Seriously not in a bragging effort, why do you guys think nobody else is working on making a non-belt automatic transmission similar to or at least functionally similar to the Hondamatic. If my Rubicon transmission was mated to a powerplant like a Brute Force, KingQuad or even a Prairie, that would be utterly and simply AWESOME. In fact, I believe I found somewhere a while ago that the Hondamatic is a bit more power-efficient than the other belt-driven CVTs. I hope the next Red big-bore (assumming there WILL be one[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-mad.gif[/img]) has the Hondamatic in it. I would absolutely love it if Kawasaki would start offering a non-belt tranny with their superb v-twins. Why only Honda? And what's more, why only two machines?

 

Lots of companies are working on or even using mechanical cvts similar in priciple to the hondamatic. VAG, GM, and DC are all using them.

 

Yeah, the hydraulic transmission itself is, to my knowledge, an older design. I am referring to the ATV realm, though.

 

Ask yourself why the 650 Rincon didn't get the Hondamatic (yet the smaller Rancher 400AT did)??? It is because this transmission design doesn't do well with larger engines. Why do you think Honda would design a whole new transmission (for the Rincon) when they had a hondamatic (from the Rubicon) already on the shelf, unless they were forced to???

 

If and when the Hondamatic transmission goes out, you'll find that it's the worst thing that could ever happen to your Rubicon. I have an 04' Rubicon, and so far, no problems. A buddy of mine has an 01', and we recently had to replace the transmission unit. Fortunately, we did all the work ourselves. The Hondamatic is a $1300 non-servicable unit located inside the crankcase. For most people, when this goes out, they will probably just part out the rest of the bike, because if you have a shop repair this, the cost would probably be somewhere near $2000 - $2500. As long as it works, it's great. If it ever goes out, it's a nightmare. I'm glad I purchased the extended 42 month warranty with my Rubicon last year.

 

Right, try that one again. The hondamatic has been used in small cars and the last recreational use of the hondamatic before atvs was in a 750cc street bike so can you tell me again why it cant handle the power of the weakest 650 atv on the market?

 

I cant see why though, farm tractors and other heavy equipment use hydraulic transmissions, so I cant see engine size being a limitation of the technology, rather the transmission itself. I think the rubicon tranny is a much better unit than the Rincon unit which is basically a civic transmision at heart.

 

Trade in your lazy feet and get a manual[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

 

You're absolutely right, but I don't know how he managed to cause it to fail. I just turned 8,000 miles on the Rubi and the tranny works flawlessly. At any rate, I would consider it to be more reliable than any belt-drive CVT.

 

Catwithclaws, it may seem like a lot of money to replace the tranny on a Rubicon, but replace a drive and driven clutch on a belt drive ATV once. I bet you are real close to the Rubicon's repair bill. Then you have to add in all the other stuff over the years like belts, buttons, weights, rollers, etc. that may need to be replaced.

The reason why Honda did not use the Hondamatic in the Rincon because they heard a lot of complaints about not being able to feel it shift, and the added power of the Rincon's engine would have had to make a bigger Hondamatic unit which was too heavy to use. I don't know who complained to Honda but I sure didn't. Actually the Rincon's tranny is a good unit and would be better if they added a gear or 2, or a low range. rooster990