Honda Foreman 500 4X4

No matter what your task or chore, Honda's 500 Foreman 4X4 is a tough machine to beat. Packed with features like a beefy 475cc engine, TraxLok 2WD/4WD, and sporty styling, the Forman takes convenience even further with Honda's exclusive push-button Electronic Shift Program (ESP). Powerful and rugged... workhorses don't get much better than this.

We lived with the Foreman for a week and clocked up over 100kms on the quad, and never did the Forman even utter a whimper.

We took it to Wild Thing Raceway and played there a while. Throwing it around corners, over ramps, through water, sloshy mud and dry sand, and it took everything in it's stride.

OK, it' doesn't have the acceleration or top speed of a sports quad like the TRX450R, but we had hours of fun. And we took it for a 30km cross-country ride to Klip River and back, also having loads of fun - over rocky sections, through water, mud, more water and lots of thick river-sand.

And after all the riding it finally dawned on me why Honda calls it the 'Foreman'... It's the boss. Never letting anything get it down, never flinching, not even for steep inclines, deep dongas, muddy marshes or fast tarred surfaces. The FORMAN laughs at obstacles, taking everything we threw at it with ease.

We had the Foreman for a week and really put it through it's paces, on the track...

and over rough terrain, we could not fault the Honda. It's tough.

No matter what the terrain, the Foreman inspired confidence. The 500 (475cc) engine gives powerful performance matched with exceptional economy and easy cold starting.

The motor is mounted longitudinally for maximum drivetrain efficiency and the great stability, handling and balance that makes the Honda feel just right.

Plus it's got packing racks front and rear and three storage compartments for tools etc. It's got great lights (even a brake light), a hooter, speedometer, trip-meter, fuel gauge and clock. It's even got an auxiliary power plug for whatever you might want to plug in.

So... the Foreman has almost everything needed on a utility quad. If you want anything more you might as well get yourself a Hummer (at ten times the price and less than half the manoeuvrability).

while the Foreman is excellent as a workhorse, it's also great fun to ride

The Foreman gives total confidence, offering superb stability and handling along with the huge pulling power from it's air-cooled 475cc engine, combining a manual shift with big engine performance for heavy-duty jobs in all environments. Enhanced safety and durability comes from dual front disc brake callipers with a patented built-in scraper system, ensuring consistent braking performance.

whatever the weather, the Foreman was able the perform it's task

 the Foreman is no slouch, capable of speeds of over 90kph

words by Dylan Slater, photos by Kenn Slater

Thanks to Wild Thing Raceway for the use of their facilities,

also

thanks to Joeline Dobrowski and her team at Honda South Africa for the ride,

Dylan and I thoroughly enjoyed the powerful, versatile 500 Foreman workhorse.