When you are in the market for a four–wheel off road vehicle, American Honda Motor Corporation provides consumers with Utility ATVs, Sport ATVs, and Side X Sides. As times change, the sport ATV market is about to experience the loss of two of the most popular models on the market; the TRX450R and the TRX400X were not in the 2015 lineup and the trx 450 and 400 will not be included in the 2016 line-up. After taking the 2015 model year off, the TRX250X will be returning, along with little brother, the TRX90.
The Honda TRX450R may be an ATV of the past
Focusing on the success of their Utility ATVS, Honda carries the strength in the market with the Foreman Rubicon, Forman 4X4, the Rancher, the Rincon and the Recon, check out some of their features below:
The Honda Utility ATVs
The Honda Foreman Rubicon and the Foreman 4X4 are both in the 500cc engine class, but come in 8 different versions. The Rubicon offers four-wheel drive an independent rear suspension with two transmission options; conventional manual shift or an Automatic DCT. The Foreman 4X4 comes with a swingarm rear suspension and has options of manual or electric shift, standard or power steering. The color offerings include white, red, olive, phantom camo, black and orange.
The Honda Rancher is powered with a 420cc engine – the different options available can make your head spin; a swingarm rear suspension or independent rear suspension, EPS, push button Electric shift, manual-shift, automatic DCT and two or four-wheel drive. With the MSRP starting at $5199 for the slimmed down version, consumers can spend hundreds more depending on the features they prefer.
The largest Utility ATV in the Honda Line-up is the Honda Rincon. The Honda Rincon boasts a 675cc liquid cooled engine, three speed automatic transmission and an independent rear suspension, making like a little easier for those decision makers, the only differences are the colors; red, olive, and Honda phantom camo. They also come with some cool black racks.
The smallest of the Honda Utility ATVs is the Recon, a 250cc, two-wheel drive that comes with either a manual foot-shift transmission or a push-button electric shift transmission.
The Honda Sport ATVs
For the 2016 model year, the Honda TRX250X has been revamped since its 2015 omission, the new features include the all new Honda SportClutch ( to eliminate stalling) and the solid black frames with color options of white or special edition white/red.
The TRX90 is a youth model ATV targeted to kids twelve and older. With a keyed ignition switch (for parental control), easy push-button electric starting and a clutchless transmission, this is the perfect model those twelve and older.
None of these models compare to the discontinued 2016 TRX450r – or even the TRX400R, but with the pricing of the TRX 450R being close to those of higher cc models from other manufacturers it makes sense to discontinue the model (at least temporarily) and focus on the many utility models that are more competitively priced. Another factor that may influence the non-production of the Honda 450r is the fact that utility models offer consumers work and fun on a quad, while the sport models can only provide riding enjoyment on a track or private park.