The TRX700XX has one of the most modern-day looks we’ve ever seen. At first we couldn’t stand the looks of the front end, but the design is slowly growing on us. Honda provides two colors options; Metallic Black/Silver and Metallic Black/Red. A polyethylene push bar is used in place of an aluminum one. As much as we like new innovative ideas, we’re thinking an aftermarket aluminum bumper is needed. The plastic push bar may be strong but with nothing much to grab it’s hard to pick the quad up and out of a silt bed. Speaking of plastic, polypropylene rear A-arm protectors and high-impact urethane frame and engine-case protectors are used in an effort to protect the undercarriage. Honda saved a lot of weight in this. If this new armor choice holds up it could be the next big thing in undercarriage protection.
Rounding out the body and looks department is the cowl-integrated headlight with dual 30-watt bulbs and a highly visible LED brake light is also included.
The XX will feel at home over rocks and uneven terrain. An interesting note worth mentioning is Honda's new one-year warranty plan, which has never been done until now.
First we’ll define the type of rider this interesting new ATV is designed for. Honda tells us that this quad is a “category killer” and their target is people using utility ATVs aggressively as if they were sport machines. We can agree to some point, but after riding the machine, we’re thinking this is more of a desert racer’s dream quad than anything.
Hopefully you’ve read the pages ahead and you too see the potential Honda’s new XX truly has. Unfortunately the ride we were expecting in stock form won’t happen without the help of the ATV aftermarket industry. With some tweaking however Honda’s long awaited new big bore sport quad has some series potential.
The XX has a lot of potential, but first you'll need to uncork the powerband. It excels up high but low and midrange snap is missing.
The biggest single cylinder Honda has ever produced makes its power up high leaving a huge gap in low and mid range torque. Mid range power is decent, but still lacks that hit you expect in a high performance sport quad, especially one packing this many CCs. Up high the four-valve single-cylinder four-stroke engine comes alive and pulls nicely. It’s fast, but seems a little slower than Yamaha’s Raptor 700R.
Honda may have detuned their XX in order to meet California Emission Standards. If so the lack of get-up-and-go might be helped by eliminating the hindrance with aftermarket EFI mapping and ignition modifications. But in stock form, with no snappy power, you’ll need to clutch and rev your way to the meat of the powerband. This gets old and tiring after a while, so uncorking the XX with an aftermarket exhaust and EFI mods is an absolute must.
