At the club meeting last night one of our members told me that he was at a honda dealer who also sells snowmobiles. He jokingly asked when the Honda sleds were coming. The guy told him he would definately have them in the showroom next year and that he knew someone that had actually ridden one. Apparently a 1500cc turbo! Sounds like a little much, but if your making a rumor why not make it a good one! Sounds like this is for real though! Can't wait to see what they come up with. Does Honda ever come out with crap? (NO!)

There was a discusion about this a while back. One thing I can add if I may,Honda wants its dealers to exclusively sell Honda only. Is that another hint?

This is not a new rumour.

Who knows if we'll really see a Honda sled on the snow next year, but if it does, it will be a four stroke and it will probably be a turbo model.

One thing is for sure, it would be very Japanese OEM-ish to let their competitor (Yam) test the waters with a new type of vehicle (the RX-1) before they followed suit with a similar model, don't you think?

It would also give Honda the opportunity to survey the pet peeves of 2003 RX-1 owners and issue a vehicle that will excel in all of these concern areas especially. If the RX-1 is the best seller this year (it will be), Honda will certainly want a piece of this market.

-Rob

They definately have enough time invested....they've been playing w/the idea for about 20 years. If it goes through, I hope a dealer near me carries them :D

Can you say V-Tech? Has anyone ever thought about what kind of power you would see out of a bike motor with a V-Tech head on it? I know a guy who is an Acura tech and he said that when he was in school they told him that most engines Will make a 40% gain in power just by using technology like V-Tech. It would be nice to see Honda come out with something like this in a sled.

>>If the RX-1 is the best seller this year (it will be)...

I doubt it, and certainly not in NY state I haven’t seen or heard about many at all. Local dealers have not sold many either??? Maybe in the mid-west or far-west??

I have read that it is the "best seller" too, but I think that was for pre orders -- just not sure where they are selling them all (if they are) and I have long since learned not to believe what Yamaha tells us – or worse yet Maximumsled, they clearly have a Yamaha bias. (but so do I)

--2002 ViperER

Hey mxz7, Rob would probably know, only he most likely wouldn't tell. If Honda did make one and wanted dealers to sell honda exclusively, I wonder what Rob would do?

If honda started to make sleds i think i would switch brands. Nothing beats a honda in reliability, they are bullet proof. Plus with all the success they have had in motocross and superbike raceing, why couldn't they build a killer sled. I really hope they do get into the snowmobile market and show us just what they can do.

Must not be selling the RX-1's too fast, dropped by Hauk powersports in Rice Lake the other day and they had about 4 of them sitting on the floor and another 6 or so outside, and the dealer in EauClaire has about 10 of them.

Originally posted by Steimy@Nov 8 2002, 05:53 PM
Hey mxz7, Rob would probably know, only he most likely wouldn't tell. If Honda did make one and wanted dealers to sell honda exclusively, I wonder what Rob would do?
I agree,Rob would not let the cat out of the bag. As far as Honda exclusive,no way. Rob will never give up Bombi.

I think most people can agree on Honda quality. To sit back and watch Yami cash in on a good piece of the sled market must be making them think of when to dive in. I agree w/ LabradorBoy,Honda may be waiting for input from RX-1 owners,and then a few years down the road we may just see the next super-sled. I hope so. ???

:withstupid: :withstupid: :withstupid: he has to much biz with skidoo to let it go but honda would bring in some money too the more the better then the prices will go down on sleds !! then i can afford one

Honda will no dought enter the "4-stroke market". They have the reliability and engineering knowledge to pass up Yami. They have a larger buget than Yamaha and have the people to make a more attractive machine that will appeal to the general public.
I work for a Japanese Mfg. Co. that dirrectly sells to the American and Japanese auto Mfg's... Honda and Nissan by far have the "power and $$$" to make a difference in any asspect of motorsports. If Honda decides to enter the wintersports market they will dominate. That is a fact. (Look at the 400EX) It is a 4 stroke that smokes the Banshi (Yami) in everything except afordable aftermarket products..
I digress.
Sleds are my thing and I personally don't care who enters the 4-stroke market so long as they keep the two-stroke Triple!!
We are all just starting to see the reality of what the future will be in the Snowmobiling industry.!
:sly:

well they are coming out with personal watercraft in the spring of 2003. they dont have any thing saying about a snowmobile coming out yet. we will see soon enough though i guesshonda web page for watercraft (http://www.hondamotorcycles.com/watercraft/model.asp?ModelName=AquaTrax+R-12X&ModelYear=2003&ModelId=PWPREVHW3)

Up here in ontario many buyers have canceled there RX-1 orders and bought a smaller 600 or 500 due to the insurance cost on them. Its over 1500.00 and probably closer to 2000.00 dollars a year.


