I saw the Rubicon for the first time today. Not a let down, but not the ultimate quad either (never to be expected, no one will ever make it). First off, I must say that it was definitely impressive, and that I will call it the top dog on account that its big, its a honda, and it has an unbelievable transmission. That being said, its time to look at what I would have liked to have been done differently. Not bashing, just critiquing.

First off, ground clearance at the rear gear housing is no more than anything else. It almost looked as if it might be a hair lower than the 450. Forget that 10" rumor, thats at the frame. Second thing, the fender clearance isn't much and you would probably need a lift to keep 27" from rubbing the plastic. The aluminum rims look good though. Third, the racks don't impress me at all. Not nearly as large of tubing as the AC has. The plastic guard on the front is merely cosmetic and would become a trail ornament during the first month I had it.

Fit and finish was excellent. The controls are all in the right place, the display has a ton of different readings and looks awesome too. The headlights and tail lights look cool too. An almost pretty looking shiny clear lens on each. honda always does a good job of finishing a quad out right though.

Would I trade mine for one even, sure. Would I buy one over a brand new AC 500 manual for the difference in price, of course not. I value my swingaxle too much to ever consider that. Still a heck of a ride though.

Oh yeah, they had one, it was sold of course.

 

I was in KC's powersports superstore with Yamaha, Polaris, Kawasaki, and Honda ATVs and they had one. It was not sold but they wanted $7599 for it!! I asked another salesman and he said he didn't know for sure what the price was!!! I guess these boys just say whatever they want. I asked them how much a 250 Xplorer 4x4 like mine was and they said $4899!!! Can you believe this?I bought mine for $4199 and the CAT for $4900

 

I saw my first Rubicon, last week. Yeah it made me drool, nice looking machine.....LOL

Is there a Rubicon in my future? I don't think so. Yeah, it has some technological advances such as the tranny & the front end. Is the Rubicon the best 4x4 out there? I don't know, time will tell. Is it worth the money, to me its not worth over $8000 ($7000 + set up + freight + sales tax).

Next year if my wife moves up to my 4wd then I am looking for a good 400cc machine less than $6,000. I know they are out there.

I know that there are people out there that have to have the lastest greatest toy.

Is the recent explosion of new quads truely competition driven or is it profit driven knowing people always want the biggest or fastest quad?

food for thought.

I hope AC does come out with a 400 for 2001, I will look at it, along with Kawasaki, Yamaha, & Polaris.