Hey folks.... new member here from the most easterly province in Canada and most easterly place in North America. ATV culture is wide spread in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador and well ingrained. Many many places to ride and lots of groups of ATV riders.
I was a long time Honda owner.... my latest Honda was a 2011 Honda Foreman 500. I use my ATV's for work (hunting, firewood hauling, etc) and the Honda Foreman was always up to the challenge, but it never had power steering and it never had "true" 4WD, it had the Honda "TraxLok" 4WD which is basically useless to get you out of a jam, 2 rear wheels locked and pulling but limited slip up front...how many times did I see myself stuck with a front wheel on solid ground and the other in the muck...was annoying to say the least. Last winter I put a set of Camso T4S tracks on the Foreman, it was a game changer for the winter...we had a LOT of snow in Newfoundland last winter and the tracks allowed me to use my quad right through the winter. But with 25 HP, foot shift, and no power steering the tracks slowed the Foreman down a LOT. It pulled like a train while in 1st and 2nd gear though and I appreciated that when hauling firewood at times, but I could never get any amount of speed out of it on the straight going and the lack of power steering sucked.
What swayed me to abandon Honda and go to Yamaha was driving my buddies 2017 Grizzly 700 EPS while hunting one day last fall. Man there was so much more power and the ride was awesome compared to the old solid rear axle Foreman. This set the gears in motion for me.... I knew it was a matter of time before I would be selling the '11 Foreman and getting a Yamaha. I did give Honda a look at what they offered, but a 520cc Rubicon DCT was the best they had to offer, which if you ask me is kind of sad when Yamaha offers a 700cc, Kawasaki a 750cc, Suzuki a 750cc, Polaris a 570,850, and 1000cc, and CanAm a 570,650,850, and 1000cc! Honda has seriously lost it's way in the ATV market... there was a time when a Honda ATV was the gold standard, they were the best on the market. Sadly that hasn't been the case in 20 years or more.
Couple of weeks ago I pulled the trigger on this beautiful 2020 Yamaha Kodiak 700 EPS SE. The tactical black sold it for me, I could have gotten a green 700 EPS with diff-lock for a couple of $100 cheaper but I love the matte black and the black aluminum wheels..... I have a set of overfenders installed which will help when I run my tracks on it this winter, and I put on the Quadrax Elite cargo box I had on my Foreman and a set of shock socks (which was also on my Foreman). I will be adding a Rival rear bumper and a Rival full skid plate before the fall's hunting/firewood cutting season. Had it out for a run the other day and it was such a different experience than riding my old Foreman!!
I was a long time Honda owner.... my latest Honda was a 2011 Honda Foreman 500. I use my ATV's for work (hunting, firewood hauling, etc) and the Honda Foreman was always up to the challenge, but it never had power steering and it never had "true" 4WD, it had the Honda "TraxLok" 4WD which is basically useless to get you out of a jam, 2 rear wheels locked and pulling but limited slip up front...how many times did I see myself stuck with a front wheel on solid ground and the other in the muck...was annoying to say the least. Last winter I put a set of Camso T4S tracks on the Foreman, it was a game changer for the winter...we had a LOT of snow in Newfoundland last winter and the tracks allowed me to use my quad right through the winter. But with 25 HP, foot shift, and no power steering the tracks slowed the Foreman down a LOT. It pulled like a train while in 1st and 2nd gear though and I appreciated that when hauling firewood at times, but I could never get any amount of speed out of it on the straight going and the lack of power steering sucked.
What swayed me to abandon Honda and go to Yamaha was driving my buddies 2017 Grizzly 700 EPS while hunting one day last fall. Man there was so much more power and the ride was awesome compared to the old solid rear axle Foreman. This set the gears in motion for me.... I knew it was a matter of time before I would be selling the '11 Foreman and getting a Yamaha. I did give Honda a look at what they offered, but a 520cc Rubicon DCT was the best they had to offer, which if you ask me is kind of sad when Yamaha offers a 700cc, Kawasaki a 750cc, Suzuki a 750cc, Polaris a 570,850, and 1000cc, and CanAm a 570,650,850, and 1000cc! Honda has seriously lost it's way in the ATV market... there was a time when a Honda ATV was the gold standard, they were the best on the market. Sadly that hasn't been the case in 20 years or more.
Couple of weeks ago I pulled the trigger on this beautiful 2020 Yamaha Kodiak 700 EPS SE. The tactical black sold it for me, I could have gotten a green 700 EPS with diff-lock for a couple of $100 cheaper but I love the matte black and the black aluminum wheels..... I have a set of overfenders installed which will help when I run my tracks on it this winter, and I put on the Quadrax Elite cargo box I had on my Foreman and a set of shock socks (which was also on my Foreman). I will be adding a Rival rear bumper and a Rival full skid plate before the fall's hunting/firewood cutting season. Had it out for a run the other day and it was such a different experience than riding my old Foreman!!