I think that if honda came up with a sled it would be very basic and made for the typical honda owner.

I personnaly think that honda stuff is very very boring except for there superbikes. But ATV,OUTBOARDS, DIRTBIKES are all run of the mill tried and tested stuff that still have drum brakes.

Honda engines do have a good reputation, but honda works hard making sure it stays that way buy covering up mechanical failures and blaming the consumer for problems with there product. I have had very very poor luck with honda reps with a few of there products.

One things for sure I would hop on a RX-1 way before I would even consider a honda.

run of the mill that still have drum brakes, i hope you are aware that honda is the only company that has the twin spar aluminum frame on their motocross bikes that do have hydralic disk brakes instead of drum.
Ben

Originally posted by Machzzzz1@Nov 10 2002, 05:48 PM
Up here in ontario many buyers have canceled there RX-1 orders and bought a smaller 600 or 500 due to the insurance cost on them. Its over 1500.00 and probably closer to 2000.00 dollars a year.


I think that if honda came up with a sled it would be very basic and made for the typical honda owner.

I personnaly think that honda stuff is very very boring except for there superbikes. But ATV,OUTBOARDS, DIRTBIKES are all run of the mill tried and tested stuff that still have drum brakes.

Honda engines do have a good reputation, but honda works hard making sure it stays that way buy covering up mechanical failures and blaming the consumer for problems with there product. I have had very very poor luck with honda reps with a few of there products.

One things for sure I would hop on a RX-1 way before I would even consider a honda.
WOW! You guys really get socked up there. I pay around $160 for the year on my 00 mxz 700. If I had to pay that much extra to insure my sled I honestly don't think I would ride.

run of the mill that still have drum brakes, i hope you are aware that honda is the only company that has the twin spar aluminum frame on their motocross bikes that do have hydralic disk brakes instead of drum.

I think he is refering to their ATV's and I would tend to agree with him on that. They make nice bikes though.

last time i checked my honda cr had front and rear disc brakes, and never a problem, not to mention extremly abused and just keeps on going.....

I love how almost every honda owner says they abuse there stuff. It could be a car, dirtbike, atv or what ever its always abused and never dies. They say this as they pull away shifting at 1500 rpm swirving to avoid a puddle.

When I say abused Im talking about driving it hard, Always to the bar, Letting it suffer as it spins. Im talking about running your Dodge Ramcharger 318 with so low oil that the dipstick rusts and the lifters cant lift the valves becasue theres no oil in them to charge. (True story from my buddy.) THATS ABUSE.

Yes i realize that there dirtbikes have diskbrakes. I was refuring to there atvs.

IMO ATVs are the closest cousin to Sledding. They both run the same trails, There both sold and marketed the same way. And for most sledder thats there way out in the summer.

So to judge a company with out seeing what they got you have to look at there closest things and there atvs are like i said before very very boring and plain.

Bombardier has the REV and DS650 both unreal performers and great handling. And mostly bombardier, yamaha and Arctic cat have guts to try new stuff. Honda doesnt and guts are very importent in this industry because the technology one year is garbage next year. Sort of like computers.

I saw this on Ebay this morning, a Honda snowmobile prototype engine....


Hmmm... something just doesn't seem right though....


http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAP...item=1872111252 (http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1872111252)

There bringing back the free airs.. :D

Here's what the ad says:


"This is a 750 Honda four cylinder factory prototype snowmobile engine assembly. It carries the factory serial number: 750-0000001 There is ONLY one of these in the entire WORLD!!! It is complete (see note) but in a unassembled condition and comes complete with prototype exhaust system/muffler assay, carbs with prototype air plenum system, oil lines and oil tank, ignition system, charging system & electric start system. NOTE: The only parts MISSING are the jackshaft, jackshaft end plate/bearing assay, and the driven jackshaft gear assay....all could be duplicated by a skilled prototype machinest. Shipping would be paid by high bidder and would be dependant on insurance and location requirements. "

Originally posted by Machzzzz1@Nov 10 2002, 04:48 PM
Up here in ontario many buyers have canceled there RX-1 orders and bought a smaller 600 or 500 due to the insurance cost on them. Its over 1500.00 and probably closer to 2000.00 dollars a year.


