Most Reliable 4x4 utility Quad on the market! Which one is it?
#1
Most Reliable 4x4 utility Quad on the market! Which one is it?
So looking to buy a utility 4x4 quad in the near future and all I’ve ever owned is an 03 Honda Rubicon which was absolutely bulletproof it seemed to me. Put about 5k miles on it in 2 years with nothing but regular maintenance while my friends with Polaris and other brands were having belt issues and starting issues and other problems. I ended up selling it after 2 years because we needed more seats. Having young kids at the time and everyone wanting to ride we just couldn’t do it with 1 quad so we bought a side by side. Polaris Ranger then had a seat put into the bed so we could all go together. We had to give up a ton of our favorite trail rides due to the width being over 50” but had to sacrifice something somewhere.
Fast forward now 15 year later and the kids have moved on and we are wanting to get back to some trail riding. My wife has no desire to ride her own and always loved riding behind me on the trails. Some fun memories for sure. Time to go make some more. But our favorite trails are 50” restricted trails so we need an ATV. I’m sure a lot has changed in the past 15 years and to be honest I’m clueless as to what to get. I do have a friend from High School that loves his 07 Honda Rincon 680 and has over 37k miles on it with zero major maintenance. That seems incredible to me. Are Honda’s just that much more reliable or all the machines capable of that kind of mileage. He isn’t easy on his machines. He rides hard and does some very long distances. What sets the Honda apart from all the other Manufactures having such good mechanical longevity? Is their drive system so much better and reliable? I’d assume most others are still belt driven or am I wrong? Seriously considering a Rincon just off of his recommendation for a 2up machine. Of course we would need to add a seat to the rear rack but that would be easy enough. I want a super reliable machine. One other Caveat. I’m not a new buyer. I always pay cash and always buy used. Have a budget of about $5-6k. Want Fuel Injection for sure and 4x4 but preferably not full time. Also never ridden with EPS so don’t know if that would even be necessary for trail riding. I can see maybe for plowing or something but we will never do that with our quad.
Any suggestions appreciated. We are in the learning stages of what we want to do so it would be cool to get flooded with information so we can start deciding on which route to go then start hitting the classifieds for a used ATV. TIA.
Fast forward now 15 year later and the kids have moved on and we are wanting to get back to some trail riding. My wife has no desire to ride her own and always loved riding behind me on the trails. Some fun memories for sure. Time to go make some more. But our favorite trails are 50” restricted trails so we need an ATV. I’m sure a lot has changed in the past 15 years and to be honest I’m clueless as to what to get. I do have a friend from High School that loves his 07 Honda Rincon 680 and has over 37k miles on it with zero major maintenance. That seems incredible to me. Are Honda’s just that much more reliable or all the machines capable of that kind of mileage. He isn’t easy on his machines. He rides hard and does some very long distances. What sets the Honda apart from all the other Manufactures having such good mechanical longevity? Is their drive system so much better and reliable? I’d assume most others are still belt driven or am I wrong? Seriously considering a Rincon just off of his recommendation for a 2up machine. Of course we would need to add a seat to the rear rack but that would be easy enough. I want a super reliable machine. One other Caveat. I’m not a new buyer. I always pay cash and always buy used. Have a budget of about $5-6k. Want Fuel Injection for sure and 4x4 but preferably not full time. Also never ridden with EPS so don’t know if that would even be necessary for trail riding. I can see maybe for plowing or something but we will never do that with our quad.
Any suggestions appreciated. We are in the learning stages of what we want to do so it would be cool to get flooded with information so we can start deciding on which route to go then start hitting the classifieds for a used ATV. TIA.
#2
Most all are good to start with, then depending on how they are used and taken care of determines how long they last. Everyone thinks there machine is best or why do you still own it? In my particular area many Hondas have issues with there automatic transmissions and can be hard to sell, but in other areas they are in demand! Keep in mind that most Hondas have less hp than similiar machines from other mfgrs. With less hp, people tend to not abuse there machines as much. Higher hp frequently means faster and harder riding especially from younger riders. Just some food for thought!
