yamaha will have to step up to the plate and sponsor a pro rider. if not the new honda 450r will spanking the yzf at the pro races. win on sunday and sell on monday (or tuesday for atv shops, lol). if you don't think factory sponsored riders win more than priviteers, then check out the dirt bike mx races. maybe after the factories start promoting the sport more we will see more atv racing on televsion. i would love to set down on the couch and watch every national mx race a tv.

 

i wonder if the 400ex a-arms will fit the 450r. if so, that will cost the after market companies a lot of money.

 

Crickets are what you'll hear at the Honda dealer over in the space earmarked for the TRX450. January 2004? Hahahahahaha. I doubt it.

I said it before and I'm sticking by it. This is a reactionary measure - nothing more. I'll never be convinced otherwise. Honda got caught with their pants down - BIG TIME and they got pudd'n to answer with.

"hours and hours..." Hahahahahaha... I'll be they spent hours and hours on it - for the last couple of months after the spanking from Yami.

selector

 

hey selector, would you please tell me a little about your yzf450. first off, did you ride it stock before you modded it? second, are all the mods (performance wise) factory? and a little on how it handles and the power delivery, alot of bottomend, top end etc.... oh yeah, does it kick forward or reverse and how hard is it to kick. does it start pretty easily when hot? and did you weigh your quad your self for a true weight?

 

How do you figure? This isn't directed solely at you, this is to everyone hammering on Honda in past days....

Honda is taking a lot of flak on these boards lately and Yamaha is getting a lot of Praise.... I don't understand it --- here's the way I see it:

Yamaha had a LOT further to come than Honda - until the YFZ they had not produced a competitive chassis and engine combo. They always released quads with lots of engine potential, but always lacked horribly in the chassis dept.

Honda has always had great handling and engine combos that worked well together. No matter how much people like to bash the 400EX on the forums, when you show up at a race, you will undoubtedly see 10 times as many Hondas as other brands combined.

That said, Yamaha finally made a giant leap by producing a chassis that in many key areas mimics Honda's traditional design - then they throw in a somewhat detuned YZ engine in it and all the sudden, it's the holy grail and nothing can touch it.

On the other hand, Honda did exactly what they needed to do - refined their already excellent chassis, dropped in an already excellent CRF engine (more than likely somewhat detuned as well) and will surely have a winner on their hands as well. Honda also went to the extreme that many did not belive they would and built what many of us were asking for --- a 250R replacement --- light weight, kickstart only, no reverse, no BS quad built as a platform for racing.

It also appears that they thought it thru enough to make front end and other parts interchangeable with the 400EX, making the transition for someone racing a 400EX a natural one.

Now.... That said - why do so many of you think that the Honda won't compare to the YFZ, just because Yamaha had further to come???

Truth be told, both will be good platforms for race machines, we'll likely see both taking the checkered flag often in various types of events...

Personally, I think it's a very good sign for the sport that someone like Honda is officially getting back into racing. This will likely mean models will get updated yearly to stay competitive - no more BNG for year after year. I came from the drought of the late 80's and 90's - it's a great time for sport/race quads...

 

Shiz! had a nice reply going and lost it. I can't do it again.

the machine hauls
easy to kick
performs/handles great
killer on trails w/ my mods and 14/40 gearing
dealer did everything cept plastic trimming and bars
have only weighed parts as they come off - not the whole machine
great bottom end

Sorry - kinda pissed for loosing the nicely formated reply.

selector

 

i know what you mean, i had a large reply the other day and lost it. i did not have the heart to even redo it like you did. lol thanks

 

Well said! Why fix it if it's ain't broke? Just take the best of what you already have (and have had for years) and combine them.

Glad to see Honda back into ATV racing, it's about time!

 

I think there are finally two new quads(yfz450, and the thr450r) that will finally rid the pro-production class of the trail oriented z400., and Honda signing Tim Farr, if you havent already noticed, is a Godsent. This now puts all of the other manufacturers under pressure to sign factory racers and will give top racers the money they deserve. And if manufacturers start sponsering racers, then they will start advertising their investment on TV and in the media, taking our sport to the next level![img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

 

I wish i could be there to see the look on your face when you realize how wrong you are and how much of *** you just made of yourself.
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