In Baja, just FINISHING is a great acompishment! I didn't criticize the Outlander for not WINNING (only one quad can win). I criticized them for NOT EVEN FINISHING.........

Actually, there was a bad silt section at about mile 200. From what I read, these big heavy quads bogged down so bad that that was the end of the race for them. Sorry........it's the big and heavy thing again.

The Rincon win was just a fluke. Honda hired all of their best competition to ride the Rincon. You eliminate your competition, and that's a big advantage. 450R didn't exist at the time.

 

RR, you have a PM regarding this subject that will shed some light you may not be aware of.

Just finishing is a big feat. Every model of ATV ever entered aside from the 1 shot Recon has had a baja failure. You can plan for months, have a solution for every problem, check every nut and bolt, practice your butt off and still have your race end in the first 20 miles.....that is Baja!!!

TPR

 

im gonna be fair here to BRP/CAN-AM - i may have been too harsh on them in other threads and say that i seem to remember bombardier ds650 winning a 1000, if that isnt true, fine. but they did win the dakar recently, according to their advertisements.

"16-day, 9,000 km [5,592 miles] Dakar rally demand an ATV that is fast, handles incredibly, and is totally reliable. That's why they choose a DS 650 X - and win. The DS 650 X and its 650cc Rotax mill delivered racers to the top 1-2-3 spots in the 2006 Dakar rally."

thats just to be fair to them. i still think their suff is too heavy and if an OEM REALLY tried, a lighter HP 4x4 IS possible. it dont have to be an 800cc bike. just lighter, sporty,with good power (NO NOT THE WOLVERINE, its a TURD).

find that excerpt here, just so no one accuses me of making stuff up...

ds650x


and yes the TRX450R has dominated the 1000 since its intro. not bad considering its only been produced for 3 model yrs so far. it won its first time out!

but the rincon thing was a little flawed ohter than the competition riding it for them- honda had many specially fabricated parts on that bike that they dont sell to the public...as far as i know, some secret service industry spies my know better- but the 450Rs have pretty much what you and i could get for it.