I disagree the 450R isn't all that great. Yeah it's a nice quad and will spank my 400ex, like i care. But the point here is that Honda did not pull it off. They had all of the customers freaking out because they wanted the 450R and it was in high demand and was being talked about alot. Then it comes out and they dissapoint everyone. And The banshee is a great all around quad not just straight line racing.
I almost bought a banshee limited edition instead of my 400ex.

 

Learning2fly, I think the next time Pikes Peak international Hill Climb is Televised, you need to turn it to the Speed Channel or ESPN and check out what machine win's year after year, you will also see that its NOT STRAIGHT!!!!! The Banshee DOMINATES!!!!! Say what you will, the 450R is definately NOT the best all around machine!!!! I'm 6'2 weighing an amazing, 183 soaking wet!!!! For racing which is ALL I do with the exception my trips to "my" mountain, the YFZ is hands down the BETTER quad!!!! Honda's UTILITY machines fall short to ALL the other manufacturers machines!!! Their dirtbikes are no different!!!! Yamaha builds machines for a specific Purpose yes that I agree, but for good reason, they have the Warrior, Wolverine and Rapto...3 different quads to choose from for trails!!! The banshee for the sands, the drags etc. The YFZ for racing!!!!! NOT EVERONE ARE SPECTATORS AT RACES, therefore they built the YFZ simply for that!!!!!! DOES THAT MAKE HONDA, YAMAHA, KAWASAKI AND SUZUKI, HORRIBLE, for making the YZf's, Yz's, Cr's, Kx's, and Rm's??? THEY ARE PURPOSE BUILT MACHINES!!! Honda builds WHAT??? 3 sports quads basically, not counting the 250ex? THEY ARE ALL TRAIL QUADS!!!!!! You can say what you will, but the 450R was build to compete with the YFZ and it fell short, to JUSTIFY this, YOU and the other Honda owners brag about how good the 450R is on the trails!!! LOL!!!!! If only I rode trails with a sport machines I might feel as strongly about the trail riding issue, but I am NO spectator!!!! YOU FIND IT SO HARD TO BELIEVE THAT HONDA ISNT #1!!!!! Why is that so hard to believe???? Because of the PAST?????? Everything has its day!!!! Yamaha, besides dirt bikes, has not really been the top dog at much else, give or take a few events!!! HONDA is so USED to sitting high because they were winners in ALOT of things, now that they are not, SOMEBODY HELP US, ITS THE END OF THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT!!!!!!!!!! Actually its a REALITY check to Honda, they should quit focusing on their IMPORT RICER ROCKET PEICE OF CRAP CARS, and focus on THE ALL AROUND company they have!!!!!!!

 

2Fast4U400ex-

I'm glad to see that you didn't buy a banshee. You would have been the disappointed person and not the 450R owners. Not everyone is disappointed with the 450R. Had you read the title or paid further attention to the posts within, you would notice this is just another BS post by 14mins because he has nothing to do but bash. In my post I said they are all three good quads but by far are not the best all around sport quad. I think it is a tough call between the Z400's and the 450R. Yes, I strayed from the post a bit, but to make a point. The 450R is not going to be the sucky quad that a lot of people would like to believe. Maybe Honda should have designed a MX only quad that spanked the YFZ, but it appears they chose to go for a larger market share. Will this work? who Knows. I am glad that we disagree, but for Honda to continually get a bad rap when the 450R will be a sweet machine is ridiculous.


TellicoGrizz660 - Provide the details and I will make it a point to watch the race. I am not above learning something. My guess is that any quad in the race is far from stock, much like any other race out there. As for your opinion to the YFZ being the best trail machine, that adds very little to your credibility. But it is your opinion, to bad it isn't shared by all YFZ owners. Yes, 6'2 riders can ride the riders on trails, and you could drive a neon. It doesn't have to make sense but is doable.

Not everyone is a racer either. Fortunately more and more people are getting into the sport who are not racers but want to have a lot of fun, whether it is a sport quad, ute, etc. The point is that the Yamaha sport quads are not all they are cracked up to be. If yammi owners are going to bash, maybe they should have an argument to stand on.

