I find it amusing that for the last few years all quads made are compared to the raptor and now the yfz450. While Honda, polaris,kawiaski,suzuki were thinking, yamaha was building. Actually only Honda was sitting on there hands the rest were building there quads. It appears that Honda has the most die hard fans and the least performance. That was a good marketing ploy they did in the eighties. Build a bulletproof 300 cc utility and be labeled for life. One thing Honda does better than the other manufactures (yamaha, suzuki, kawi, polaris and cannonfail) is higher profit margins. Not hard to do when you charge the consumers more and give them less.

 

dont see to many old yamaha's around like honda's were did they all go. only yammie's i see around are the shee's still kicken butt.

 

lol wtf man, yammi is on top and no one can accept it

 

I believe Honda has had their 450R in the works for years, while yamaha was building their yfz450 w/o as near as much testing.

 

The only honda's I still see running from the 80's are R's, so whats the diference? Honda and yamaha both produced mean 2 strokes, and they are still around from the years back. Only reason you see more R's than 80's banshee's, is because they still make banshees, so old ones never really get life put back in them. It is true though, you look in all the forums everyone compares there quads to yamies.

 

Yamaha has always been more performance oriented,where Honda tried to make a solid dependable machine.
Yamahas are not the worst built machines though,but there second next to Suzuki.

The trade-off sucks but you can't be the fastest and still maintain #1 in reliability.Yamaha has proven that.I'm not just talking about their quads,I mean everything from streetbikes to snowmobiles.They are the FERRARI of the motorcycle/ atv world.

I am a diehard Honda fan,but I also hold the Yamaha in high regards.Simply because I like power and alot of it.

You know what they say,"If you can't afford to maintain a Ferrari,you shouldn't be driving one"

 

that true Sheesnojoke, i remember back when the tecate 3&4's were around they were faster than the triz & 250r but just didnt last.

 

I have both a 03 Yami Raptor and and 04 yami yfz450 and have had zero problems with either. I grew up on a yami warrior, and that thing is still running as strong as the day we got it. To say that yamahas units dont hold up is crap in my mind. Banshee's and Warriors have gone almost untouched since there release in the 80's, and there is a reason for it. I can't disagree that Yamaha's quality isnt as good as Honda. I own Honda street bikes, and as far as engineering and quality control, they are unmatched. Realize though, that as Honda is the more reliable and better company, they are always falling a little short on the performance scale. In the street bike world and atv world. Dirtbikes is another story.
The way that Yamaha is been going, I have turned into a real loyal fan. Honda keeps disappointing me as far as performance is concerned.
I agree, that everyone is comparing off of yamaha. Yamaha is on top, and it looks like they are there to stay, unless someone like KTM decides to build a 450 powered quad. The new Honda, while probably very reliable, imo, wont touch the yfz450.
Hondaracer305: So I guess yamaha spending 4 years testing a designing the yfz isnt long enough huh? IF honda spent more time than that testing and designing the trx450, then that is there fatal flaw, because by the time honda comes out with something, Yamaha already has come out with something better! Honda takes way to long coming out with anything, and once out, never makes real good inprovements to keep up with everyone else. They stick with the same 'ol thing for too long, cause it takes them too long to build and test things. Look at the trx450, thats their end result after this many years!! There is no technology in that motor, compared to the yami. Wheres the DOHC, the titanium 5 valves. YZ or cr linkage setup, the less weight it should have, being that its already kickstart and weights as much as an electric start yfz???? That many years to come up with an inferior quad. Give me a break!
HOnda makes quality things, yamaha makes faster things. Fortunately, yamaha's quality is starting to be a lot better and people should really question why they are buying a honda. Anymore, the quality isnt that far off, and the performance is a lot better on board a yami!
.................Can't go wrong buying a honda, just be prepared to be beat by a yamaha

 

I couldn't agree more.......

 

Things are gonna heat up in here