[cityhunter]

Hey all,

I have been reading alot of threads talking about how the brakes suck ( including myself ) and how the disc brake conversion is a must...

how we dont have 2wd option and have to get the 424.

How we dont have Diff lock and wish we did.

How we dont have IRS and we all want it ...

I know it all comes down to reliability which honda is the supposid king .. but i see LOTS of problems with ES system ( including myself)


Why dont we all just go out and buy a GRIZZLY or BRUTEFORCE ?

 

[350hondaman]

the 02+ foremans have a 2wd/4wd switch.
I dont have a problem with the SRA. only realy problem I find with the foreman is that it rides like a brick on the trails. yes i know about the preflex kit.. thats comming soon.

How we dont have IRS and we all want it ...

The Honda FOREMAN will never ever have IRS. Rubicon/Rancher maybe.
the foreman is a work first atv, so whats the point of puttin IRS on something that is made to carry a load? personally i dont really understand why honda put power steering on the 07' 500. the foreman is NOT hondas best seller, not even second. the rancher is hondas best selling atv, followed by the rincon followed by the rubicon.
Actually honda did try the IRS on the rubicon but after many tests they came to the conclusion that it didnt fair as well in there tests as the good ol' SRA did.

Why dont we all just go out and buy a GRIZZLY or BRUTEFORCE ?
the Grizz is a nice atv, FI/powersteering/irs/great out of the box mudder.
the brute again very powerfull, has many small problems (tie-rods etc) but the belt system is a joke compared to AC/polaris/yami. Another reason we all dont all drive big bores is because of the $$$$$.

""I know it all comes down to reliability which honda is the supposid king .. but i see LOTS of problems with ES system ( including myself)""

i have yet to be stuck in the woods with my ES, not one problem since 2001 and rancher has been riding hard. Honda and reliability..the 300s and old foreman 350s were reliable atvs. every honda is not bulletproff. simple as that. Doesnt break alxes/blow up diffs and gears like the ACs/brutes because the power is NOT there to break them. Honda foreman 450s put out around 11hp stock, rincons around 22hp.. compared to the real big bores that put around 40-50hp stock.


Its all comes down to what YOU want in a atv. Everytime i jump on my rancher and take it for a spin, theres a huge grin on my face i love that little quad, very quick/nimble on the trails. nice and light weight.

sorry for the long post/rant, but what is the reasoning behind this topic?
Chris[/i]

 

[trigger_time]

honda foreman

HEY ITS LIKE THIS IF YOU WANT A BRUTE , GRIZZLY , OR AC GO FOR IT !! PERSONALLY I WILL TAKE MY RIDE AND GO JUST ABOUT EVERYWHERE THESE OTHER MACHINES GO WITH A LITTLE SHAKING OFCOURSE DUE TO THE STRAIGHT AXLE . FOREMANS ARE TANKS AND I WILL TAKE THE RELIABILTY OVER ANY OF THESE QAUDS I HAVE LISTED ABOVE !!! I OWN AN 01 FOREMAN AND I HAVE HAD NO MAJOR PROBLEMS AT ALL .. TAKE CARE AND MAINTAIN IT AND IT WILL LAST WHAT SEAMS FOREVER !!! SO IF YOU DONT LIKE YOUR BIKE (( SELL IT )) I WILL HAVE TO AGREE WITH 350 HONDAMAN ON THIS ONE !!!


2001 honda foreman 450s mods- warn 424 , detroit gearless locker , ez reverse , armidillo full skid plate , custom rear differential skid plate , super winch , hmf utility pipe , 135 jet , k&n airfilter , outerwears prefilter , custom built snorkel , 512 progressive shocks front and rear , toggle switch for fan , 27 inch mud #[email protected]*! tires on black itp delta steels . and anthying else i may have forgot !!!

