Anyone interested/excited about the 2015 Honda Rubicon? I'm looking forward to seeing one

Does IRS feel very different from SRA? I notice a difference between the independent front and the solid rear on my current quads when crawling across larger rocks. If an IRS is similarly as smooth I think it might be worth looking into.

 

The Rubicon is more like playing catch up.

IRS has been the norm for over 14 Years on most mid to big bore 4x4s due to its much smoother ride over rough ground and greater ground clearance over the SRA.
Also IRS can not be fitted with the inferior rear drum brake and must use a disc brake.

They detuned the Rubicon and dropped the 32hp 499cc motor it always had since 2001 and now it has the 28hp 475cc Foreman motor.
Most all 500 class 4x4 are in the 35hp to 40hp range now.

On the up side it finally gets true 4wd diff lock this year, another feature most ATVs had for the last 15years.
The SRA Foreman, Rancher and Rincon are left out of that option. http://www.atv.com/specs/honda/utili...eg/4x4-es.html according to this site.
Under "Drive LINE" Geez I hope so.

 

Thanks for your thoughts

I haven't really looked at any other offerings from Yamaha, Kawi, or Suzuki, mainly because I'm a die hard manual transmission person. When I started looking I was quickly funneled to Honda utility quads because they're the only ones that offer a manual.

Maybe I should be a little more open minded about it and see what benefits the others have over the Hondas. The transmission thing is definitely limiting my choices.

 

Not to many 5 speeds left in the 4x4s.
400 Suzuki KQ, 400 Yamaha Big Bear,420 Rancher and the Foreman SRA and Rubicon IRS.
None of which break 30hp.
All the serious high powered 4x4s only have CVT for some time now.

Trail riding without shifting is much better I think. They all have low range so belt slipping while doing heavy work is impossible.

 

I agree with ya 100% TLC. Love a 5 speed transmission.

The reason the 5 speed ATVs dont have excessive HP is due to mechanical limits. I have seen hundreds of Foreman 500 and Vinson 500 with grenaded transmissions over the years. Almost always on an ATV running 28" or taller tires and was in a deep mud bog or rough terrain when the failure happened. The 05-11 Foremans are notorious for 2nd gear failures especially.
A CVT is more forgiving to the drivetrain when the machine is put in a bind on a 4x4.
Those little teeth on the gears just dont hold up. Hence, the low powered engines.

 

^ Maybe reliability issues is why the motor was downgraded?

That's too bad...I was thinking that the gear driven transmissions would be stouter than the belt driven automatics.

 

My 2012 Ski-Doo Renegade 800R E-tec has CVT and is rated at 165hp stock.

My friend bought a 2003 Grizzly 660 new and it still rides like day one 11 years later with 3500 miles on it and he never even took the belt cover off to look at it yet.

Honda 4x4s are down on power because they are the only ones using OHV motors while everyone else uses OHC motors including Honda but only on their Sport ATVs.

 

To add even 10HP to these 5 speed 500cc class engines would make the problem even worse,..(and most of the broken ones are usually modded)..so the OHV design is not really a big deal when the power level is already hovering at the maximum for the rest of the drive train.

 

Knowsalot, what are you talking about? Since when is a mechanical gear on gear transmission unreliable? Sure there may not be many utility atvs with traditional transmissions anymore but it all came down to the factor of cost. It's simply cheaper to produce a CVT transmission then it is a auto gearbox. You really think a foreman is maxed out as far as transmission strength goes with 28hp? What about all the sport quads out with manual gear on gear transmissions? How are those relatively same size gears able to handle 50+ hp?

Everything has a tolerance and a metal gear can be made as strong as it needs to be to hold up in a specific application. I've seen plenty of 25-30 year old 250rs with original transmission, some even highly modified. I think your exaggerating about the common trans problems with foremans as well. Only the 05-07 had 2nd gear problems before honda corrected it.

Think about how many vehicle a lot bigger, heavier and faster than atvs use a conventional transmission. Street bikes, nascar cars, every production car over 300 hp, trucks, tractor trailers, ect. Now think about how many use a belt driven cvt. Only things that really comes to mind are economy cars and snowmobiles.

 

On snowmobile its about 3 things .

A 5 speed tranny is more weight.

You can't shift grears with ice and snow on the floor boards while wearing big snow boots.

You have concentrate 100% riding on the deep snow trail using body language and the extra chore of keeping it in the correct gear just will not work.

Could you imagine this guy trying to shift gears.LOL
Same with 4x4 ATVs who wants to worry about gear changing,just gas and go.