Kids just can't make up their minds.Go to the honduh forum and brag about your bike there,they will believe you.

 

Maybe its a change of heart on the contradicting statements.

The AC I had was a 99. It would spin all 4 in mud all day. Most will as long as you rock them around and ground out the tires. Even the crap differentials on Big Bears, non locking Prairies, Honda 300's and 450's and Vinson's as well. My AC would not spin all four if you got one front off the ground and lost rear traction for forward momentum. Face it, limited slip is limited slip. Its ok for most things, but sucks for several other things.

But the Rubicon isn't spinning all four if you get a tire off the ground either. Hell I've seen that plenty of times myself. Watched a friend with a yellow 03 Rubicon go through a big mudhole with 589's on. He got to where he was coming out the backside of it and got that one left front about 6" off the ground, and his back wheels broke traction. Front left tire was spinning like a sumbitch, and both rears were going at it like crazy too. But his right front that was planted firmly on the ground just sat there and did jack squat. He was hopping around on the racks like a freakin yard ape jumping up and down on the back racks and then to the fronts and after about 30 seconds of going completely berzerk, he finally said the hell with it and backed up and took a different route out of the side of the mud hole where he could get both fronts evenly on the ground. The engine on that Rubicon blew after about 11 months. Nice one. But I don't think winding the enine out hard in a mudhole with only 27 miles on it helped his longevity any (thus the old "break it in like you are going to ride it" thing is complete horse crap).

If you want to compare breaking half shafts and stuff, then you can't compare an IRS AC to a Rubicon. Need to compare that to an ACT cat. In 2000 miles on mine, I had a rear driveshaft bearing go out (because of the poor seal design on the older AC's), and I had a CV screw up (more than likely due to the lift kit I had on it). No other troubles ever. No brake problems, no engine or transmission problems, nothing at all other than the things I mentioned. Not too bad really. My other friend's 02 Rubicon had ZERO brakes after about 6 months and he decided to just eat it and buy the highlifter brake system for almost $400 (which is basically the same brakes that Arctic Cat used then - Willwoods). Granted its seen its share of abuse, but after 4000 miles, his Rubicon is virtually dead. Blew the engine a few months ago finally. His extended warranty saved him on most everything else. Sensor in his "bulletproof" hondamatic transmission went out twice, completely cracked the case of his differential from the inside, blew a front CV, and had a complete rear axle and differential replaced. No, Honda's are good, but not invincible.

It all depends on how you take care of them and use them. Some people could f@#k up an anvil with a rubber mallet in a sandbox. Myself, I could buy any quad on the market and probably have very few problems at all with it. But I'm not one to buy something and tear it up either.

 

I'll stick with the belt drive CVT,the honduhmatic is scarry,of the three people I know with them,one had the engine and tranny rebuilt(only had 1100kms on it,plus the sensors he had to replace),the other did the same but went to the scrap heap,and the one that the "bullet proof" transmission didn't destroy is still going strong,6500kms.I'll dish out the 80 bucks every year or three thank you very much.

 

 

 

You sure won't run out of things to talk about.Whoooooooo,baby!

 

OK, I'm just going to give my opinions as has every on else.

1. All ATV's have pros and cons.

2. Sure, the strength of the builder helps out alot, but so does the owners desire to care for it.

3. Where you ride it and how you ride it plays a big role.

4. Agreeing with Andy, the whole "break it in how you're going to ride it" deal is horse crap. You have got to give the seals and bearings proper time to seat themselves in.

5. Taking your ATV back to the dealer for maintence is advisable, if something breaks or messes up that they have recently worked on, your less likely to have to take the blame.

6. All manufacturers make good machines, some designs aren't as good as others but they are all good.

I have personally owned three hondas and now my AC. My first two hondas, a 350 Rancher ES and my 450 Foreman ES were virtually flawless. With over 5000 miles on each the Rancher went back for one problem, the reverse went out of it. But overall, Honda does make a good machine. However for my own use, the AC is the ideal machine for work and play. While my wife favors her Rincon for its ease of operation, smooth ride and the easy steering.

 

They are in denial. Same as people on all the forums. All these quads break. Just not everyone wants to let it fly on the forum. There was a guy on here about 5 years ago named Bill Cilliberti. Big Polaris guy, but had a 1999 Sportsman 500 that was a mechanics nightmare. You name it, it broke. He was quick to voice his opinion and give testimony to everything that went wrong on his quad. The other Polaris guys in the forum used to rag him down hard. I guess cause he was bad mouthing polaris a lot, and they didn't want the negative talk about their brand. Hell, in my book, if you own it, then you can bad mouth it all you want. Doesn't count as ragging if you own it yourself.

 

both great quads, treat them right and they will give you years of fun. the only 2 brands i would ever buy.

 

That's right, there sure are alot of people that brag their quads up on here. I went on the Honda forum and said about me having problems with the tranny and torque converter, you would have swore I did the most horrible thing to those guys. I was just stating the truth and I am all but impressed with that Rincon. My wife loves it so it is hers now. My other to Hondas I loved but the miles were really getting racked up on them or I would have kept them. I love my AC too, but I am not going to say that it is definitely the best thing ever created. It has a lot of good qualities and right now it is what best fits my needs out of an ATV. But it also has its bad qualities. It sometimes gets a little rough steering on some tighter trails where as the Rincon will just whiz right through them. But like I have stated in previous replies to this thread and many others. Different people have different needs out of an ATV. That's why there are so many makes and models. If there was only one make and one model of an ATV, then this site would not even be here for people to bicker with one another.

I guess the old saying is right, " it takes all kinds of people to make the world go 'round!"