 

[MAD MUDDER]

everyone likes different bikes, i used to be honda hard core but IMO they are work bikes. they are not mud, trail, or anything, just a work bike. if you mud them, they cant go as good because of the SRA and the brakes go out, if you trail ride with them they dont have a very high top speed and they are not not that good of a trail bikes because of no locker. yes they can trail ride and mud ride to a cretin extent but thats it. im sorry but hondas are not good at everything, just like every other brand out there. i know im proubly going to get bashed pretty hard because of saying all of this but its the truth. IMO i agree belts are bot the best thing, but you go out and get a brute force or grizzly and see how far you can push them in water or mud riding, i guarantee that you would be inpresed, i know i was. hondas used to be tanks but in the last couple years they are starting to go down hill, i know there is going to be trouble about me saing that too. but you go out and buy a rubicon or some newer honda and USE it every single day, for work and riding around, it will not last. around where i live we really use our bikes, we dont get them out 20 times a year to ride, we use them EVERY day. now i dont use my kawasaki for hard work all the time, i usually swich it around with my dads rubicon so they will both last longer. there are people i know that have a grizzly and a prarie 650 and 700, they use them every single day for work and play and i think they are lasting alot better than the newer hondas do. like i said before hondas are not that great of 4wheelers when it comes down to reliability hondas are not really that great, if you use them and not let them set in a building all year. im sorry for being so harsh on here but im just tired of people complaining about how they will never leave honda but always complain about how honda isnt the top dog anymore. if you want power get another brand, no one is going to kill you for leaving honda.
-Aaron

 

[rubyandforeman]

ya i agree 100% with mud mudder. honda is not the top dog any more.. i rather go out and buy a 650 or 750 brute force.. i could buy one for how much i have in my foreman.. and other hondas.. so if ur goin to bash him bash me 2

 

[cityhunter]

Re: honda foreman

Great posts guys !

I love my Honda and dont regret buying it at all

Im not trying to bash honda i just wanna hear what people think

 

[500Foreman05]

Ive never had a problem out of any of our hondas. My family has had ONLY honda. two of my cousins did the arena cross or whatever its called and ran hondas.
And all our toys and work 4wheelers have been hondas and have had alot of success with them.

Now I do not aim at big ol Mudholes and water holes when im out riding. Light mud and not very deep water is more like it. Mostly trail riding up and down hills working around the farm and things like that.

Its a Ford vs chevy thing i think. Everybody has one they like and one they hate. And everybody can pull out some good and bad points in a argument about there favorite.
in the end most all will get you home most all of the time. Sometimes the chevy pulls the ford out sometimes the ford pulls the chevy out.

 

[aastelly]

if a single bike came with everything lockers, irs, big bore,and every other accessory you put on a bike there would no business for the after market parts maker and the middle man that sells them. i can bet a bike with everything would cost as much as a new truck. i wish my foreman had irs, but i wanted a manual transmission, not a automatic with belts. the only other manual is a suzuki vision, i chose the honda because of honda reliability.

 

[Grtwhthntr]

QUOTE ("cityhunter":318xk72a)

Hey all,

I have been reading alot of threads talking about how the brakes suck ( including myself ) and how the disc brake conversion is a must...

how we dont have 2wd option and have to get the 424.

How we dont have Diff lock and wish we did.

How we dont have IRS and we all want it ...

I know it all comes down to reliability which honda is the supposid king .. but i see LOTS of problems with ES system ( including myself)


Why dont we all just go out and buy a GRIZZLY or BRUTEFORCE ?

'Cause at the end of the day somebody has to be able to tow the rest of them home...LOL

 

[REDDOG]

The guys I ride with call mine "The Mudders Tow Truck". When was the last time you seen an IRS tow truck? I like not having a radiator to get plugged with mud. No rear CV to break when I tow back the grizzly with a sea chest full of beer (down the highline and Mud Nats). No belt to smoke when it gets stuck in the peanut butter mud. Now diff lock that is another CV killer or diff breaker with gear reduction (so I don't need it either).

