OK, Honda vs Yamaha quads...

[Supermag]

I'm buying a quad in the 450-500cc range. I was thinking Honda all the way, but I talked to a buddy who guides and they have gone to all Yamaha, so it got me looking at the details.

The Yamaha Kodiak 450 has these things that the Honda TRX420 does not:

Locking differential
Rear disc brakes
Independent rear suspension
10.8" of ground clearance
15 litre tank vs 13.2

The only thing that I found on the Honda that the Yamaha didn't have was electronic fuel injection.

The rear suspension is a swingarm with a single shock, and it only has 6.5: of ground clearance.

I find that I'm talking myself out of the Honda....

Any opinions?

[Prdtrgttr]

The Kodiak 450 is a very impressive machine to say the least. That locking differential can be a lifesaver. We've had excellent success with Yamaha machines. A few years ago, while driving into Bear camp north of Fort MacMurray, I drove the old Kodiak 400, my brother drove the new one, and he pulled a walking beam trailer. He basically offered a clinic on driving, it was incredible what that quad went through while pulling the trailer. Go get one, you won't be disappointed.

[Swamp_Donkey]

Go with the Yammy. The Honda is a great farm/acreage quad that will last forever, but the Yammy is no slouch either. Plus the $$

[khilscher]

I have a 95 Yamaha 350 and it runs like a charm. Lots of power. Starts even in -25C with no problems. I like Honda too, but I've never owned one so I can't attest to it.

[outlaw'd]

usta run Honda's, but now its all Yamaha!

[harv3589]

Go with the Honda and upgrade the tires....give you more clearance then. My dad bought a 2007 Honda 500 and it is such a nice quad to ride...the 2008's have the power steering.

The locking diff would be nice...the independent susp I can live w/o, never been impressed with it...the disc brake not sure but the brakes on Honda are its only downfall...the extra 2L of gas is not a reason.

[honda450]

Agreed the brakes on the Honda are there biggest downfall.

[ctd]

Either will be a good choice.
Now you have to deceide on the features. A locking Diff is a real big feature that to me if the prices are with in a few dollars would sell the deal.
Brakes on the other hand they usually dont work anyways in my expierance.

I own a 98 Kodiac 400, starts in -30 temps and has never let me down.

My buddy owns a Honda 460 with the fuel injection, he has had a few issues with starting some thing to do with a coolant sensor.

If you do buy the honda make sure they install the manual starter for free before delivery. They told my friend the pull starter was free is you asked for it, but would cost $400 to install it.

[BEL]

I vowed not to get another Yamaha because of bad braking systems and no locking front diff. Once they changed it I bought a 450 and have not been disappointed. Get one and DEAL for it. Phone around the province and get the best price. There are still a few 07's kicking around. BEL

[harv3589]

We had my dad's two Honda on our Sask hunt for whitetail this last November and it was bitter cold....-30C on a good day...the older 350 started no problem as well as the new 500. He has never had an issue with them starting in cold weather. Even the 400 he traded in on the 500 started great.

I do like the electronic shift on the Honda.

[ram crazy]

Last year I bought the trx 420 EFI electric shift, and love it. It starts in -30 with no problems. With the EFI it has all kinds of power, and I even went over sized tires. I like the manual shift on the fly 4x4 because there's less electrical thing to go wrong with. The only complaint that I had was I went and washed the quad once and got water in the electrical connections and it wouldn't shift, and I had to take the connections apart and dry them out and then i used so dielectric silcon and haven't had a problem since. This quad also rides alot smoother tha my trx 350 did.

[buckfever]

honda honda honda... i prefer the honda because of the electric shift and the automation trany (dont have the modle but i hear its great) also i dont like the independent susp. we have the 350 and it will do anything we have tried compared to anything bigger just a little slower...

[jaybull]

both have there good points yam and hon,But the ultimate is 700 efi grizz with powerstearing. Took my buddies out april 10th in some muddy steep trails that are hard to navagate.This quad is the best 4x4 quad ive ever ridin
Hands down.A close second would be the can am .JMO.

[AbAngler]

Yamaha! The true diff lock and independent rear alone should be reason enough. The brakes suck in both cases.

[MuleyMad]

Went moose hunting up north last year and we had a Yamaha, Honda and Bombardier in camp. The only one that never got stuck was the Bomd. The others weren't even close. Bomd. road better through both the muskeg and over dead fall and didn't leave me reaching for the pain killers at the end of a day of riding.

[honda450]

Muleymad unfair comparison at least to me. Tires, rider skill and going thru muskeg are just some of the factors. Not saying Can-ams are not good machines. Yes I have a Honda, Suzuki, Polaris, and a Kawasaki. I can make it through a hole on my Honda whereas someelse may not driving the same quad.

[manitou210]

Dave C before you buy you might want to look at the Arctic Cat. There where many at our hunt camp last fall,Polaris,Suzuki, Honda Yamaha,and two Cats one a older 340cc 4x4 with indipendant suspension, that sure was way more comfortable to drive than the new Honda 400 with solid back axle.and the 500 double was a dream to driveand very strong bike, but a little hard to manouver in bush trails,The 800cc Polaris was the fasts, and rode well but quite low to ground with two on it, was always hitting ground and high spots.
i was looking at buying a ATV this year and was looking for 400cc size but want independant suspesion, and Honda did offer it, Honda to me have bullet proof engines they just never quit, The farmers son has one that was beat when he bought it and he does no service and it always goes.I found the Yamaha louder than the other bikes.
At Artic cat dealer i look at the 400 ,disc's front and rear 4 stoke engine,ground clearance 12" a very sound machine price $6400.00 + taxes
Good luckhttp://www.arcticcat.com/atv/vehicle.asp?id=851

[harv3589]

Originally Posted by MuleyMad

Went moose hunting up north last year and we had a Yamaha, Honda and Bombardier in camp. The only one that never got stuck was the Bomd. The others weren't even close. Bomd. road better through both the muskeg and over dead fall and didn't leave me reaching for the pain killers at the end of a day of riding.