I think that if honda came up with a sled it would be very basic and made for the typical honda owner.

I personnaly think that honda stuff is very very boring except for there superbikes. But ATV,OUTBOARDS, DIRTBIKES are all run of the mill tried and tested stuff that still have drum brakes.

Honda engines do have a good reputation, but honda works hard making sure it stays that way buy covering up mechanical failures and blaming the consumer for problems with there product. I have had very very poor luck with honda reps with a few of there products.

One things for sure I would hop on a RX-1 way before I would even consider a honda.
You fogot to mention them going from the superior overhead cam to a push rod design in some of their 4 stroke motors.

I ride Honda atvs and I will tell you one thing. They are decades behind when it come to these things. They run drum brakes and old design push rod motors with no lockers etc. Now they are making one of the best selling atvs an automatic only with out a manual shift option (Rancher). I am sure that honda will come out with an ok snowmoible to start out but with their track record it will stay the same for years before they change something on it and when the do change something it will be for the worse.

Yes Honda does improve their dirtbikes and street bikes but they do nothing for their other products.

Yes they came out with a couple new atvs for the up coming year ie the rincon and the Rancher 400 at but the designs of the trans on them leave people looking for more power.

Now with the other manufactures coming out with top of the line engine designs ie ohc motors with 4 valve heads, selectable locking front diferentials etc honda has been losing market share in the atv world.

I just hope that when they do come out with a sled they won't just let it stand as is and they improve on it every year as it should be.

Man, that thing looks like the size and weight of a Chevy 350. Now only if it could put out the HP of a V8. If you guys thought the RX-1 was a slug, I can't imagine what the weight of a complete package would weight with a chassis for that thing to fit in!

my deceased uncle joe was in the farm machinery business in the mid 60's and he was approached by honda to sell their products about 68, he sold rupp sleds for a couple years until 1970 when he got the yamaha line and around 1972 the kawasaki guys came and left him with one of their signs. he sold honda right up until 1994ish i guess when i asked him about honda sleds and the old proto that was built by honda he said that one was built in a joint effort with some other company and the sled was really not honda. he did ask a few times about honda sleds and the district operations manager always said never.

never say never, it's a long time.

UPDATE:

First of all the pic of the Honda motor is from the 60's or 70's. Nothing to do with today.

Second I went into the shop in question and asked myself. The guy said they were planning on coming out next year if they can get it working the way they want. He said "they are finding it more of a challenge than they expected." So, if they can get it to where they are happy with it they will come out with one, otherwise they wont. They are in development and do have prototypes.

when and if honda does pull the trigger on a sled, i would put my money down and buy one, obviously i would wait the first season and buy the 2nd or 3rd year model.

:withstupid:

That goes for everything...

Trust me I'm an engineer in the automotive world and we never have it totally worked out buy launch, but, with a year or so of engineering changes we get'em dialed in.

On the other hand by the 5 year or so the tools start to wear pretty hard and things start to slip through the cracks, so late in a production run can be bad too.

So all in all is guessing game.... :) ???

Captn

All these honda rumors have been floating around for way too long. At least with Redline they tease us with pictures. As for if and when honda does ever come out with a sled I think I'll just stay clear of it. My first ATV was a Honda, a early 80's 110 ATC. The technology found on there new products is the same as what was on that old 110. They do have a faithfull following of repeat buyers which in my opinion is due to there durability. They are tough but slow and outdated. It's too bad to see that in most of their recreational products they have let every one else surpass them. As far as a Honda 400X being better then a Banshee it just proves my point. The Banshee is how old now. It came out in 1987 if I remember correctly. Honda has finally made a ATV that is better then it. Wow it only took about 10 or so years. They were one of the first with their 4 stroke out boards but now almost everyone else has passed them. I've never had much luck with Honda rep's or trying to get parts. At least up here in Canada. Enough of a rant I got work to do. :cussing: