Yamaha 700 or Honda 500

dave mountain

Member
Livestock Farmer
fastest ive had my manual 500 is 85km/h, would go a few kms more if i really wanted, not sure if the 420 would be the same road speed or not but they seem just as quick for running about the farm, i will probably get a 420 manual next time
 

Al R

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
West Wales
fastest ive had my manual 500 is 85km/h, would go a few kms more if i really wanted, not sure if the 420 would be the same road speed or not but they seem just as quick for running about the farm, i will probably get a 420 manual next time
My old 2013 420 ES 2wd was unlimited and I got to 97kmh a few times before running out of road 😬 never had a manual.
 

dave mountain

Member
Livestock Farmer
My old 2013 420 ES 2wd was unlimited and I got to 97kmh a few times before running out of road 😬 never had a manual.
i would guess thats the same as what mine would do flat out, ive just never wanted to try it on my own bike 😂 i didn't realize bikes had limiters on, pretty sure mine doesnt
 

ricky_rascal

Member
Location
N. Yorks
I got a new Honda a couple of months ago and noticed that it’s now mph, always kph before.

They have for a while or at least with the 500 Foreman. You can use either. So if I went on my hols to say, France, then I could switch it over to KM’s. Very thoughtful Honda 🤪

Ive only experience of Honda’s either 420 (good bike) and 500 Foreman. The latter is a pig in auto so avoid.

When you get your quad then don’t run before you can walk - just go steady away. Extreme caution on steep ground and avoid until you have experience even then find a safer way if pos. Training can be useful and you’re never too old to learn. Don’t take a passenger until you have gained experience though HSE would say don’t at all. I’m saying if you must then be careful. Get a helmet too. Quads aren’t dangerous, it’s the rider that makes things go sideways.

Keep it out of sight and maybe put a few land mines round the shed it’s kept in as a certain element of society will happily take it when you’re not looking.

What about the Honda Pioneer 700? Anyone had any experience of one of those? More a UTV..

As far as I'm aware they are still the same.

The new 520 did appeal to me. But a look round them and no, I'll not buy one unless they think through some of their stupid designs

Ive not had a look at a 520 but might be a possible replacement for me IF I was to go Honda. What didn’t you like?
 

neilo

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Montgomeryshire
What about CanAm? I've been very happy with my 570.

I had a CanAm 570 and it was a dog compared to the 500 it replaced. Plenty of niggling problems so changed before the warranty ran out.
It was so poor that I even considered other makes.... then tried an Outlander 650. My faith in CanAm was restored and love everything about it apart from the turning circle.

Comfortable, reliable, stable and oodles of power. Top speed is somewhere well above where any sane person would go, and I would probably have killed my younger self on it, but the turn of speed on it is amazing when you need to accelerate fast to get in front of a bunch of stock. The only problem is having to pick the flies out of your teeth from grinning as you do it.😂
 

Nithsdale

Member
Livestock Farmer
Ive not had a look at a 520 but might be a possible replacement for me IF I was to go Honda. What didn’t you like?


Just personal preferences really. I absolutely hate where the fuel filler is on the Honda. it's just a really stupid place to put it under the handlebar

I don't like where the rear brake is on the IRS, seems like an afterthought putting a disc brake in there (Honda have gone to the bother of copying Suzuki with the rest of the IRS - why not put a sealed wet brake on the rear, too?!)

The ball hitch it far too close to the rear diff/frame - and they still insist on having it up under the bike instead of doing what everyone else does and putting it on a receiver sitting proud behind the rear wheels.

I'm also totally converted to CVT (been on them for 6-7 years now) it works perfect on my hill with the snacker so i'm not interested in going back to gears - I don't want the Honda auto box either
 

Nithsdale

Member
Livestock Farmer
Every Yamaha bike I've seen has a fuel tank, fuel tap and a carburettor? Maybe Euro/UK spec ones are different.

Edit: Done some reading, looks like the 700 EPS is EFI, the rest of the range is still carb'd. That's easy then, stay away from the EPS model.

The 700 was the first Yammy to get fuel injection in the mid 2000's.

Now, all current model Yamaha bikes are fuel injected - just like all other makes (except Kawasaki which run a dual Carb system)
 

box

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
NZ
The 700 was the first Yammy to get fuel injection in the mid 2000's.

Now, all current model Yamaha bikes are fuel injected - just like all other makes (except Kawasaki which run a dual Carb system)
Interesting, completely different to the NZ bikes. Must be because emissions.

I guess you lot never had the smoky Yamaha AG100 then?
 

ricky_rascal

Member
Location
N. Yorks
Just personal preferences really. I absolutely hate where the fuel filler is on the Honda. it's just a really stupid place to put it under the handlebar

I don't like where the rear brake is on the IRS, seems like an afterthought putting a disc brake in there (Honda have gone to the bother of copying Suzuki with the rest of the IRS - why not put a sealed wet brake on the rear, too?!)

The ball hitch it far too close to the rear diff/frame - and they still insist on having it up under the bike instead of doing what everyone else does and putting it on a receiver sitting proud behind the rear wheels.

