The XX Files: Honda 700 XX-XC Transformation

ATV Rider Magazine Goes Back To School

From the October, 2010 issue of ATV Rider

By Lance Schwartz

Photography by Lance Schwartz

Test Riders: Bob O'Brick And Lance Schwartz

Rodney Dangerfield went Back to School, Will Ferrell kicked it Old School and Alice Cooper decided it would be a good idea to just burn the school down! Vivid memories of school are likely a common trait that most of our ATV Rider family share. For many of us, the experience was positive. For others, not so much! As a middle school technical education teacher in Central Pennsylvania (and a part-time hack ATV editor), I felt it would be an incredible experience for my students to get their hands dirty building a dream quad, ATV Rider style! Our goal was to create a machine dope enough to make our readers contemplate switching places with a pimply, onion-hoagie-smelling eighth grader just to be a part of this experience. So when a shiny new Honda 700XX and a boatload of aftermarket parts showed up in my classroom and my students realized they were going to get the opportunity to turn the wrenches on an ATV Rider project quad, their heads nearly exploded!

With a nearly limitless selection of machines out there to choose from, readers might be scratching their heads why we chose a 700XX. From the factory, the XX has some really great characteristics. But overall, Honda left a lot of people wishing for more. The fact that the XX shares its legendary Honda genetics with a ton of iconic machinery is a good start. Secondly, since this machine was required to stretch its legs in the tight woods and harsh, rocky terrain of Pennsylvania, the comfort of independent suspension and a torquey, large, 700cc single was another feather in its cap. Finally, the XX has been dogged by a large portion of the ATV media group almost as much as Tiger Woods and Jesse James have in the recent past. Granted, some of the criticism is warranted. But with the potential I saw lurking beneath the quirky-looking plastic and the prospect of turning our mousy "Peter Parker-like" XX into a superhero, it seemed like a great canvas to turn the kids loose on. But as the story goes, with great power comes great responsibility!

The Hop-Up
In a matter of a few short hours, the kids stripped the 700XX naked like a brood of maggots on a stinky carcass, leaving only the frame, an engine, the stock rear A-arms and a weary teacher in their wake. We started the transformation by first replacing the stock coolant hoses with CV4 units. Next, a massive 4.8-gallon IMS tank got bolted to our monstrosity, giving it a much longer range.

With the stock front arms removed, we bolted on a set of Houser A-arms, equipped with the company's aptly named Tric Trac conversion kit. A set of Float X Evol DSC Gen 2 front shocks were bolted to long-travel Houser arms, and a +1 Houser stem replaced the stock piece. We added a Precision steering stabilizer to help calm the front end over rough terrain, which then required us to change the front brake lines to longer stainless steel Galfer units. The stock Honda wheels were replaced with aluminum DWTs we had sent to OMF Performance to install its reinforcing rings with surgical precision. We stuffed TireBalls into a set of stock-size Maxxis Razr rears and Razr2 fronts an inch taller than stock. To round out our mods to improve handling, we bolted on a beefy Sonic Offroad rear sway bar to help the XX carve corners.

To tailor the feel of our controls, we swapped out the stock bar and levers for a set of Flexx bars, ASV C5 clutch and brake levers, Spider Slimline SLT grips and Acerbis Uniko hand guards. To bump up the horsepower, we paired a customized Two Brothers M7 V.A.L.E. stainless steel slip-on exhaust with the company's Juice Box fuel controller, and a Velocity air filter was utilized to flow more oxygen into the big single-cylinder mill.