One of the magazines mentioned that this is a widespread problem with the Rincon: The trans runs very hot and toasts the oil. What the rider notices is a simply a decrease in performance (shifting problems, slipage). Easy fix might be a switch to thicker oil and more frequent oil changes.

Anybody with any presonal experience with this??? Don't recall any posts on this, so it was rather surprising (but plenty of posts complaining of mediocre preformance). Is it happening and everybody is just totally oblivious? Would a change to synthetic oils that are more capable of handling high temps be an easy cure????

One question, as I recall, the engine and trans share the same oil (as in the Rubicon?). Is that so????

 

Yes the engine and trans share the same oil. Oil changes are done every 500-600 miles. You have to use the honda oil av-4 or something like that. honda doesn't recommend using synthetic in the engine.

 

Article recommends running a "high quality" 20W50 oil. What is the stock stuff????

 

This is what starts to scare me about getting a Rincon.
I'm sure these r few in far between.
Just makes me wonder????
I've had good luck w/ all the foot shifters i've owned.
did it hurt the motor?

 

Article did say that under normal trail riding conditions, the oils survives alright. It is when you get into mud, sand, stuff like that is where you will start to have problems.

 

I read the same article. They were talking to mechanics (where?) and they reported problems with all makes of quads. I have never heard of this problem and I have never heard it mentioned at RinconRiders. The only reported problems have been with a gear in the transmission that was stripped. This was from 2 people. There are a couple thousand members on that forum. I think if this was a problem, it would be on there. I have been in thick mud up to the seat. My oil did not burn, did not smell like it burned, and my transmission has never slipped. I have seen Rincons in sled pulls that had better pulls than some of the others in their class, no problems.
This same article also said there were problems with the rear u-joint on Foremans. Said they were at a extreme angle. What angle? Never heard of this problem either.
As far as oil, a lot of the guys on RinconRiders have been using synthetic for some time. A lot of them use Amsoil.
Again, who were these mechanics?
They also reported problems with
Can-Am -electrical and Visco lock problems
Arctic Cat- slipping transmissions-cannot handle heavy loads
Rubicon- stalls in mud
Brute Force-transmission issues,"No aftermarket clutch kit or other mods will fix the troubled belt system". Knuckle failures, and front differentials "explode"
Polaris- axles, electrical, and radiator issues
Sportsman 800 - breaks tranny gears.
They did like the Prairie though.

 

I've never heard of anybody having trouble with burned oil? I guess if you let the oil cooler get clogged up with mud it might make it run hot. But I've always ran Honda oil and haven't had any problems with it. I'm now getting ready to switch to Amsoil though. Not because of any problems, but synthetic oil frees up horsepower. And I want all I can get.

 

I switched to synthetic after my first oil change, changed it again a few months ago and the oil looked perfectly fine. It gets pretty hot here and we've ridden in 90+ degree weather often and I've never had any problems with shifting and the oil still looks good. In fact, didn't even look like it needed to be changed last time.

The Visco loc problem on the Outlander was related to people increasing tire size, it causes a slight delay in locking up the wheels. Early model Outlanders had VR problems, has since been fixed but it was a pretty big problem at the time.

I read that many mechanics reported that the Polaris 800 transmission should be recalled as they keep having problems they can't seem to fix??

 

Can a Polaris actually be fixed?

 

Yes a Polaris can be fixed. Well, needs to be fixed after every ride!