I received my Rubicon 8-3. I have only three hours on it, around 25 miles and this is what I have had happen. It stalls when under load, mostly in d2, and in esp 1st "gear" once. In d2, I must say it has stalled about 8 to 10 times. The most it happens brings me to the next problem. I was in a mud hole that my 96 foreman 400 tears through, and the rubicon didn't. It first started to bog down in d2 high. It stalled, so I threw it into d1 high. Stalled. Now the worst, the mud was only half way up the tires, but sticky. The engine would not rev up and it seemed like the tires were barely spinning. So I thew it into esp, 1st, low. Same thing! Egine wouldn't rev and the tires never woke up! Have any of you Rubi owners had anything close to this happen. I took it to the the dealer today and they said they had no idea on even how to help me. I have noticed it to bog down on hill climbs too.

 

Sounds like the new Rubi is having a lot problems???

 

Turn your engine idle speed up.

 

To start with with, only 3hours of running time on machine is not a lot of break in time to be running through a Quagmire of deep sticky mud.First thing i would do is dump out all that gas, that it came with you havent ran a tank full through it yet,and add premium from a fresh source thats the only gas i run in mine. Drain the carb's bowl for any contaminates you never know what could have gotten in there already.
There was another guy who said his choke was sticking,that would certainly cause a lack of power.Most all of us had to re-adjust the throttle linkage at the handle bars,you will notice a big difference in acceleration,your thumb movement should only be about a eighth of a inch before engagement.
Are you getting any ( -- ) blinking messages on your gear indicator meter. If so this would coincide with your lack of power as the ECM modulator will not let the transmission shift and deliver the right power in those situations. Unfortunately we are the guinea pigs here right now on this new machine the mechanics at your dealers know probably as much or as little as we do.
As far as my Rubicon goes now we have put it through some situations in the mud etc. No lack of power at all it will throw some mud, and muskeg up here in Alaska. I am currently experiencing some kind of malfunction (Electrical)which is giving me some fits, i have 300 miles under these wheels now. Mine will go back to the dealer on Monday, like i said this a new can of worms for them too, but Honda has a good reputation for taking care of there machines and customers. It is a pain when one shells out big money for anything and right off the bat something goes haywire, let your dealer know of your concerns and your desire to get this taken care of immediately. Let us know of the outcome, Kewl,

 

Kewlpop, thanks for the input. I did change the gas already. and the mud wasn't really deep so I figured what the heck. We checked the carb and it was clean. Checked the plug, also looked good. Will check the the trottle today. Thanks again.

 

I too noticed the same apparent lack of power on a friend's Rubicon this past Saturday, muddawg. Most of the holes we were in had little to no water in them making the mud very thick and sticky. This particular Rubicon would barely turn its Titan 589s where vamped Ranchers and 450s were able to spin. Surely Honda didn't design and build its new flagship to put less power to the ground than its predecessor (the 450) . . . did they? There must be something wrong, but what? Engine? Transmission? Both?

I would like to know the thoughts of other Rubicon owners on this subject. Have you experienced a perceived lack of power? How do you feel that your Rubicon compares with other Hondas in acceleration, and pulling and mudding abilities. Let us know.


Texridr

 

Just out of curiosity, what color was your friend's rubicon. I ask because mine is olive and is a "second" production run. I am taking mine back down to the dealer tomorrow to go over it with a service rep, I hope. Did you notice your friends backfiring or stalling? Thanks, and I'll let you know how I make out.

 

How do you know if it is a second run on production?

 

The first production run on the Rubicon were red. The second production is supposed to be green.

 

The Rubicon I got was called a TRX500FA1. What is the 1 on the end for?