 

[H4]

QUOTE ("REDDOG":30qg0g5o)

The guys I ride with call mine "The Mudders Tow Truck". When was the last time you seen an IRS tow truck /

When the rear axle bearings blew out on a Polaris Trail Blazer about 20 miles from home there were five bikes on the ride. All the rest were utility quads all less than 2 years old, except mine. It was a given that the old Honda would be the one to bring the bike and the rider back.
We ride a lot of time deep in the woods thru some pretty rough terrain. I have often thought that in an emergency situation if you had to make it back alone in a hurry I would trust my old Honda before I would take any of the newer, faster or more comfortable bikes.

 

[H4]

Forgot to mention in last post , that happened only 3 years ago and all the new bikes have since been replaced while the Honda Hummer continues to do what it does best. I have no doubt that it will still be running when this round of new bikes is replaced.

 

[mudder fudder]

I ride with guys that have hondas and yamahas. After the ride, us guys on the hondas are tired of pulling the yamahas out. I don't know much about any belt driven bikes, but just yesterday a co worker of mine was telling me how 4 people in his hunting club smoked their belts this past weekend. I have put a little bit of money into my Foreman, but for upgrade purposes only, with the exception of a broken CV joint. I do agree that Honda could put better parts on their bikes. But overall, Honda is the best!

 

[Sage6058]

I would love to see Honda come out with a 450/500 ES with IRS. No radiator, no belt, Honda reliability. On that note, my 2001 450ES has given me no real problems besides a speed sensor that went out 4 or 5 years ago. I have 28" Outlaws on it and would love more lift, but with a SRA I'm kinda limited. I take care of my Honda and it takes care of me. I'm not afraid to put the front and rear rack under water/mud and have done it many times.
My .02...

 

[REDDOG]

Here are some pic's of my tow truck.


This is an arctic cat 650v2 with a broken rear spring. We where about 3 miles back in the woods.

This is my Honda pushing it to the road. I hung it on the winch rope to pick it up.

This one was Mud Nationals 2006. The chevy p/u couldn't push the travel trailer up the muddy hill backwards.

Leave to a good old Honda to drag my big butt around and drag just about any thing I hook on to.

 

[dirty4man]

Just enjoy what you have. All that matters is that your able to ride.

 

[Grtwhthntr]

QUOTE ("Dirty4man":23g2m56t)

Just enjoy what you have. All that matters is that your able to ride.

Have to agree 100% (but it sure is fun to give a little ribbin' to non Honda owners every now and then)

 

[350hondaman]

heres another trend i notcie with hondas..

they out and last everything else

 

[crazyfun450]

98 450 still going

what ever you get you have to like it for some reason. My 450es is moded to do what I like. It floated away during Katrina and with the addition of a battery and gas it started up and has been running fine. other than changing some hub bearings and making some mods it has out lasted my friends bikes twice. 4 yahmas and 4 kawas. They all now have honda and one tried an AC this time. (less than 100 miles and broke twice already.) She liked the new blue. Fact is that it has over 9000 miles now on the original motor that is used and abused. I change the oil and ride it hard and it just keeps lasting, and outlasting everything else and goes where ever the big bike go. May not with as much flash and not with as much power but worth ever penny.
This is what made Honda a legend and what continues to make it a legend. Oh and yes the brakes do suck.

 

[Browndog450]

I recently went down the road of should I buy a Grizzly or keep my Foreman. After alot of thought, I bought a set of Mud Lites, painted my factory rims black (quad is green, good match), bought the Powerline exhaust and Dynojet kit, had the K&N, and found this website and learned about the Perfex kit which is ordered and greatly anticipated. Personally, I made this bike into what I wanted. I have a good friend with a 2004 Grizz. Pulled him out of many mud holes. Funny thing is he put new rims and Mud Lites on, K&N, rejetted, aftermarket exhaust, and clutch kit. My point is, buy what YOU want and you will be happy as long as you do your homework. The aftermarket is thriving in this sport because of how many of us like to upgrade and personalize our machines to our liking. I'm not sure there is a perfect quad right off the show room floor. I like my Honda for what it is and enjoy the fact that I made it the way I want.