Not sure if it's just my perception or not, but the aftermarket seems very slow to develop for Honda's in general. By the time a Polaris, Can Am or Yamaha hit's the showroom floor, there are usually tons of aftermarket parts available. 3 years later and there is still almost nothing available for the 700 compared to the other brand vehicles out there. I'm assuming that means these manufacturers are providing vehicles in advance to aftermarket suppliers for the sake of product development.
I know Honda would rather have you buy their parts rather than those of another supplier, but everyone has different wants and needs for their vehicle. It's called personalization, and Honda has to realize that either they need to produce a wider range of products (at reasonable prices) or provide test vehicles to the aftermarket so their customers can get what they want. In the long run they would sell more vehicles because people would know in advance that they would be able to quickly and easily transform the vehicle into exactly what they want.
A lot of people buy a vehicle (or anything for that matter) based on the availability of parts available for customization. Look at Jeeps or AR-15 rifles or closer to home, Polaris RZR's. People don't buy RZR's because they're the best vehicle out there, but because they can get almost anything they want to customize their vehicle with about 5 minutes of online searching.
I won't own one due to reliability issues, but Polaris and Can Am have a huge selection of available factory accessories as well. I love my Honda's and will continue to own them because they just keep going, but they are definitely dropping the ball when it comes to factory add ons and getting their products aftermarket support before vehicle release.
Sorry for using this thread to vent. Just my opinion.
