Honda ATV's Anyone ever been disappointed?

[DRH1175]

I am in the market this year. I have it down to Suzuki, Yamaha and Honda. I like the gear shifting of the honda since it will be a work, fishing and hunting quad. Anyone ever bought a honda and wish they would have gone another way? I like the hondas the best though I wish they would have more clearance and Diff lock but should this really be a buy vs not factor?

[DRH1175]

I guess I forgot to mention for the Suzuki looking at the king quad 450. Honda the foreman or the rubicon, and the yammy grizzly 450 or 660

[Augusta]

I have three Rubicons, 04,05,& 07. I have 6000 miles on the 04, 5,500 miles on the 05, and 1,100 on the 07. No problems, and I am now looking at getting an 08. I love them!

[Macgyver55]

I'm sure some will think its foolish to not check out the competition, but this point I wont even consider anything other than Honda. I've been riding ATVs nearly since their inception. I ride quite a bit and in 31 years of ownership and riding an estimated 60 to 70 thousand miles, I've NEVER ever had to bring one back to the dealer for a warranty issue. I don't baby my machines and subject them to anything and everything that everyone else does. (Dave can attest to that) Add to that, in those miles I've never been stranded or let down in any way. To top that off they have very good resale value. In the dozen models I've owned, I only recall having to advertise one of them to sell it.

I don't want to get into a brand war because I'm sure that there are guys out there that are as happy as I am with their quads. But I've been working on and servicing ATVs of all brands for many yeats and there are some out there with more issues than others.

Some ride smoother, some go faster, some may even look better but you'll be hard pressed to find one more reliable.

[Roofer]

hmmmmm, I won't say anything on the brand.

My question is, why do you want to have a shift machine?

Out of your choices and what you want to do, any of them would be great. My choice for you would be the Rubicon. Just my opinion.

I've never had a Honda, so I can't answer your overall question. I can just say that I have been around atv's alot.

Great post Macgyver55, if that means anything to you.

[jltimm]

Honda's don't have the ground clearance, ride quality (other than the Rincon), differential lock, and the fun factor of the other machines. They are about as durable, and reliable as you will find in an ATV. They still find use for a drum brakes on an ATV (which to me is bad IMO. They tend to keep it simple so there is less things to go wrong and easier to figure out a problem if they ever have one. Yamaha and Suzuki is right up there with them in the reliability dept. Add a few more options, like smoother ride,diff. lock,great belt drive systems, disc brakes, and a little sportier appeal. You really can't go wrong when choosing from the big three, other than Honda's seem to be higher priced than the other two.

[Bjjams]

I had a crappy Honda once that I regret buying. It was a 04 400 Rancher AT. It was a bit of a lemon. Honda took care of everything though, no question so I was happy. I own a Rincon now and I am pleased overall. Currently there is no “perfect quad” out there. You just have to look at strengths and weaknesses and decide which one’s right for you.

[DRH1175]

Thanks all. It is really down to the honda and the suzuki. I test drove the king Quad 450 and was nothing but impressed. Though I love the dependability aspect of the hondas. Though again I know some people that own the old Suzukis like 20 yrs that are still riding them. I like the auto of the Suzukis since when you are hauling a lot of gear Shifting is something that can get in the way. But The torque that the gears give you for yard work etc... is cool. Do the autos seem to give you the stump pulling power of the shifters? I will use it a lot at home for pure work. Though ride would be a nice feature it actually is one of the last qualities on my list. This will be a work machine all the way. Cold starting when it is -20 out on LOTW is one of the factors that is most important.

[Bjjams]

Get a rubicon or rincon that way you can have both manuel and automatic shift.

[fasternu]

I have a rancher 350 Electric shift, and a friend of mine had a foreman 500 auto. The Auto was really nice when you are riding down the trail or road, but he didn't like it as much when working. He would always shift it out of auto so he could control things better. Once he got rid of the machine, he saved the money and went to an electric shift instead. He is very happy with it and doesn't regret the switch.

