Honda

-- A fast sand dune machine -- It's kind of like a dirt bike, but it's also like an ATV too. The fat tires allow it to carve across the sand better than skinny tires. If you've ever ridden a normal dirt bike at the dunes you had to deal with the front tire cutting in deep in the turns and the rear tire spinning wildly trying to find traction. This Fat Cat 650 is an effective solution to that problem. Although the Fat Cat 650 is a custom build, its concept was based on the original Honda Fat Cat 200 that was available…

-- Cylinder Works expands its range of engine parts -- Honda's TRX450R is still a very popular quad even though 2014 was the last year new ones were produced. At the race tracks you see as many older TRX450Rs as you do newer Yamaha YFZ450s. What this means is Honda 450R riders are used to rebuilding their engines to keep them going for another season.  They're buying new parts instead of a new quad. Cylinder Works is a company 450R owners have been going to for buying pistons, cylinders and big bore kits. Now,…

-- Super ATV elevates the high-performance Honda -- If you want to ride over bigger rocks and drive across deeper creeks a lift kit is a good thing to have. That's also true if you put bigger tires on your machine. This is why Super ATV came out with a 3" lift kit for the Honda Talon. They say it'll allow you to go up to a max tire size of 37". Their kit here is designed for the 2019 1000R model and it sells for $224.95. THE FEATURES INCLUDE: 3" front and rear lift Fit up to a 37” tire when used with 1.5”…

-- Making this popular quad new again -- By the staff of Dirt Wheels, Photos by Pat "Ride in focus" Carrigan There is no doubt that Duncan Racing International (DRI) helps breed winners. Erin Simmons relies on the DRI team of Loren and Leonard Duncan to build and prep his AZOP championship-winning Honda TRX450R. Going fast in Grand Prix-style racing is no small feat. Having a quad ready to tackle multiple types of terrain is half the battle of competition at a pro level. Simmons is no slouch on a quad, either.…

-- Radical flat track racer -- Francis Raynauld is a Dirt Wheels reader up in Quebec, Canada and here is the 1979 Honda ATC70 that he put together. You'll note that the engine is not the stock 70 unit.  It is a 160cc engine purchased from one of those pit bike companies. Their motor mounts are designed to lineup with ATC and mini frames. Some of the most fun you can have is getting a bunch of ATC70s together and racing around a small oval. It's a total blast when those things drift out sideways with the throttles…

-- New Single Slip-On or Full Dual Systems -- The HMF™ exhausts for the Honda® Talon 1000 R/X are available as a Dual Full System in the Performance and Titan series and a Slip-On in the Titan series.  All available HMF™ exhausts take advantage of HMF's™ superior engineering to produce unmatched durability, sound, power and torque.  All systems retain the OEM oxygen sensor for optimum drivability. Dual Full System - Performance & Titan Series The 4" aluminum Performance Series picks up 9 hp and 4 ft-lbs of torque…

--  Do-it-yourself 3-wheeler -- It seems like 3-wheelers have been gaining in popularity the past few years. So much so that all of the manufacturers have a bunch of new 3-wheelers in their showrooms now. Okay, we're making a joke. In case you didn't know, 1986 was the last model year for new 3-wheelers. However, that doesn't stop enthusiasts from getting a new 3-wheeler. Well, at least the configuration is new. You see, the hottest 3-wheelers today are converted from dirt bikes. That is what Greg Armbruster in Ohio…

-- Latest corporate news decoded by Dirt Wheels --     For those of us who have owned Honda motorcycles and ATVs over the years, there were three things we noticed. The carbs and fuel-injection throttle bodies had the word "Keihin" stamped on them. The word "Showa" was on the shocks or forks. "Nissin" was the word we saw on the brake calipers. The reason why is that Honda owned around one third of those companies.     Just recently Honda announced that it bought the remaining stock of Keihin, Showa and Nissin. They've…

-- Liberty Customz mud machines -- Liberty Customz is a company in the Houston, Texas area that specializes in Honda 4x4s. They make the parts to help your Honda conquer the gnarliest mud holes. Their tall A-arms and stretched swing arms will lift your Honda up higher and their axle paddles will provide extra drive forward. Liberty Customz will also do frame-up restorations on your older Hondas. Check out their website for more info > https://www.libertycustomz.com/ . .

-- Rincon 680 vs. Brute Force 750 vs. Kingquad 750 vs. Sportsman 570 -- By the staff of Dirt Wheels As time rolls on, technology advances, but the realities of the off-road market mean that the best-selling machines get the tech and marketing dollars. That means that big 4x4 quads keep improving, but they don’t get the attention UTVs do as they get more popular. Reductions in marketing dollars means it has gotten difficult to get enough of these big-bore brutes to perform shootouts. We managed to gather the Honda…

-- Is this the largest vintage Honda 3-wheeler collection? -- Preston Frasier is a man who loves Honda 3-wheelers. He began collecting them some time ago and each year his ATC fleet has grown larger. One of his annual traditions is to roll his entire ATC collection out into the yard and take some pictures of them. Preston has sent us some of those photos in the past and here is the latest bunch taken recently. This year's collection is the largest of all. Preston says there are 61 ATCs in the photos along with 4 TRX…

-- Testing Honda's Jackson Racing Turbo kit -- By the staff of Dirt Wheels Elsewhere in this issue is Honda’s surprising announcement of year 2020 products, including two Talon four-seater models, and updated Pioneer 1000 and 4x4 quads that are significantly changed. Two additional announcements from Big Red concerned a 2020 racing effort in the Pro UTV Turbo class for Best in the Desert and SCORE off-road races. Honda has a long history of racing efforts that promote new sport products, so the fact that the company…