Honda

-- Built by Lonestar Racing to win! --  By the staff of Dirt Wheels We’ve seen a large number of ATV enthusiasts rebuilding the beloved Honda TRX250R to its former glory. Retro is in right now, and the TRX250R is over 30 years old, so it’s retro for real. For the last decade most TRX250R projects we’ve seen were play machines, but now many riders have started building them to race against modern machinery. The Bosemer family never stopped living the two-stroke lifestyle. You may recall that we featured Rachel…

-- New innovations in battery systems -- The folks at Honda have been working on a new swappable battery pack system and they used their Pioneer 500 to showcase how it works. Instead of the normal 500cc gas engine, it's powered by electric motors. Juice for the electric motors comes from batteries that easily slide in and out from the side under the driver's seat. There are many kinds of electric powered vehicles these days and they all have different types of batteries in a variety of shapes and sizes. Most are not…

-- Don't you wish you could buy this quad from your Honda dealer? They could call it the "30th Anniversary Edition TRX250R". Dirt Wheels reader John Langman didn't wait for Honda to do that -- he built his own. He wanted it to look as close to the original 1986 as possible without too many modifications. John started with a 2005 Honda TRX450R and removed the 4-stroke motor. Next, he fabricated mounts to the frame to install a 1986 Honda TRX250R two-stroke motor. To maintain the original look of the first…

-- Could this be the ultimate 400EX? -- Honda sold thousands of TRX400EX sport quads and you still see plenty of them out on the trail. Rarely are they box stock though, because the 400EX has always been a popular machine for its owners to modify and improve. Of the modified and customized EXs we've seen, this one here is at the top of the pecking order. You just don't see that many with an exotic aluminum frame. This Honda 400EX belongs to Dirt Wheels reader Blake Holzgen. It was his winter project and here is how…

-- SUMMIT OFFROAD is a good place to check out when refurbishing your older quad on a budget. They have a wide variety of used ATV parts as well as new. They also provide good deals on engine rebuild kits that include cylinders matched to new pistons. The Dirt Wheels crew was checking out their list and here are a few items you might be interested in, if you have a Banshee, Suzuki LT80, Honda TRX300, Raptor or Grizzly 660. Yamaha Banshee YFZ350 cylinders with Wiseco piston kits Includes everything shown in photo…

-- The latest version of the famous two-stroke three-wheeler -- Ever since Honda dropped their ATC250R after 1986, people have wondered how one would look today if it suddenly returned to the line up. Well, that has not happened yet, but what we have here is probably the closest thing to a 2019 ATC250R that Honda would build. It has an aluminum frame, inverted front forks and a 2-stroke engine with a power-valve, raising and lowering the exhaust port to make a broader power band. So, how did this modern ATC250R come…

-- 1999 HONDA 400EX vs. 1989 250R -- When Honda came out with its TRX250R in 1986, the ATV world became a much better place. It wasn't long before  this two-stroke machine became known as the best high-performance quad ever made. Life was good for quad riders for four years, and then the bad news came. Honda announced that the 1989 model would be the last 250R  it would sell. For the next 10 years we all waited for Honda to introduce a new replacement for the 250R. Everyone was growing impatient and then the news finally…

-- ONE FOR THE ROAD -- Here's a three-wheeler you can ride down Main street. Is it available at your nearest Honda dealer? Well, not quite. This one was built by Michael Noska who has a shop called 220 Trikes LLC in Penn, Pennsylvania. His Honda ATC450X began as 2012 CRF450X dirt bike and then he proceeded to turn it into a three-wheeler with the goal of making it look like a production model from Honda. Most of the parts are all brand new, with the exception of the headlight housing, which came from a 1986 ATC350X.…

-- The Blackwater 100 was dominated by this fast 2-stroke quad -- In 1975 a race was born in the muddy waters of Davis, West Virginia. Dave Coombs, owner of the famed GNCC racing series, was contacted by a small-town preacher in West Virginia regarding the economy of his struggling town. He was interested in hosting a motorcycle race to bring money into the area. Coombs saw the enormous potential, and the Blackwater 100 was born! The Blackwater race was aptly named after nearby Blackwater Falls and Blackwater…

-- Make sure your ride is ready, By the staff of Dirt Wheels -- Have you noticed that your ATV or UTV isn’t tracking straight like it used to? Or it might be that the handlebar or steering wheel isn’t in the correct position? Either way, these things can become a nuisance if the front end is off even slightly. So, how can these things be fixed without taking it to a repair shop? Fixing each of these problems is much easier than you think, and hopefully you’ll save some time, money and aggravation with these tips.…

-- THE LIFE OF A HONDA TRX250R -- For this "Reader's Ride" we go to North Carolina and check out Benjamin Hewett's 1986 Honda TRX250R. He has owned this legendary two-stroke machine for 10 years and it has been given many updates during that time. Here is a list of the parts it has now: ESR 330 Cylinder LED Performance 350G pipe, Silencer and Intake Fully gusseted stock frame Lonestar +2 +1 A-arms Lonestar -1 Swingarm Lonestar Hubs Galfer Rotors Hiper Tech 3 wheels Maxxis Razr Balance Rear / Razr2…

-- Can it keep up with the rest? By the staff of Dirt Wheels -- The Rincon has been at the pinnacle of Honda’s 4x4 ATV lineup since its introduction as a 2003 model. Through its lifetime there have been minimal changes made to the durable big-bore quad. In 2006 the engine gained a larger cylinder bore that increased displacement from 650 to 675cc and an EFI system. In 2015 the aluminum rear A-arms were swapped out with steel ones, and the front upper aluminum A-arms were also given the boot for steel versions. This…