With the introduction of the Foreman 4x4 with Electric Power Steering (EPSTM), Honda has once again added an innovative twist to an industry benchmark-the Foreman line of ATVs.
As one of the best-selling ATVs in history, it was a daunting task to re-create the Foreman in 2005. For months, Honda R&D personnel spent countless hours visiting ATV owners across the country to see how they put their machines to work in a myriad of ways, under an unimaginable variety of conditions: deep mud, freezing temperatures, snowy conditions, dusty farm usage, towing trailers and other work implements, running up and down hills-under all kinds of real-world situations, many of which expanded Honda's notion of tough usage. From this, engineers drew a bead on where they wanted to go with the next-generation Foreman.
The New Machine Takes Shape
Of course, increased performance was a given expectation in both the engine and chassis departments. Introduced in 1998, the Foreman 450 engine had been derived from the 395cc Foreman powerplant, which dated back to 1995. While each had been a masterful stroke in its time, the new Foreman was due for an all-new engine, and the natural course pointed toward a 500-class machine.
In 2005, Honda engineers gave the Foreman an all-new, air-cooled, longitudinally mounted OHV engine featuring an entirely different cylinder head configuration and valve arrangement. Feeding this combustion chamber is a 36mm carburetor (up from the previous engine's 32mm mixer) with a throttle position sensor for increased response and performance all through the rev range. This engine features the convenience of electric starting, but with the 500 the starter also operates when the machine is in Reverse for even more ease of operation. This powerplant is also blessed with a five-speed gearbox with Reverse, plus a larger, beefier clutch to handle the increased power output.
Displacing 475cc, the current Foreman engine is only 9.6 percent larger than the 433cc engine used in the TRX450, yet it churns out about 15 percent more power than its precursor. And it's not just the quantity of the Foreman's power that sets it apart. This engine is distinctly freer-revving than the previous engine, which gives greater performance and a big boost in the fun-factor department.
Taking the Foreman Chassis Upscale
Naturally, this 500-class engine was housed in a larger, more sophisticated chassis. To accomplish this upward transition, the Foreman borrowed heavily from Honda's renowned workhorse, the FourTrax Foreman RubiconTM. As a result, the TRX500 features a wider track front and rear compared to the 450, and it has grown 1.5 inches in overall width to tape out at 46.8 inches. It stretches to 83 inches in overall length, almost 6 inches longer than the TRX450, over a wheelbase of 50.7 inches compared to the former machine's 50.2-inch wheelbase.