I'm also totally converted to CVT (been on them for 6-7 years now) it works perfect on my hill with the snacker so i'm not interested in going back to gears - I don't want the Honda auto box either

That all sounds fair enough really and having a 500 auto Foreman would 100% agree. Not a lot of experience of CVT of which is a Can-Am one? I did have a can-am on demo when the auto change on my Honda was poorly. I think I preferred the direct drive of the Honda for shuttling calf milk mixer about but other than being too big and not so handy for getting on and off, the can-am was impressive. Engine smooth compared to Honda single cylinder. The can-am was a twin and can’t remember model but was physically bigger than the foreman 500. Probably get used to it, but the belt whine a little annoying. I‘d have probably got on better with the next model down which was about the same physical size to my Foreman. Oh, what I didn’t like was the can-am had a drink problem and it’s one sim in life was to make sure my Jerry cans were empty!

My local Honda dealer no longer has a franchise so ended up keeping current bike longer. I’ve no idea what I would swap it for so read these quad threads with interest! Not that I’m a lot wiser. It’s a bit like the ‘What pickup’ posts 😁
 
That all sounds fair enough really and having a 500 auto Foreman would 100% agree. Not a lot of experience of CVT of which is a Can-Am one? I did have a can-am on demo when the auto change on my Honda was poorly. I think I preferred the direct drive of the Honda for shuttling calf milk mixer about but other than being too big and not so handy for getting on and off, the can-am was impressive. Engine smooth compared to Honda single cylinder. The can-am was a twin and can’t remember model but was physically bigger than the foreman 500. Probably get used to it, but the belt whine a little annoying. I‘d have probably got on better with the next model down which was about the same physical size to my Foreman. Oh, what I didn’t like was the can-am had a drink problem and it’s one sim in life was to make sure my Jerry cans were empty!

My local Honda dealer no longer has a franchise so ended up keeping current bike longer. I’ve no idea what I would swap it for so read these quad threads with interest! Not that I’m a lot wiser. It’s a bit like the ‘What pickup’ posts 😁
Telling someone their quad isn't as good as yours is like judging a baby show and giving reasons😵. Only ever had Honda and will only change if there's a very good reason but there's possibly better around. One dealer that covers this area sells Honda, Yamaha and Can am and his advice is if you tow a lot especially hills,stick with Honda. I think it's similar to the vario/ power shift argument with tractors where heav towing is possibly more suited to gears.
 

Nithsdale

Member
Livestock Farmer
That all sounds fair enough really and having a 500 auto Foreman would 100% agree. Not a lot of experience of CVT of which is a Can-Am one? I did have a can-am on demo when the auto change on my Honda was poorly. I think I preferred the direct drive of the Honda for shuttling calf milk mixer about but other than being too big and not so handy for getting on and off, the can-am was impressive. Engine smooth compared to Honda single cylinder. The can-am was a twin and can’t remember model but was physically bigger than the foreman 500. Probably get used to it, but the belt whine a little annoying. I‘d have probably got on better with the next model down which was about the same physical size to my Foreman. Oh, what I didn’t like was the can-am had a drink problem and it’s one sim in life was to make sure my Jerry cans were empty!

My local Honda dealer no longer has a franchise so ended up keeping current bike longer. I’ve no idea what I would swap it for so read these quad threads with interest! Not that I’m a lot wiser. It’s a bit like the ‘What pickup’ posts 😁

CanAm are thirsty... but it's a v-twin engine. I don't know much about them - I sat on one a couple years ago and I don't know why but I just wasn't taken with it. They're all CVT (except Honda).


Bikes are all the same, but different! Much of a muchness. Just buy whichever you like which has a decent nearby dealership or someone good to service it. I like my Suzuki and I'd bet there's plenty don't 🤷🏻‍♂️
 

Al R

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
West Wales
Got interested in one today on a well known online auction site only to find out after a little research it was ex RLNI
Think I will pass on that "tidy example"
If you saw how bad stuff rusts with me a few hundred metres from the coast you wouldn’t want 1 that’s lived on the beach!
 

Nithsdale

Member
Livestock Farmer
Kawasaki 750 is fuel injected.

Was it the 650 had the twin carb?..

Never hear/see much of Kawasaki (Bikes) anymore, considering through the 90's they'd be Honda's biggest rival. We had a Bayou 300 and a KLF 300 - Bayou was the better bike. I wouldn't go back to them now but at the time they were good
 

SFI - What % were you taking out of production?

  • 0 %

    Votes: 78 42.9%
  • Up to 25%

    Votes: 63 34.6%
  • 25-50%

    Votes: 30 16.5%
  • 50-75%

    Votes: 3 1.6%
  • 75-100%

    Votes: 3 1.6%
  • 100% I’ve had enough of farming!

    Votes: 5 2.7%

Red Tractor drops launch of green farming scheme amid anger from farmers

  • 1,286
  • 1
As reported in Independent


quote: “Red Tractor has confirmed it is dropping plans to launch its green farming assurance standard in April“

read the TFF thread here: https://thefarmingforum.co.uk/index.php?threads/gfc-was-to-go-ahead-now-not-going-ahead.405234/
Top