Seems the recent introduction of Yamaha’s new electric power assisted steering on the 2007 Grizzly has raised the fur over at Honda Motor Corporation. Just days after the introduction of the new 700 EFI Grizzly (covered in this issue) we received an official Press Release from Honda covering the development of the “world’s first Electric Power Steering (EPS) system for ATVs”.
The release emphatically states an “ATV with this Honda exclusive technology is easier to maneuver…”. The release continues: “Honda’s first application of EPS on a production ATV is anticipated in the near future”. The 680 EFI Rincon is a brand new ATV just introduced last fall. Would it be getting an update to include the new EPS system already or is this more likely to be available on an all-new ATV?
Consider this as well: EPS, as Yamaha uses it, shows it’s strongest benefit when in diff-lock 4×4. Last time we checked, Honda currently offers no models with diff-lock. In any case, the release states September of this year is when we’ll see the EPS system on a production Honda ATV.
With EPS equipped Grizzlies already in showrooms, we wonder what the brain trust at Yamaha thinks about this?
