The 450 Honda's are good atv's,I use to have A 400 foreman & a 300 before that,the only problem I have with Honda is they want to make atv's that they think people want,but in reality most people want something different,I think with the rubicon they will hitt their mark,me included.

 

rooster
for one thing my quad is oil cooled and it has disc brakes on the front unlike the 00.
It has discs all around. but I like being able to choose gears so might just stick with it a couple of years even though it just had a new starter put in it. I also have a supertrapp, skid plates, boot guards, K&N power kit, and brute bumper. I plan to get 25x12x11 vamps on stock honda wheels for the rear and 25x10x12 589's on ITP steel for the front.
kodiak4x4

 

Having just been through the "what do I buy" scenario myself I settled on a '00 Grizzly. I owned a '91 Honda 300 4WD several years ago and was extemely pleased with it with few exceptions. This time around I wanted a utility quad again with at least a 500cc motor. Honda falls short with their 450, really a 433. Can you say wishful thinking on Honda's part? I wanted exceptional ground clearance. Again Honda has nothing to offer. I wanted on demand 4WD. Does Honda have it? No! In the end I bought the Yamaha after being scared off of Polaris. So far, I'm pleasantly surprised. I REALLY like the automatic transmission. It is extremely comfortable, easy to ride, and physically big enough to be "roomy". The down side is it is a lot noisier than my Honda was and it starts a little hard in the cold. The fit and finish is rough at best, although, in Yamaha's defense the 2000 Kodiak looks great!
I went to my local Honda dealer after hearing rumors of the Rubicon, which fit the bill perfectly except for an on demand 4WD system, but they feigned ignorance of it in order to sell what they had on the floor. What is it with shady dealers!? At this time I would buy another Yamaha, something I would NEVER have considered in the past. You have to shop around, do your research, and make the best decision that works for you.

[This message has been edited by MissouriGriz (edited 01-25-2000).]

 

Go To https://atvconnection.com/editor/rev...iak/review.htm

 

To tell you the truth yamah and honda are the best quads you can buy, I own both myself, 96 Big Bear 4x4 with super swampers and a 00 300ex, you cant go wrong with either company, my advice is go and test drive one and decide.


96 Big Bear 26' super swampers,,,,,,,,00 300ex DG nerf bars (DG pipe soon!!)

 

I have to say yamaha. I dont really have any thing to base that on, except my honda AC110, and u know what kind of shap that is in. It sucks. But it is what.....15 years old?

 

I love Honda. I have 1985 atc250es and it is still running hard. But within the next several months, I'm getting a Grizzly. Honda just doesn't offer what Yamaha does. Hondas are the longest running machines around, but they're behind in 4wd technology. what made the decision from Honda to Yamaha was their
2wd/4wd option on the Kodiaks and Grizzlys.
I've heard a good bit about Honda's new Rubicon and I really like it, but with all those bells and whistles, if something ever were to tear up, you would have the most expensive and biggest mess of your life trying to fix it. I do all of my own work on my Honda, but they have made the Rubicon just a little too complicated.

[This message has been edited by SuperSwamper (edited 01-30-2000).]

 

I have to say the Honda in this instance. Maybe it's because I've owned many of them over the years. I've always considered Yamaha my second choice. When I was shopping for my current ride ('99 Foreman 450S) I looked at the Grizzly, Sportsman 500, and the Foreman. Well first off I don't like automatics, so that was strikes against the Grizz, and the SP500. I eventually went with my gut instinct and got the Honda, and have not regretted it at all. When I saw the test between the Kodiak and the 450ES I was intrigued so I stopped by my local Yamaha dealer and started looking at the '00 Kodiak. It looked nice. That's the only good thing I found. I rode it and it felt WAY under powered! It also felt like I was sitting on 125cc size bike. To me it has no room. Also (I guess this is personal preference) I don't like the idea of open disc brakes on a machine that should see a lot of water and mud time.
Anyways.....I also just read somewhere (I think it's in the High Lifter forums) that a guy is having problems with his '00 Kodiak not being able to turn 26" tires in the mud. He's also upset because he rides with guys that have 450's and they turn 27" mud tires with no problems. When I bought my machine I had one purpose. To build an awesome mud riding machine, and I have not been let down yet.

"KEEP THE MUD SLINGIN'!!!"
SwampMonster

 

SuperSwamper, I agree with your points about 4wd technology, Honda reliability and atv fixability. But for the same reasons I am leaning toward the Rancher rather than the Kodiak. The extra hi/lo gearbox, 2/4wd transfer gears, 2 clutches and a belt tranny and related linkages all make for more moving stuff to go wrong. Honda's new 4wd system is touted to be an improvement over the conventional system used on the Kodiak/Grizzley, at least on paper at this point. The expense of fixing a Rubicon has to be on everyone's mind and time will tell on that one, but if I were going to trust any of the ATV mfg's with a first year major technology change, it would be Honda.

I haven't made up my mind yet between the Kodiak and Rancher (or waiting for the Rubicon). There is no doubt the trick features on the Kodiak mentioned above as well as the disc brakes make it a desirable choice. Question in my mind is how much "trick" can you afford on a machine that's going to get beaten around rather severely in the rocks, mud and expected to last forever as a workhorse.

 

Magnum 425, while I believe rating a company entirely based upon a single machine inaccurate and risky, if the ATC 110 were the standard, Honda would be paramount among all the world's manufacturers, based upon my own!

Stolen twice, trashed once, launched downstream like the Robert E. Lee (it floats!), this gallant little beast, like the Energizer Bunny, keeps going, and going, and going . . .

Also, it's still the Wheelie King!

Tree Farmer

[This message has been edited by Tree Farmer (edited 01-30-2000).]