 

2003 Baja 1000 results

1st-Honda TRX 450R-18 hrs-27 min

2nd-Bombardier DS 650-19 hrs-20 min

3rd-Honda 400EX-20 hrs-29 min

4th-Honda TRX 450R-20 hrs-45 min

5th-Yamaha YFZ 450-21 hrs-6 min



three outa five aint bad.

 

Do you really think having a kick only is going for the larger market. You said it yourself, there are more people getting into sport riding. Well I garrenty most of them would rather have a elec starter. So with Honda going with a only kick, I would say they were going for a MX design atv, not a all-around one.

 

learning to crawl- quit while you are behind. Kick start only is not intented for the masses.

The honda is 400 dollars cheaper than the yamaha BUT i bet that most will be able the yamaha for less than list price while the honda dealers will get list or more for a quad that offers less.

So far in this thread the guys with knowlege agree the honda offers less for the money, the guys that are die hard red bloods have there blinders on and probably will not buy the new honda anyway as long as there 300ex still runs. lol

Honda set out to produce a mx track quad with this new 450r and the magizines are the ones that have labeled it a trail/track quad. I will ride on a new honda 450 this week so then i will be able to bash first hand.

 

In my earlier post, I stated that if I needed more power from the 450R that I would call Curtis Sparks. If this is what the "Sparks. . .nonsense," comment was referring too; I never said that the YFZ couldn't make more power modified. I simply stated that the only thing that I might need on the 450R would be more power.

I have ridden a new YFZ 450 and wasn't blown away. As a matter of fact, I came back thinking that I was glad that I didn't buy one. It was way too small for me. Yes, I have a pig DS but I also have a Banshee and have ridden everything except Cannondales. So to say that I'm just used to a big quad doesn't work here.

Besides, if all I was worried about was hp, I wouldn't be wasting my time with the 450s or Raptors. That is why I still have a Banshee. TellicoGrizz, have you seen the Pikes Peak clip on Huevos V?!

And $200 makes the Raptor wild? You have to be kidding. $200 won't hardly buy a slip-on exhaust. My stock DS has beaten stock Raptors will full systems. I am impressed with the way that my stock DS runs, but it is a far cry from an adrenaline rush.

The original topic was about Honda building lackluster motors. Just because the YFZ 450 is a cut above power-wise doesn't make Honda's 450 lackluster.

 

You have a very good point !!!!!!
I agree that the electric start would have been a better option for the masses. The 450R should actually have the elec start and reverse to make it complete as the best all around quad. This is why it is such a tossup between the 450R and Z400, KFX400. When the Z and KFX come out with their 450s, they will most likely be the best all around sport quad, if they aren't already. Again, that is a hard call.

I think Honda tried to appeal to racers, trail riders, big and small riders, people that just want to wheelie and screw-off, people that want to jump and handle. Will this work, it remains to be seen. They may have missed the boat, only sales numbers and customer satisfaction will tell the real story of how well they did. I'm sure the kick start will keep some people from buying it. It really will depend on what factors are important to them. Had the YFZ been designed for a larger person with all types of riding combined, I probably would have went that way. From what I've read, the Yamaha warranty coverage concerns me a bit.

Kick starting my quad was one of my least concerns for the type of riding that I plan to do. I'm sure that I'll **** and moan about it from time to time. But overall, I think I will really enjoy the 450R.

Honda should have just added the electric start and fudged their weight numbers like the YFZ. That probably cost them some buyers.

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You still have yet to prove your point of Honda building lackluster motors. Just unsubstantiated bashing..... Even if you ride the Honda, it won't affect your opinion. Your mind is already made up, everything but your raptor sucks. Yes we know that. Buy a YFZ so you can at least talk some smack and have a quad that pretty much backs it up. Did I say the YFZ sucks, NO. Just that it is definitely aimed at more of niche market. If Honda had lied about the weight of the 450R, much like Yamaha did. - then they could have added the electric start. I guess honesty was not the best policy for Honda.

You still working there at Craycraft????? Or are you just throwing some names around. 03 753cc under construction- Are you building it once piece at a time, hell even Honda puts out a quad faster than you. HA
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The 400ex placed 3rd eh?? If it's so called "out-dated" then why is it still in the top 5 in the baja 1000. Face it fellas they aren't out dated for what they are capable of doing.