I'm trying to decide on what to buy and I'm settling on a 500cc ATV but I'm not sure which of these two I'm going to get.

Any input on either one? Pros and Cons?

Please try to be unbiased!

 

anyone?

 

If you want on historic reliability, Rubicon.......Just don't put big foot tires on it, the trans can overhead and quit working. At Little Sahara sand dunes in OK well pulled one in. He put his stock tires back on and it ran fine. Wouldn't out run my '00 500 Magnum Polaris 4x4, matter of fact wasn't too close either, you'ed turn around and here he comes in the 100 yds or 1 mile race.
The Polaris 500 ride better, can do more things like jump real high if you want.
In ND where we hunt the farmers ride Polaris and Kawasaki for good reason. Dave has 22K on a '02 500 sportsman and 11K on a '04 600 twin. His neighbor has 33K on 300 Kawie, now has a 400 Kawie with 18K. The only thing they do is change oil and sometimes a u-joint. They Honda can't be ridden with one hand, and Polaris and Kawie ride better.
I bought a 650 Prairie in '01 and sold it last Oct with 4K miles on it with only a belt replacement and plastic replaced under extended warranty.
If price is what your after 500 Polaris, 650 Brute Force ($5800), '04 450 Honda Forman ($5100),
Then step up to 600 Twin Polaris, 700 Prairie $6400.00, 700 Suzuki King Quad $6300.00 and Brute Force 750 for $6800.00 all at Neosho powersports, Neosho Missouri.

 

Sportsman 500HO!

 

If you are considering the Rubicon then I highly suggest taking a look at the Kawasaki Brute Force 650. MSRP is $6599 and many people are getting them for around $5900 (like me). If you still want the Rincon over that then you must be dead set on a 500. The Brute has differential lock, unlike the Honda, as well as disc brakes and that v-twin POWER! Can't ever go wrong with that. Seriously, the Rubicon has a base MSRP of $7299!!! That's crazy. (IMO) For LESS than that you can have MORE quad. Seems like the logical choice is obvious.

If you want IRS (independent rear suspension) then the Sportsman line is a great place to look. The 500 Sportsman is a proven machine and it has all the power you need. The 2005 models are better than ever. The stock tires are the best stock tires you'll find on any ATV off the showroom floor. That right there saves you a few hundred bucks. The Sportsman's proven IRS gives you optimum ground clearance and ride comfort. I personally was extremely close to getting one but didn't because I prefer a solid rear axle.

Back to the initial comparison...I personally would get the Sportsman over the Rubicon any day. I didn't even consider the Rubicon when I was in the market because, to me, it's just a boring over-priced ATV. Some will try to sell you on the Honda reliability thing, but at what expense? Less features, boring performance, and an overall package that doesn't match up with the price tag. Don't fall for it. You can have just as many trouble free miles with any other ATV. Honda will learn eventually.

Just my opinion(s) I guess. Hope I helped somewhat. Good luck with your choice.

 

I looked at both the Rubicon and the Sportsman series when I was buying and finally decided on the sportsman because of the overall better looks/stance/ride-comfort/handling etc. I found the IRS to be better on the sportsman. I liked the on demand 4x4 with polaris and the lower price tag. I would stick with polaris and better yet wait for the new sp500EFI to come out.

 

MWfromVA,
a few years ago i had the opportunity to ride my friend's Rubi for a short time. we swaped on the trails. i noticed it had a hard seat, stiff ride, scraped over rocks i easily cleared with my SP, and had no power. it's a great utility ATV with no 'fun factor.'

i couldn't wait to swap back.

the SP for 2005 is just FANTASTIC! it has some really nice features for '05 like 1" receiver hitch, EXCELLENT STOCK tires, rear work lights, wide stance, newly-designed VERY bright headlights, EXCELLENT front AND rear storage, and the damn list goes on!

plus, the Polaris forum is a REALLY fun place to hang-out. the Honda forum is boring. the most lively topic to hit the Honda forum in the last 5 years was just locked recently-"Honda playing ketchup" or something like that. other than that, it's pretty boring.

the Sportsman500 is quite the historic ATV. it FORCED the other brands to change. it revolutionized the ATVs you see today. some of Polaris's inovations that are now copied include: select 2 or 4X4, full floorboards, disc brakes, auto tranny, IRS, true 4X4, excellent stock tires, composite racks, huge ground clearance.

no other ATV made such a major impact as the SP has.

BTW, i suggest you buy the Sportsman![img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]