Personally I am excited that Honda has entered into the fray of mountain biking. Hopefully Honda is on the forefront of a resurgence of popularity for the sport. All those advertising dollars certainly can't hurt. I also know that RC rides mountain bikes as well. As one of Honda's elite athlete's maybe he had some influence.
The HUGE Technology that Honda has available can ONLY be good for mountain biking. Look at what happened when Carnutt developed the inertia valved suspension for bikes. This isn't NEW technology, it's been around in off-road racing for some time. Just a new application. What do you think Honda will improve? I imagine EVERYTHING!
Heck, the Gearbox is just one area. Look at their frame. This frame was designed without any preconceptions about how a frame SHOULD be built. If I remember, it was designed BY a computer to deal with the applied stresses.
Of course the suspension is top notch. We all know that early suspension designs were borrowed from MX. Heck, look at a Marzocchi Monster T, it's as big as some MX forks.
L8R
__________________
"Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming, "WOW, What a Ride!" - unknown
"Your Bike Sucks" - Sky Yaeger