[jltimm]

The Kingquad 450 has a belt drive auto. Use low gear when working, and it will always have the low end grunt to spin all four tires, the Honda's will only spin three. Towing a trailer with alot of tongue weight on the Kingquad will decrease your ground clearance when it pushes your I.R.S. down. I've towed a 4x6 trailer filled with rock (about a yard) on more than one occasion and my Kingquad 700 squatted badly, but did the job.I towed them for well over a mile every time, and didn't break anything although I know it wasn't good for the wheeler. You will never prefer a shifter after using the auto tranny as they do all the shifting for you, and are always in the right gear.

[Roofer]

My vote is still the Rubicon. Best of both worlds for what you want to do.

Anyone with a Rincon will tell you, they are not for work.

Never drove a KQ450, but I bet it's little price jump to go to the 700 or 750 KQ. That is, if you decide on Suzuki. I have had a Suzuki and it was a great machine for me.

[jltimm]

That's a good point, the price difference between the Kingquad 700 and 450 isn't much.They are both the same sized body, and with the 700 you will get the third headlight.Another thing to think about is getting an 07, as you will save some $ if you can find some of them left over. Last weeks local paper had them from the Grantsburg dealer (W.R.) for 450-$5699 and the 700-$6199. I don't know if this was for 08's or not, but the price seemed o.k.

[Dave S]

If -20 temperature are your thing, it won't matter what ATV you buy. At that temp, any of them will have issues starting. EFI would be an asset in this case, but not a "cure-all" for extreme conditions.

I too have a Rincon. It's been a great machine and allows me to keep up with the best of them on the trails, both sport and utility. But it may not be the machine for you. For heavy work and a little play, and you're content with Honda, the Rubicon might be the machine for you. Sure it doesn't have EFI and a locker front end, but it's really a non-issue unless you have one front wheel in the air. Then it's matter of finessing your brakes to engage the other wheel. Some say it can't be done but I'll tell you, yes it can.

Any of the other manufacturers have great machines in the class you're looking at. Test ride them all and narrow your choice down based on what you need the most. Don't be afraid to jump brands. I've had Polaris, Suzuki, Honda, Can-Am, and Kawasaki and loved every one of them.

[Roofer]

The '07 KQ is a 700, the '08 is a 750. Just to clarify. 6199 for a 700 class machine is a great price...

[Hitman54]

I have owned 6 Hondas over the past 25 or so years. I have no complaints other than the stock tires are poor. My newest machine is an 07 Forman 500. Manual shift, I love it. Will it go 70 mph? NO, Does it have IRS for super comfortable trail riding? NO. Will it work like a dog? Yes! It was 22 below here last night and it popped right off this morning. It is a dependable machine that has the power I need to pull, push, drag and plow. That is what I use it for. If you are looking for a work horse I think either the Forman or the Rubicon are good options. I have never been a fan of belt driven machines and I like to be able to control my gear selection with the manual shift.

[DRH1175]

Everything about the honda and durability I like. It is always a hard decision though when it is A vs B. I think everyone is right really can't go wrong with Suzuki or Honda and who can argue about eithers dependability as well!

[Northwoodsdon]

I have an '05 Honda Rubicon with almost

7000 issue free miles !

I ride in temps from 25° to 115° and

haul it back to MN for the summer

I was able to add a 1½" clearance by adding

26" Big Horns and smoothing out the ride by

installing a set of Canadian Trail Edition

shocks.

I really like the transmission as it's able

to change as my riding style does and not to

many machines can do that !

Good Luck on your quest

[Fishnblood]

I got an '07 honda rancher 4x4 400 and love it. I picked mine up brand new with 0 miles for 4799 out the door. Not too bad when you see them goin for 4000 for an 04 on hsolist. but i will let you know after this weekend if i still love it being that it will be freezing out and see how she starts and everything. Oh and i got it in December of 07. However this is my first atv too. I gotta say being able to go between manual and automatic is nice as well as the option for 2x4 or 4x4 is awesome.

[jltimm]

Honda's electric shift is really something you must have to learn to like. When I drove one I couldn't stand it. I'd much rather shift with my foot, or better yet let the belt tranny do it's thing.

[Bandit]

Check out the turning radius also, I have an older foreman 450 and it takes 40 acres to turn it around, I think they fixed this on newer machines. Other than that it has been great for me.