noticing a trend with our hondas....

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]

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 !!!

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

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.

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.

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.