Yamaha 450 Kodiak

[manfromhill]

Had a good look round one at the highland show anyone got good bad experiences was originally looking at a Honda 420 but unsure any thoughts tia

 

[Hanspree]

Had a good look round one at the highland show anyone got good bad experiences was originally looking at a Honda 420 but unsure any thoughts tia

We've been looking at the same. Felt Kodiak better made and easier to drive with the 1 lever for forward and reverse, just lump more expensive.

 

[roscoe erf]

Got a kodiak here been a good machine

 

[manfromhill]

We've been looking at the same. Felt Kodiak better made and easier to drive with the 1 lever for forward and reverse, just lump more expensive.

Good to hear how much more was it

 

[Mccormick135]

Got a Kodiak 400 on the farm same as 450 but smaller engine, nice auto gearbox, engine has been bullet proof, as are the diffs, the only problem we had is the steering joins have snapped and the 4wd has just given up but bear in mind this machine is properly abused in large ruts it has done well, I didn't think it was as good at towing as my Honda 350 but a good quad

 

[Hanspree]

Good to hear how much more was it

About £700, but the Kodiak is on bigger wheels and better specced already, and would hope hold their value better. Got Honda 500 here but thinking the frames soon get to rusting and look tatty and new ones have different gearbox that don't feel as smooth as the 500.

 

[manfromhill]

About £700, but the Kodiak is on bigger wheels and better specced already, and would hope hold their value better. Got Honda 500 here but thinking the frames soon get to rusting and look tatty and new ones have different gearbox that don't feel as smooth as the 500.

Only bother to me is local Yamaha guys not that close but have two guys quite local Honda dealers but just felt the 420 was massive

 

[popye]

Had a few out on demo..thought the yamaha 450 was best of the bunch. Well built. very comfortable and smooth power delivery. Abit more money than honda but i think a better quad. So will order one asap.

 

[manfromhill]

Yep got market week on tue going to see guy then if he’s one in stock I have a basic Honda 250 just now need the 4wd as both me and the dog getting older

 

[Al R]

There’s been quite a few discussions this year about these exact bikes....

We’ve had 12-14 Hondas over the years and all have been excellent except for the Honda 420 DCT 2/4wd 2015 ( the gearbox that automatically goes down to 1 from 5. It’s a horrendous bike with only 1 person likes it out of 6 of us.

We demo’d The new 450 kodiak and it was simply incredible in every aspect compared to the 2015 420!!!! The steering circle was similar to the 2013 Honda 2wd we have.

We will be having 1 maybe 2 next spring, the dealer is also the Honda dealer so we know backup will still be good, we havnt had any prices etc but we can’t put up with the new Honda gearbox’s any longer. I know people who have had the new Honda gearbox and have changed the bikes back to manual foot gearbox because they were so frustrated with the ES/DCT.

 

[Al R]

https://thefarmingforum.co.uk/index.php?threads/quad-bike-poll.214956/

 

[Al R]

https://thefarmingforum.co.uk/index.php?threads/petrol-atv-s.164970/page-9#post-4740652

 

[popye]

Yep got market week on tue going to see guy then if he’s one in stock I have a basic Honda 250 just now need the 4wd as both me and the dog getting older

 

[popye]

yes same here ...getting abit older now and out looking livestock every day and found 450 yamaha a pleasure to ride than the other quads i have owned so was prepaired to pay abit more .

 

[Hanspree]

Had a Honda 500 on demo and the gearbox seems clunky when it changes and the reverse lever a pain now, The Kodiak is leading the way at the moment here.
Has anyone looked at arctic cat or canam? they are doing some good deals at the moment.

 

[manfromhill]

My cousins been Honda for years does some serious work with them but really unhappy with his last 500 gearbox especially

 

[Jerry]

Think @jemski ryns one after here other bike was nicked.

 

[Hanspree]

Kodiak still looking favourite, not impressed with Honda gearbox at all.
Been waiting for 2 months for dealer to get us an arctic cat to look at and canam dealer not rung back with any info for over 2 weeks.

 

[Al R]

Kodiak still looking favourite, not impressed with Honda gearbox at all.
Been waiting for 2 months for dealer to get us an arctic cat to look at and canam dealer not rung back with any info for over 2 weeks.

What gearbox did the Honda have? We have a DCT/ES one and it’s horrendous - the worst bike we’ve ever had by far! I know someone who had the exact same model a few weeks after us and they swapped it for a manual foot pedal :0

 

[Adam@Rumen]

Ours has been brilliant for the last 4 or 5 years years but has recently become a bit of a nightmare due to an electrical problem - no one can identify where the charge is leaking.

Couldn't even start the bloody thing this morning so the 23 year old Honda 2 wheeler came to the rescue when gathering.

Honda we have has been subjected to the same abuse and has been much more reliable & better on juice, however can't go the places the Yam can.