I have not owned a Honda in a number of years, but I am in alot of forums and I seldom see Honda have the 1st year issues the likes of the KQ and its ECM EFI failures and Reverse issues. The last Honda we bought was a Forman ES wich was a 1st year quad and the ES was alitle problematic on long rides, but honda was thinking and provided a manual shift lever that worked great to get you back in. We had to tow one of our new KQ's in over 30 miles, just a few weeks ago when the ECM/EFI went out up in the mountains. I think from past experince Honda puts a little more thought (R&D) in there machines. Most likely why they are always behind the curve on new products. Honda's overall reliabilty is pretty hard to beat. Also with the improved brakes I think the engine braking will be less of an issue. I know about half the time I wish I could turn off the Engine brake on my Polaris, particuarly when its locking up the rear on steap rocky desents causing the control issues. I realy never saw the lack of engine braking on the Honda as that big of a deal, The ones that I have road seemed to be able to get some engine braking out of 1st gear in maual mode anyway, just not near what you get on other belt drive quads. If I were buying one today I think I would be hard pressed to not go with the Honda. That said the 2006 KQ in Black is darn sharp looking.

 

When you talked about the engine and said you thought it would be more of a match for the King, I assumed you were referring to power so that's why I commented.

 

cc1999, thanks for the response. I have an existing response going in another section with a few belt ?'s on the KQ in general like how bad are they in terms of getting them wet, when do they need to be replaced (how long do they last), and how much would a dealer charge to install a new one.

that black KQ does look good. I have a black F150 so it would match well but due to the scratches showing, black fading, being the hottest in the sun, and knowing that it is the HARDEST color to keep clean (although when clean, it looks the best) I am going to get olive.

 

I don't know why you act like the KQ doesn't have enough power because it does, even after 700miles I love it's power. It's got enough power to compete with the v-twins still, that's why people often compare it to, say a BF 750 and they usually pick the KQ. The KQ still appeals to me over everything else out there because it's a bargin compared to quads like the Polaris 800 and Bomb 800, it does everything they do, I don't see why people pay $2000 for 2-4 quad lengths. And when the ignition module comes out it will probably be even with the BF 750 in the power department. Saying power doesn't matter in the 700cc class is wrong IMO, power always matters.

 

I never said the KQ nor the Rincon did not have enough Power. I said for the fokes shopping for Power and Power is the number one important thing to them that neither one of these two quads would be in the running. These are both very good all around quads. Both great trail machines. To play in the power wars these days it takes more than a 700 and more than one Cylinder. Yes I would agree that if and when some modules and other aftermarket upgrades come available that the KQ might very well be able to keep up with a Brute 750, but keep in mind there are all kinds of modds on the market for the Kawi twins, so if the Brute has mods then the king is back in the same boat its in now perfomance wise. So what I am trying to say here is that both the King and the Rincon are somewhat mid-pack in the performance area of the big bore machines so the extra bike length or two the KQ might or might not have over the Rincon is not likely as important to the fokes looking at buying a 700 EFI machine. You have to admit if you are a power shopper like myself there is no substitute for the Bomb 800 HO EFI V-twin on the market right now. Kawi is said to be working very hard on try to trump the Bomb with a 800EFI of there own. You can bet Polaris will be in the Hunt as well by next year or no later then 07'. Suki and Honda have always seemed pretty happy with the Mid pack performance thing and there is nothing wrong with that. They both sell alot of machines to alot of happy customers. I myself given the choice between the KQ and the Honda would want to ride the new honda first but going by the improvements over the 650 would tend to lean toward the Rincon.

stocks

As far as the Kq's we have, we have never been stranded by a belt problem nor have we ever had problems of any kind in relation to them getting wet. The only issue I have with the KQ's belt drive is 1. the cost of the belt is in the 200.00 range,(Kawi and Polaris are under 100.00) and 2. The owners manual say's to inspect at 600 miles and change at 1200 miles. To me 200 bucks plus labor seems kinda steep every 1200 miles of riding. We do not have 1200 miles on any of ours yet but I was on a forum a few months ago talking with some guy's that were po'ed about there belts being wornout at 1200 miles and they said they wore out right at the 1200 miles the book said they would. except the guy that only got 600 out of his but he admitted he had been abusive to his. So when the manufacture tells you it will were out in 1200 miles and the guys I talked to that were at that time po'ed because they did, and were hunting for a better deal on belts. I tend to think that is something that makes me think the gear trans on the Rincon might be worth a buck or two extra and that is the main reason I would tend to lean toward the Honda, that and I like the stability of the Honda just a tiny bit better than the KQ. The KQ's we have, have been good except the one the ECM failed on, that was iritating but not the end of the world. it just did it at a very bad time.

