what? that's one of the craziest things I've ever read!

variability is a major cause of poor reliability

 

I bought a new Foreman 400 in 99 and took it back for the first 25 hour service and the machanic did all the service accept,now get this,forgot to fill the crank case with oil after he installed the new oil filter.They loaded it up on my pick-up for me and I road it for a total of 7 1/2 miles before it finally got too hot and shut down.I was shocked to check the oil and none was found on the dip stick.I never thaught about checking the oil after they serviced it but they were the ones that cranked it and loaded it for me at the shop.I took it back to the shop needless to say I was very PO'ed.They checked it out and found nothing wrong after it was filled with oil.I got a lfetime warranty in writeing saying they would replace the engine free of charge if the engine ever broke due to the oil being left out by their service men.I now have 4000 miles on it and no engine problems to mention.Iwill say Honda has got my vote.BTW it does have a sticker that says Made In The USA on the back fender.[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

We have two Hondas with a total of over 7100 miles and well over 800 hours of riding time and have only spent $25 on repairs. I think my vote goes to Honda.

I was out riding last week and came up on a guy sitting on the side of the trail on a fuel injected ATV that just quits on him while driving. After letting it set for a bit is fires up OK. He said it is very difficult to put into reverse and grinds really bad when he puts it in reverse. His master cylinder leaks brake fluid and his clutch is going out. All this in only 800 miles. His ATV is way faster and way more powerful than ours, but guess who was first to the top of the hill?

Our next ATV will be a Honda too.

 

i wouldent mind having a honda, infact, i think it would be an awesome quad to strip down and throw performance parts on, but i only have so much money, and all of its going towards makeing my 800 the best it can be [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

For outright reliability and fit/finish, I'd also have to say Honda. One thing no one could argue about, with a Honda you will never, ever shread a drive belt[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img].

Within the brand, if outright reliability is the goal, I'd say footshift over auto, and air cooled over water cooled...

The flip side, though, is that you seem to pay a little extra for a Honda when compared to similar units of other brands, and Honda is a bit behind the curve when it comes to some features (like not having dif-lock, for example).

 

I've had everything from a Honda Big Red to my latest, a Polaris MV7 and even though the Hondas have always been of good quality they lack in personality and features these day's, which may be why they are generally more reliable, simple is always more reliable. It's hard to say which brand is better since many complaints are raised when ATV's are subjected to severe abuse. Everything has its limits and anything can break if it is pushed too far. Proper care of your equipment will usually have more to do with reliablity than anything else.

 

It is possible to get a really good one or a really bad one from any manufacturer, however you just get more bad ones from all of the other manufacturers than you do from HONDA.
HONDA is still the most reliable, durable, and also has by far the nicest fit and finish. The other manufacturers have not "caught up". When it comes to quality HONDA is in a class by themselves....and it doesn't matter if we are talking about atv's, cars, bikes, generators, outboard motors, lawnmowers, etc, etc, etc. I have to give those little people credit on this one[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

 

Little people in Ohio, I believe[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img] Their mowers and generators are top in their market in my opinion also.

Something I don't believe anyone else has mentioned yet is resale value... Before I bought my 500 Foreman, I looked a bit at used 450's, but everyone was asking so much for decent ones...

 

I have a Honda 5000 generator and it runs as smooth as silk. Quiet too!

 

I find it hilarious to visit some of the other brand's forums and see how some people think.

A fellow brand owner will complain they got problem[s] ("lemon" as the others in the forum call it) and the brand loyalists in the group ostracize them and call them a big baby because they complain about having to repair or modify (code for fix the dumb stuff from the factory) thier new quad regularly. They say its all part of the price for buying the best built, best performing ATVs. Funny how some people reason.

Maybe they don't know what it's like not having to work on something to ride, even with hard riding.

I seldom see 10 year old ATVs from certain manufacturer's on the trails. But all those problems are fixed now, right? maybe? I hope so????

I'm not taking a chance on that.