The air intakes for the water tight belt housing are mounted as high as the air intakes for the air box for the motor.
By the time its in deep enough water to get the belt wet , it would not matter anyways since the motor would be sucking in water as well.

 

I've gone into more than a few innocent looking water/mud holes only to discover it was much deeper than I thought. I've had the front rack go under a couple times and found maintaining an even speed produces a bow wake that keeps a good deal of water out of the intakes.

The majority of big bore ATV's use CVT's to harness the power. If the CVT were inferior there would be a mass exodus back to manual or semi-automatic transmissions. The only big bore machine (800+ cc machines) I can think of without a CVT is the Yamaha YXZ1000.

 

The new Honda Pioneer 1000 uses a dct beltless transmission as well. Belt drive is very reliable on most machines. And as TLC said, if you go through water deep enough to get into the cvt system, you're going to suck water into the engine as well. They can traverse pretty deep water. I managed to make it through water up to my front rack in my Grizzly before. I didn't do it on purpose but a creek crossing was much deeper than normal due to recent heavy rains and it made it. I did suck a little water into the airbox but I pulled the drain plug and it was ok. I wouldn't recommend deep water crossings with any quad but sometimes water is just deeper than you think.

 

As an owner with both a Rubicon and a Grizzly in my shed, I can at least give you a little insight on them. My wife rides the Griz. With the IRS, it is pretty plush on the trail, but when compared to my Rubicon available, well, there are a lot of things I would never try with the Griz that are normal with the Rubi. I bought the rubi for the transmission plain and simple. All the belt horror stories are true, and eventually if you do as much work around the homestead as I do with mine, you quickly understand the advantages of that transmission. Mine is an older unit with a solid rear axle, and I don't get that squat that the IRS machines get when putting a heavy trailer tongue on the back. And believe me, with me being over 300 lbs, and adding a large yard cart loaded to way over teh trailer sides with dirt, gravel you name it, No worries with the Honda. Second reason I own a Honda is the sheer longevity and lack of breakage. It just keeps going and going, just like the ever ready bunny. No complaints. Can't say the same on the Griz. People say the honda is down on power. Well compared to a 1000 CC machine, yeah.. it could use a few more HP, but the reality is this. I am not interested in the top speed of anything. I use it like the beast it is, and don't worry about getting home, because it will not fail me. EVER. That is a bold statement. I am a firm believer that if you use something the way it is designed, it will last a long time. The Honda proves me right every day. personally I use all the power it has and there is plenty of reserve. When I do trail ride, yeah I'd prefer something else that is more comfortable. but I am not going to give up the work ability I have now for something a little softer. If you are not ripping down the trails, it will do just fine. With that said, I'd love to get a can-am 850. Either a renegade for trail riding, or an XMR 850 for working around the farm. Those big lug tires would put it in the tractor category for dragging trees, pulling trailers, plowing snow. They are pricey, and have their own issues. But again, if you are not riding the crap out of it, I think you will be very happy with it. It is the first machine that would entice me enough to replace the Rubi. but not to worry, the rubi will forever have a place in my shed, and the battery will always be hot just in case I need to go to my backup.

 

Greg, All this talk about deep water and CVT and sucking water in the motor etc is kind of worrisome. First of all, if anyone even thinks they will be running water of any kind, they had better do a complete tear down and seal the thing up. Don't trust the factory assembly to keep the water out. Remember, on the assembly line, they get paid by the number of units they can produce each shift. You can't count on them using enough sealant in a short period of time. take your time and do it right. There are plenty of Youtube videos out there to follow for all the popular models.

 

Don't know if I've said this here or not. I've only seen one incident of belt slippage caused by water getting in a CVT. And that was a very old Polaris Sportsman 500. I dragged him out of the deep and nasty water and mud hole and we opened up the drain, let the water out, revved it in neutral, and we were on our merry way. We have no choice but to go through water holes if we want to take trails that are limited by private property owners. And, I've only seen one belt brake. It was my son when he first got a Polaris 500. He was in high gear when we were doing slow rocky trails with hills and water holes. Should have been in low gear for the technical stuff. I've ridden well over 10,000 miles on quads, almost all with CVT's. And most of the different groups of folks I ride with have CVT's. Again, only one belt broken and one slipped. The only kind of terrain we don't go through is the deep muskeg type of mud you see up in Canada. Just my own .02 worth.

 

I've been riding CVT quads for 19 years and never had a belt get wet even when I was in water up to the headlights. I've had 2 belts break and both times it was after I burned the belt doing something I shouldn't have. Like when I couldn't fit between 2 trees and tried to force it instead of finding a way around. That wouldn't have been good on any transmission. Both times the belt lasted another 100 miles before I had to change them. I used to carry a spare belt. Now I don't. I just avoid burning up belts by not doing things I shouldn't. They last for thousands of miles with no maintenance.

 

Two facts.

1-They do not make or ever have made high powered 4x4 ATV that is not CVT.

2- 98% of all ATV currently are CVT. You would not have that percentage if CVT had issues.

 

Honda is the only one left that builds a 4x4 quad that isn't a cvt. People have gotten so spoiled by not having to shift that they won't buy anything else.

 

I just came back from a big ride. I rode my friends 500 Foreman E.S and the shifting is just a chore you do not need , it's not hard but it just there at all times.
I also rode a 2015 Rubicon in full auto mode and you can feel it shift and kick into to the next gear like your car.
Unlike a CVT where you feel nothing from stop to top speed, it's just one long smooth linear motion like as if it was a electric motor.