being the owner of a '05 honda rubicon since new i have really enjoyed and learned a lot reading these past threads. i originally owned a '97 400 kawasaki prairie that got stolen out of my garage at our summer cabin on deer lake, north of spokane wa. last february. after painfully looking for a used replacement, my insurance adjuster advised me to buy a new machine and they would pay the tab. i didnt hesitate one bit of course and bought a left over '05 500 honda rubicon i had been eyeing at a dealer in woodiville, wa. so with the warn 2500 lb. winch and nylon zipper trunk the total was 8450.00 out the door. (wa. state sale tax, sucks)
iam a retired senior and this rubicon really fit the bill for me as when at the cabin i pleasure ride it daily plus for towing the boat, hunting ect. it now has 120 mi. and at 100 mi i changed oil and filter, set the valves my self. the valves were set tight from the factory as it changed the idle speed. i lowered the idle speed, reset the pilot screw and it really smoothed it out. speaking of the pilot screw, what idiot at the honda factory came up with that D shaped screw head instead of regular slotted like its supposed to be? the mechanic at ride motorsports in woodinville wa. was kind enough to give me a D shaped extra they had left over. other than that minor complaint, i cant say enough about what a beautifull easy rideing work horse my rubicon is. i looked and test rode even the big bore machines, and just could not get the rubicon out of my system and so glad i choosed it. nice chatting with you guys and thanks for all the information.

 

Holy $hit! What kind of taxes up there? $2000?

 

Hey, I see it's your first post. Welcome. Enjoy the new Rubicon.

The Insurance adjuster offered to pay the tab for a new 500 class machine to compensate you for a 9 year old 400? Dang...

Also, I hope that $8450 was a misprint... Even with a trunk, winch, and tax that's way high.

 

well the theives also made off tools and other items that was covered on my home owners but i had a separate policy on the prairie for fire and theft. my prairie was in excellant condition with a new ramsey winch and all the goodies. i just told the adjuster i was tired of looking at a bunch of beat up junk or over priced and he suggested i buy new. then after i bought the rubicon, he says i was insured up to 12k replacement. (huh, how about that one? lol) anyway, the rubicon started out 5900.00 left over '05. then of course all the set up stuff plus here in king county wa. the state sales is around 10%. and it was a misprint as the total out the door was 8,044.55. trust me guys, if i had been paying for this machine out of my own pocket instead of insurance claim, the dealer would have had to re-sharpen his pencil quite a bit.

 

Man, that worked out. I think if I had someone else's 12k to buy a new quad, I would have ended up with an 800 Outlander XT...

 

More like 2007 Polaris Sportsman 800 Deluxe [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img] .. Im glad to hear you enjoy your quad so much. Congragulations.

 

yeah, i know what you are talking about with the 12k limit as i could have just as easily bought the rincon at least which was sitting right along side of the rubicon i did buy. but i was trying to keep with in the realm of the 400 prairie. the true replacement i guess should have been the 360 air cooled prairie which probably is a good machine, iam sure. the only other 500cc i looked at and test drove was the suzuki 500 vinson which had good power and all but had the foot shifter. but even before this happened, i have always said that comes time to replace the prairie, it was going to be a honda, whether be the rancher, foreman or the rubicon. i think the rubicon was the right choice for me.

 

Well, go out and enjoy the Rubicon!

Go put some rides on it and let us know how it goes.

 

They do that to prevent you from adjusting it on your own. Its all about emissions. On some street bikes there are plugs that have to be drilled out to access the screws which are supposed to be replaced when done making adjustments.