So they all had the same rubber on them....same driver tried them all out in the same scenario? That would be a fair test then....

[elnino54]

You'de be crazy to not look at the Suzuki 450 King Quad. It's got the independent rear and fuel injection.......

[honda450]

Same as a sled. Identiclal machines. Me and my buddy. he will kick my but, simply because he has more skill.

[chuck0039]

I love my yamaha grizzly and would not trade it for anything.

Just got this picture in my email this afternoon and thought i would share it, I know its not a quad but its proof that Yamaha is a tough machine.

[Walleyes]

Locking differential
Rear disc brakes
Independent rear suspension
10.8" of ground clearance
15 litre tank vs 13.2

I get a kick out of the 10.8" of rear suspension.. Don't forget that with an independent rear suspension that is only on the show room floor and with no load on it.. The Nephew and a couple buds run the big Grizz's and when the nephew at 225# sits on his quad and you hook up the trailer with 4 1/4s of moose in it the rear travel is lowered to less than 6" (no kidding) even with just the rider on it at 225# it lowers the clearance to 8" couple that with pounding over holes, do get where I am going with this.. With a Honda you put on a decent set of tires not nothing huge but a good set you can bring the clearance up to 8" and thats where it stays,, you can load it up all you want and the clearance stays the same..

And when it comes to resale value nothing beats the Honda.. They all have their good and bad points but for me nothing sits in my yard other than a Honda,, and thats after many years in the north seeing every type come and go and seeing them all put through the paces not just a weekend or 2 a year but day after day in work environments in some of the nastiest country in the world Honda consistently comes out on top in reliability and resale value..

So you will have to see where your priorities are, do you want bling ?? or do you want to make it home time after time and have no worries the choice is yours.. Good luck..

[Rusty P. Bucket]

According to the mags Yamaha is scoring a few 'best in the class' more than Honda and I believe it.

Honda makes good machines but they are be they are behind the times. I used to be a Honda guy all the way too - but today, they are a good machine in a field that is filled with slightly better ones. Just my two cents.

I would also recommend a long hard look at the machines by Can Am/BRP. Bought mine new in '04 and haven't had a single problem with it yet.

[honda450]

Yeah agree with you Rusty. Honda use to be ahead, now everyone is leaving em in the dust. I got a Honda too.

[Supermag]

Ahhhh, crap. Just when I thought I had it narrowed down. I just found out that I can get the CanAm Outlander 400 for within a couple hundred bucks of the Yamaha Kodiak 450 (really 421cc). Now I gotta go look at one of those too.

So far, I can get an 07 Yamaha 450 for $7347 all-in (no winch) I have a couple quotes that are close to $8200 all-in for an 08 Yamaha 450 (with a winch) and a new rear brake.(no more squeaky brake problem on the back end. I've been digging....)

I can get a Can Am 400XT (winch, and more goodies) for $8745 all-in, plus get a $250 mail in rebate on accessories. That puts it at $8495, and it has a real warranty. 3 years!

The search continues......

All the best deals are out of town so far.

Whats one of them doo-hickey souped up golfcarts with the moosie on the back go for?

I was always a boat person.....never much into quads until we figured out that we may be moving to an acreage.

That thing would be nice to go for a romantic ride with the wife

[243 Killer]

The 400 XT is a good machine as well as the 450 kodiak. I really would have a hard time picking out of them two for a mid size. I don't know I still like Suzuki.

[honda450]

Originally Posted by KyleM

Whats one of them doo-hickey souped up golfcarts with the moosie on the back go for?

I was always a boat person.....never much into quads until we figured out that we may be moving to an acreage.

That thing would be nice to go for a romantic ride with the wife

Sale today just for you $17,000. PM's only please.

[Supermag]

Found out a buddy had (has) 2 Can Ams. Both spent more time in the shop than in the bush. Apparently they have an ECM like a car,and every time he rode it, it gave him some kind of check engine light. I did talk to a dealer that sold Suzuki and Can Am, and while he tried to sell me on all the whizzy things the Can Am could do, and the power. He sold the Suzuki on reliability. I can read between the lines on that one, I think.

I think I'm still leaning towards the Yamaha. I might just go for the 08. They put a new brake on the back end to solve the squeaking issue that seems to be the only real common beef with them that I've found.

I just need to hammer out the last few details of a deal....

[SugarCreek]

Had a Kodiak 400 back in 2001 (lost it and everything else in a divorce ) sold it to a good friend of mine to liquidate assests. Just bought another Kodiac (450). Did a lot of looking, especially into the Honda's but just kept on going back to the Yamaha. When I had my first, never had a problem with it. When my buddy found out that I just got another quad, he told me that he would be happy to buy it off of me if the need ever arised as he would love another quad Bought it a Yamaha Power Sports in Red Deer. The one I have just purchased is a new 2007 camo unit with winch for $7500. You could get a 2007 without the camo for $300 less with the winch. Looks like a better price than where you have been looking.