things for us. The whole brake thing with honda,just further proves that Polaris is the #1 Quad. Polaris engineers never hesitate to put unproven technology on their quads and then let the consumer test the finished product and pay for the repairs. If that doesn't equal quality,I don't know what does.

 

Boy you really cleared that up for us sledder, looks like Honda really has you brain washed funny why you can't explain why they put the disc on there sport bikes but completely disregard there utility bike...oh yes it is because they give you abrupt stopping...just ask knottrider, well personally I would rather be stopped on a hill slowly easing off of it than going backwards with no control with those great disc brakes. Seems knottrider knows what I am talking about maybe some of you just don't put your atv to the limit.

 

Good job Atving,you cleared up another topic. Polaris really is #1.