 

[quote]
Originally posted by: cc1999
Suki and Honda have always seemed pretty happy with the Mid pack performance thing and there is nothing wrong with that. They both sell alot of machines to alot of happy customers.

Seriously not trying to start an arguement with you cc1999 as you and I both know we have our differences, but I just wanted to point out that as of late, Suzuki has been, in my opinion, the top dog for turning out performance-leading and inspiring machines. Enter the Z400. Enter the Vinson. Enter the KingQuad: 2005 ATV of the Year. Enter the Eiger. All are right at or near the top of anyone's list as class-leaders. The new LTR450 sounds like it will steal the spotlight from Yamaha in a big way. I would have to say I think Suzuki is very much in the performance hunt.

 

I would agree with you that Suzuki has some great machines in its line up, however the Z400 kind of makes the point I was just talking about, from the day it was released it handeled as well as the honda 400ex but fell short in the power department with the likes of the raptor, DS650. As far as power goes Praries can outrun stock Z400s in drags. I have done it many times at the dunes with my praries and my suki's Twin Peaks cloans. The new 450's abilities are yet to be seen since it has not been released yet. The new 700 Raptor might be a little tuff for the new 450 to outrun, we will have to wait and see how it turns out. I do however put the Vinson at the top of my list as well in the 500 ute class. The ozark is also at the top of my list in entry level quads, however I would have a hard time chosing between the ozark and the Recon. The eiger I would have to disagree with you, I tend to say it is tossup for me between the Kodiac's and Rancher's in the 400 class machines, and if price was not important I would pic the Outlander as a clear leader in the 400cc class. Much the same as the 800 Outlander seems to be the clear leader in the Big bore class.

 

The Z400 was not designed to beat Raptors, DS650s, V-Forces, etc.

 

Maybe so, but it is there top sport model then and now, and is not head of its class as you were indicating. I do remember it being compared to the Raptor and the 400ex when it came out since those three were the top models from the big 3 mfg's. It may have been the top 400 cc sport, but there were only 2 the suki and the honda back then that were making 400cc sports I think thats still the case now.The AC and the Kawi's are just cloans of the Z400. It was not head of the sport class in power. Which was what I was talking about a few post back when I said the KQ was somewhat mid pack in the power department. Meaning again that it cannot run with the big twins of other mfg's in the performance department. If Suki wants to be head of the UTE power game they need to swich motors to at least a well tuned EFI 750+ twin or to be safe 800+ twin. I am thinking you are trying to tell me the KQ is not mid pack in the Power department, if its not what would you rather me call it. I know of at least 4 Big Bore machines on the market today that will outrun it. There are only about 9 big bores on the market that I can think of at the moment, and knowing from experince that it resides at about #5 in power I refeered to it as mid pack, I was doing my best to still be honset and try not to offend KQ owners with my thoughts on the matter.

 

It just susprised me earlier when you said that the KQ didn't seem peppy for a 700, compare it to the Sportsman 700 EFI twin and the Grizzly 660, the KQ has more speed and power than them, so I don't know why you thought it wasn't peppy, maybe the low end lag gave you a bad impression of it, because after 0-5mph it's power pulls hard and it's powerband stays strong. Also someone on a different forum told me he had a BF 750 and his friend had a KQ, he said the BF 750 felt faster but when they drag race they were even, and they switched quad and the results were the same, so that says a lot about the KQ's 695cc single IMO. Does the new Rincon have diff lock? Does it have a better tranny setup (a low gear)? What about disk brakes instead of drums? If my sources are correct it doesn't have any of this, and everything else in this class has it including the KQ, so I don't think it is better, plus it's only 675cc.