I did a lot of research before buying my atv
several months ago.One thing everyone said was Honda builds the most reliable bike.However when
I read their signatures or look at their bikes they have very few stock Honda parts left on them.
They seem to change everything tires,rims,axles,
heads,valves,cams,carbs,nerfs,bumpers,handlebars,
a-arms,sprockets,air filter,swing arms.I figure the only thing stock on most of their bikes is the
bare engine block and the main frame.I'm not against hopping up your bikes I just wonder how this equates to Honda's reliability when there is
very little Honda left when their done?

 

Out here on our farm we use both a Honda TRX300 & a Polaris Xplorer 400. Both machines are box-stock. I would have to say the Honda seems to be holding up to use slightly better. The Honda has 700 hours on it (no odometer)with only a battery replacement. The Polaris has just over 3000 miles (I think something like 250 hours, but not for sure), with no repairs at all, but the tie rod ends in the steering are starting to go loose (I understand that you can get better ones now). Most of the people in my neighborhood run em till they die & the Hondas seem to go the longest before they die. One reason that people put aftermarket stuff on the Hondas is they seem to be engineered to take a certain load at a certain speed & that is it. A neighbor bent the axle on his Honda (4X4 - not sure on exact model) hauling the same load over the same terrain as he has gone with his Magnum 425, and I know that our Honda only dreams of the load ability of the Xplorer. I know we are comparing a 300 to a 400, but just running empty, the Honda suspension bottoms & clangs without being able to keep up with the Xplorer hauling 2 people with only a slight bottoming at the most. To sum it up, the Honda seems to hold up better within its design limits, the Polaris will take more 'abuse'.
One other factor is repair cost. A friend's Honda's valve job (overheated due to hard work & only air cooling) cost more than an entire factory rebuilt Polaris engine of comparible size would have. Also check out the CV joints & such, and you will see what I mean. Don't know if this helps you any, maybe someone else can help.

PS not to offend any Honda boys out there, but if we need to use only 1 ATV on the farm & not both, the Honda sits still 90% of the time.