Hey, I'm a utility quad rider, not a dirt bike or sport quad rider so please excuse the ignorant question. Why would a person have to detune a bike engine if they dropped it into a quad?

 

Twice the weight and twice the contact patch of tire = more strain and stress on quads than bikes. You have to change the cams and other stuff for low end power.

Smitty

 

I hate to say it, but IF and WHEN Honda does come out with a 450EX, it will run WITH the pack, not way ahead of the pack. Remember, Honda started the whole "Fear of being SUED" craze that has gripped the ATV industry for years and will continue to keep all of the top performers from each of the quad manufacturers all in the same realm of performance. It is NO Mistake, that all of the "Flagship" Sport Quads from each of the major manufacturers are all running within a couple of MPH of each other. It's that "Fear of being SUED" that will continue to keep each of the Top Dogs close in performance.

Honda will rely on what got them where they are today, Great handling, and reliability like no other.

 

Look at the suzuki DRZ400 it made over 40 hp then suzuki put it in the z400 and clone now it only makes 28. IF honda is building a new 450 ex it won't hang with the rest in acceleration but it will probably handle well--look at the late 80s quads- tecate the worst hanling but the most powerful- LT250r not the fastest not the most powerful but right in the middle of both- trx250r the best handling and the least amount of power. and 10 years latter trx400ex good handling but enough power for the wife.

 

Exactly!!! It's no coincidence that all the fastest quads max out at around 74 MPH give or take a few. They can all be a lot faster very easily but fear of litigation keeps them down.

 

Here's the deal...

If you're concerned about straight line drag racing, go for the big bores (either 2 or 4 stroke)

If you are hoping that the Yamaha and Honda 450s (when they come out) are going to be the "fastest" things out there, you're going to be disappointed.

The 450 class is for the aggressive trailrider / MXer / XC racer --- not the dragracer or the guy that likes to lumber around the sand dunes and go blistering fast for short bursts. Sure, it's likely that these 450 quads will hold their own in a drag and will certainly be able to develop good amounts of power when modified (becuase the manufacturers are sure to detune them), but their main focus will be to be a great overall package - much in the tradition of the 250R (also not the fastest out there, but undeniably an excellent overall machine).

So.... If you want to drag race, buy a Vforce, a DS, a Raptor, or a Banshee and modify away. The 450 class is not where you want to be or what you want to wait for. With a 450 class machine you will spend more money and have a less reliable result if you try to get to where the big bores are in terms of pure acceleration.

Like everything else in life - there will never be a "perfect" quad that will suit all purposes for everyone. The bigbores will always be heavy & have chassis compromises to accomodate the large engines - but they'll be fast in the straight line & have tons of potential for deleloping lots of power. The smaller machines will always be lighter and have better chassis's with lower CGs.

Pick the quad that suits your needs/wants. In some cases you may need more than one quad - myself, I need about 4 to do what I want...

 

I don't think Honda will use the crf450 motor. I say this because mine friend had one, and he said in the owner's manuel it is recommended that the motor be rebuilt after every 20 hours. I think they will put something in with less up keep. However I would love to see that motor in a quad in production. Even if they detune it, I don't think it would help a lot on the rebuild schedule. What do yall think?

 

Every 20 hours??? You gotta be kidding! If that is an accurate statement then my opinion of Honda just dropped a LONG way. I'm a happy Honda owner, too.

JC

 

THe 450f motor is a CR (Competition Racing) motor, like everyone says the new quad will be detuned so those rebuild nubers are going to change IF they put it in a quad.

 

They will have to change the whole motor. Someone correct me if I am wrong, but the CRF450 motor needs to be rebuilt so often, because it uses a short skirted piston and only has one compression ring and one oil ring. The oil ring isn't very eficient, and in return (By design), the CRF450 consumes oil. On top of that if it isn't rebuilt every so often, the piston will begin to rock in the bore, and if not taken care of, can damage the bore.

This is how it was explained to me, PLEASE Correct me if I am wrong.