I had a 450 Foreman which was as reliable as a rock,but unfortunatly it rode like a rock also.

 

Ya I hear you, the suspension is pretty crude.

 

Honda ATVs are made in Ohio and South Carolina. Kawasakis are made in Nebraska. Yamahas and Suzukis are made in Georgia. Some manufacturing may have moved since this info was current.
The four Japanese companies produce superior equipment because of their superior engineering and manufacturing; not because of where the plants are located.

 

Quess you stop reading the post. People in riding groups with Jap bikes see them break down, just do a search on this site for any make,they all have there issues.

Once you have ridden or ridden with so many brands of bikes you start to forget about the almighty never go wrong with Japanese myth.

 

Not exactly ATVs but I've talked to people (engineers and management types) in the automotive industry who have worked with the Japanese and they are obsessive about even little things. Even the smallest seemingly mundane components like switches, ***** and ergonomic things they will go over and over their supplier with. They don't tolerate quality control problems. It must be perfect. It must feel perfect. It's the same with other sourced components. They're evidently the same way in house. They pay attention to the little things and it adds up to the final product. If the 50 cent switch works perfectly and is built with an absolute minimal failure rate, the overall vehicle will show that quality. That sort of thing shows in Japanese cars and trucks. These same people have worked in the American auto industry and they say the difference is striking.

 

They may be fussy about light switches,but not my buttons that shifted gears on my 450 Foreman E.S, or my friends 660 grizzly axle at $220 a pop.

The only reason I when Polaris is because of the years of luck I had with there snowmachines. A ATV is not a space shuttle they all pretty well do what you expect of them.