Honda Quad query

Duckytech

Hi all,

Father is a sheep farmer and is currently very interested in purchasing a Honda TRX 420FE quad. He has done his research from a price and spec pov. However last weekend he was traveling down country and seen a Green/ Camo coloured Honda 500 quad for sale in the courtyard of an agri dealer. The dealer is not a Honda dealer. Sales assistant said the quad was a genuine Honda and brand new. He knew nothing else about the machine. Price quoted was almost half of the rrp from a dealer. Obviously my father was intrigued and asked me to see if i could see what its story was. I found another almost identical quad for sale on the internet for similar money, again priced way below rrp from a dealer. Both bikes are being sold by non Honda dealers. This is the ad i found:

http://www.donedeal.ie/quads-for-sale/new-honda-500cc-farm-quad-atv-4x4/10033325?sv=1


Just wondering would anyone know anything about these quads, as in are they legit/genuine? Both sellers seemed to know little about their machines. Indeed one seller was selling for a friend.

Thanks everyone.

djmc

At a guess l would say that it's not a legit Honda but a copy possibly from china like the Honda hero a few years back
Little different things like wheels engine panels look a different shape to original Honda 500s
http://www.hondaireland.ie/atv/utility/trx680fa/
I think he should buy from a dealer and get a genuine model even a second hand one would be way better than a cheap imitation

Duckytech

djmc wrote: »

At a guess l would say that it's not a legit Honda but a copy possibly from china like the Honda hero a few years back
Little different things like wheels engine panels look a different shape to original Honda 500s
http://www.hondaireland.ie/atv/utility/trx680fa/
I think he should buy from a dealer and get a genuine model even a second hand one would be way better than a cheap imitation

Hi djmc

Thanks for the information. Appreciated.

Kevhog1988

just had a guy here in work look at the pics. hes a bit of a quad guru/fanatic. He said its definitely a chinese copy.

Cattlepen

Run away from it as fast as you can. It's probably a henda or a hondu !! If you are buying a quad , but nothing only a genuine honda. They ARE the best

IH784man

Honda dealer near us told us the new Honda quads are not all they are made out to be

ganmo

Haven't broken anythin on the one we got a few years back, don't think they've changed much since other than the price
Ours is the 420 with manual gearbox.
I wouldn't be the kindest on machinery too

Buona Fortuna

I was surprised to see on the DDeal advert - "Water Cooled". Maybe they've changed but all the quads I see round here and our own are air cooled.

selectamatic

Think all quads are liquid cooled now its the number of cylinders that gives them they're unique sound. With regards to the op definitely does not look like a genuine honda. Also honda used to make a 2wd 500cc quad aswell so be wary of them as they won't be much use in testing conditions. With regards to honda they are reliable however e/s (ElectroShift) on them can give bother by in large the yamaha ultramatic transmission is accepted to be the most rugged transmission out of all the brands that said it ain't bullet proof either, changing from forward to reverse while still slightly moving is very bad for the selectors for them. I wouldn't confine myself to just honda without checking out the opposition! Ya can't go too far wrong with Honda, suzuki, yamaha or kawasaki. however the latter is the most expensive when it comes to replacement parts. We've a 06 yamaha grizzly and its a very good machine never had a days bother with it. IF buying new I'd go with whatever brand offers the best value for money i.e quad spec and strength.

Bleating Lamb

Have a Honda 400 here,she's no spring chicken but a great machine that has given no trouble.

Have heard that a lot of the new Hondas are very high off the ground (so easier turned over).Is that the case? And that a lot of the more modern quads like new tractors have far more things that can go wrong with them.

9935452

selectamatic wrote: »

Think all quads are liquid cooled now its the number of cylinders that gives them they're unique sound. With regards to the op definitely does not look like a genuine honda. Also honda used to make a 2wd 500cc quad aswell so be wary of them as they won't be much use in testing conditions. With regards to honda they are reliable however e/s (ElectroShift) on them can give bother by in large the yamaha ultramatic transmission is accepted to be the most rugged transmission out of all the brands that said it ain't bullet proof either, changing from forward to reverse while still slightly moving is very bad for the selectors for them. I wouldn't confine myself to just honda without checking out the opposition! Ya can't go too far wrong with Honda, suzuki, yamaha or kawasaki. however the latter is the most expensive when it comes to replacement parts. We've a 06 yamaha grizzly and its a very good machine never had a days bother with it. IF buying new I'd go with whatever brand offers the best value for money i.e quad spec and strength.

A lot of the hondas went liquid cooled in 08 and are meant to be quite reliable.
Most of the time the problem with the ES gearboxs is just a battery that is dead or failed.
They come with a lever in the toolbox which affectively makes them a manual shift.
Back axels can give bother with them , especially in the older ones

Also regarding to the ad that the op has posted.
road legal is used in the ad. if she is a genuine honda that quad will never be road legal in ireland.
the only road legal quads in ireland are ones that are road registered and have number plates.
Since late 08 you cant register most quads for the road. some chinese ones you can , but the hondas , suzukis, Kawasakis you cantas they wont supply the paperwork to let that happen

jobseek

Just like to add a comment in relation to the electronic shift problem

ours is a trx500fe, have it ten years from new, as mentioned a flat battery can cause issue with gear shift,but also we found that by taking off the gear change motor on the gearbox and giving this a good cleaning along with the mechanism inside it to resolve the issue we had where by it was slow/sluggish to change.

on a final note i agree with what everyone else says, buy genuine honda from a honda dealer,

Buona Fortuna

I've a Honda 500 - no clue how old it is but its manual shift (on the pedal), and air cooled. It gets some stick and I'm sorry to say very little love , but its going great.

Trailers of turf out of the bog. Couple of times up to its axles in skitter - no bother.

selectamatic

they're the proper old school quad. Honda's original big red 400 4x4 is a world renowned piece of engineering. However nearly all quads from the last 10-15 years are liquid cooled and have electrics of some description so problems can be a bit more common if proper maintenance doesn't take place. However that said quads in general are very reliable our grizzly has been flawless, as long as electrics are kept somewhat dry and operational problems will be few and far between and as said by others these issues are minor in the grand scheme if things when compared with potential issues on modern diesel vehicles.