I Know that Honda quads are truly the most reliable and durable. I have flipped my hondas many times and put them through hell. THey are all tough. i have never tried Honda's automatic tranny. but i have heard that it is very pricey if the tranny drops. but it is very strong so .....the polaris is pretty good..but if you do alot of water crossings and mud playing than you will find that after about six months the belt will start slipping. it gets worse as you continue to go through these things......

As for the Traxter.. ... i have rode one and it was nice... truly the best mudder and pretty sporty for its size... the only issue i have with this quad is the price tag... pretty expersive. but if you have the dough that this it the best... thanks...

 

I flippd my scrambler down a hill, chased it, got on, and rode home. It started right up, and since then, no prblems.

 

So have you bought one yet? I posted a similar question in here on the Rubicon vs, Traxter XT a few weeks back and am happy to report that I just put over 70 trouble-free miles on my shiny new Rubicon this past wknd. I'm comfortable with my choice for a variety of reasons:
1. Traxter XT was $500-1000 more
2. Honda's proven and well known reputation
3. Traxter's lack of reputation (new) and uncertain reliability
4. Honda resale value is excellent
5. Traxter currently has soft resale market
6. Concerns about the Traxter weight
7. Honda auto tranny was appealing

I do, however, really like many of the features on the Traxter, it is a great looking machine and I also think Bombardier makes a great product (I have one of their Sea-Doos). I admit that I never rode a Traxter and hope I don't cause I may like it. So far though, the Honda has been all I had expected. We rode in some DEEP snow in western NY with a Honda 450S and two Kawi Prairies. Yep, we all got stuck at some point and it didn't matter what 4WD system you had in snow that deep. The tranny was SMOOOOOOTH. Everyone commented on it and liked the power that was instantly available if needed. I almost ran over the 450 when he had to downshift going up a hill and he had more problems downshifting in the deeper snow since he would lose momentum and sink in when trying to plow through. I also got comments on the nice looks of the bike, especially the polished aluminum rims. The steering was easy and predictable, engine braking almost makes the actual brakes just an extra feature. Suspension was a bit stiffer than the 450, but he has 2 years on it and I assume the Ruby will lossen up some.

The choice is really yours. I spent many hours researching my choice and reading alot of posts so I now I can give my reasons and opinions - hope it helped.

 

Yes, I did finally make a decision and like you I chose the Rubicon. My reasons were very similar to yours:
1. Price was not a huge factor because I planned to install a winch ($350) and larger tires ($300-$400) with the Rubicon that would have come on the Traxter, in effect negating the price difference.
2. Hondas are known for quality and although I have never had problems with my Sea-doo's, I think that the Traxter is still too new of a vehicle to know what the long term reliability will be.
3. The Traxter outweighs the Rubicon by almost 160 lbs. and I found the weight of the Rubicon hard enough to get used to coming off a 300ex.
4. The resale value of a Honda is among the best in the market and i agree the market for Traxters is very soft where i live. They are discounting new units over $1200 in some cases and still not moving them. I had to check with 5 dealers in my area to find a Red Rubicon in stock (4 of the five did have at least 1 Green though).
5. I ride on OHV trails that are mostly wooded and the Traxter simply will not fit in between some of the trees that are on parts of these trails. Can you imagine the laughter of your riding buddies when you have to stop and find another way because you are getting stuck trying to fit 50.5 inches of ATV through a 48 inch trail?
6. Both of the Traxters I looked at and test drove had two problems. The first was a backfire when shutting off. I have seen this complaint in the bombardier forum and supposedly a fix is avail from the factory, but I didn't want to have the dealer tearing the carb open on a brand new machine. The second problem was much more important to me: The shifter button would not shift down quickly, as would be needed when you panic stopped and then tried to take off. I had to hit the downshift probably eight times to get the quad from 4th or 5th to 1st. It shifts fine if done slowly, but when you are in a hurry you may be frustrated by this.
The Traxter seems to be a very good machine and offers many useful features, i.e. large fuel tank, storage bin, visco-lock differential, but there are too many things abouth the Rubicon that I just liked better. The only negative about the Rubicon is that everyone will have one after test driving it ( except those masochistic polaris owners who find it necessary to constantly enter this forum ). Thanks to all of you who posted your opinions, I read them all and appreciate your help (even the Polaris owners!)
Shumdit

 

ON WORD--- "KODIAK"

 

good luck with your rubi

 

Thanks- By the way the reason I excluded the Polaris was that the guy who was selling it had bought it as a repossesion and did not have paperwork to title it to me. Otherwise I probably would have bought it because even if I hated it I wouldn't have lost much money when I sold it.