Ok fellas, first off let me say that I am a VERY proud owner of an 03 Rincon. No regrets period. However, I do not believe that this bike was intended to be a top contender for "workhorse" of the year. That is for sure...

So now I am looking into buying a new Quad, one that will be basically for utility work around the farm and some occasional trail riding, long-side the Rincon...

I am at a point where I can't decide between these 3 which will be my next bike.

We all know that while the Rubi, being a Honda, is probably going to be the most reliable and a great utility bike.
However, while I am very much a Honda fanatic, I don't want to limit myself to just one manufacturer.

So the Prairie is looking very good also. I mean probably a little more power and speed than the Rubi, but belt driven.
About the same with the Suzuki.

So I need some advice. I know that the prairies are hard on belts, but exactly how hard? How often are they being replaced?

Suzuki owners, how reliable do they tend to be?

I did do a search, but it seems like most of the comparisons are between the Rincon and the Praire, not the Rubi.

 

Well I just looked at the Suzuki and found out that it is the same damn quad as the P700...

So well, comparing them two would be pretty stupid.

I guess it all boils down to the best deal then on those two.

 

Naw the prairie isn't hard on belts, Most people i have seen have gone anywhere from 1500- 2500 miles if not more, and thats the guys who ride it hard. Now i wouold put the epi black secondary spring in , it does help with belt life (20$) and if you do eventually change the belt (70$) its not hard at all to do. So dont let the "belt" issue be a factor in your purchase, just ride and see if you like it .just my .02Brent

 

I remember reading the P650 was having a belt problem when it first came out, but I think that is history. Like all belt ATV's, if you use low range when you are suposed to the belt just isn't the issue it used to be.

If I was to buy an ATV for working and a little riding, I would buy a Rubicon. Heck, I'de buy a Rubicon any way. I'd like to have two of them.

I dont farm or anything like that. We go everywhere with no troubles hauling 400 pounds. I don't think the Rubicon even knows it has anything on it. Honda lawyers are the ones who calculate Honda pulling and load capacitys.

There are bigger ATV's that will pull more and go faster, but there is more to a utility than speed and none of them have a Hondamatic trans except the Rubicon.

 

Sold my 02 650 prairie and 02 sp700 and kept my good ole 01 Rubicon. We use it for utility work and have yet to have one problem after 2k miles. We just picked up a 04 Ranger 4x4 for the heavy duty utility work and what a nice change it is...man I wished I whould have picked one up years ago.

 

[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-cool.gif[/img] As you have found out Suzuki and Kawasaki have kinda merged and lots of the dirt bikes are identical, so I guess if you like red, green or camo get a prairie, if you like yellow or blue get a suzuki. I just bought a new P700 in camo, I like the camo cuz the process used doesn't scratch as easy, I just like the look too. I rode the Kawi, the Rincon and the Grizz, I just preferred the Kaw because of the straight axle, I am not a fan of IRS yet, at high speeds they get too squirrelly in a corner for me. just my 2 cents worth

 

Forgot to mention have you seen the new Artic Cat 650, if you like the IRS it has very long travel suspension, hugh gas tank, and Kawasaki 650 twin engine, just another option, also check out Polaris sportsman 700, big and heavy but very powerful.[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

 

hey man if i was you i would wait till this summer because suzuki is doing away with the 700twin it just there for this year suzuki is releasing a 700cc king quad 2004 summer 700 cc single cylinder fuel injected diff. lock and fully independent rear suapension no spec on the tranny yet though

 

and also this time it wont be a kawasaki like the twin peaks or the Z400

 

hey king where are you located?