#3
True, Honda ATVs are way way way down on power compared to their competition. A 650 cc Can Am has 62 HP. I read somewhere that a Rincon 650 has something like 16 HP on the dyno. The Can Am dyno HP is going to be less than its 62 HP at the crank, so comparing crank HP to dyno HP is not really comparing apples to apples. But still, Honda ATVs are not even close when it comes to power.
I owned a 650 Rincon back in 2007, and it was one of the most disappointing ATVs I've ever owned. It has such potential with its suspension and handling, but it was such a dog it just about couldn't get out of its own way. I ride a lot at 10,000 ft + altitude, which doesn't help. I remember one really steep hill at high altitude where my Rincon just kept slowing down until it came to a complete stop, despite full throttle application. It didn't have enough power to spin the tires or even move, and I had to get off the ATV and try to muscle it down the hill. Back then Honda was stuck on drum brakes, which don't work well in reverse. That was a scary situation, and was what eventually led me to sell the Rincon.
Nowadays, for reliability, I would buy a Yamaha Grizzly.
I owned a 650 Rincon back in 2007, and it was one of the most disappointing ATVs I've ever owned. It has such potential with its suspension and handling, but it was such a dog it just about couldn't get out of its own way. I ride a lot at 10,000 ft + altitude, which doesn't help. I remember one really steep hill at high altitude where my Rincon just kept slowing down until it came to a complete stop, despite full throttle application. It didn't have enough power to spin the tires or even move, and I had to get off the ATV and try to muscle it down the hill. Back then Honda was stuck on drum brakes, which don't work well in reverse. That was a scary situation, and was what eventually led me to sell the Rincon.
Nowadays, for reliability, I would buy a Yamaha Grizzly.
#4
Honda engines should last longer since they put out so much less power than all other brands. Like how walking for an hour takes less out of you than running for an hour. I'd like to hook up a Rincon back to back with my 500 and have a pulling contest but no one I ever rode with had a Honda of any kind. Most of them have had Polaris or Yamaha ATVs but one guy has a Suzuki 450 Quadracer. Depending on where you live you need a 2-up ATV to legally ride double. If you're in the U.S. you can't ride double on any U.S. Forest Service trails unless you have a 2-up ATV. A lot of states also won't let you ride double on a single-person ATV on any public land. If you don't leave your property you can do what you want. If you get caught you'll be stopped and fined, but shouldn't get your ATV impounded if it's your first offense and you don't argue with them or call them names. Here in Michigan they keep track of how many times you've been stopped. Keep it up and they'll seize your ATV and you'll never get it back. AFAIK there are still only 3 companies making 2-up ATVs, Arctic Cat/Textron, Can-Am, and Polaris, and they're all belt drive. It's a lot cheaper to replace a belt than a transmission if one of them breaks. I would get EPS on a 2-up rather than find out later if it takes more effort to steer one.
#5
Honda engines should last longer since they put out so much less power than all other brands. Like how walking for an hour takes less out of you than running for an hour. I'd like to hook up a Rincon back to back with my 500 and have a pulling contest but no one I ever rode with had a Honda of any kind. Most of them have had Polaris or Yamaha ATVs but one guy has a Suzuki 450 Quadracer. Depending on where you live you need a 2-up ATV to legally ride double. If you're in the U.S. you can't ride double on any U.S. Forest Service trails unless you have a 2-up ATV. A lot of states also won't let you ride double on a single-person ATV on any public land. If you don't leave your property you can do what you want. If you get caught you'll be stopped and fined, but shouldn't get your ATV impounded if it's your first offense and you don't argue with them or call them names. Here in Michigan they keep track of how many times you've been stopped. Keep it up and they'll seize your ATV and you'll never get it back. AFAIK there are still only 3 companies making 2-up ATVs, Arctic Cat/Textron, Can-Am, and Polaris, and they're all belt drive. It's a lot cheaper to replace a belt than a transmission if one of them breaks. I would get EPS on a 2-up rather than find out later if it takes more effort to steer one.
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#8
Just watched a YouTube video on changing out a Grizzly belt. Says you need a 22mm impact wrench. How would you change out on a trail then? I’d imagine if it’s going to fail it would be out on the trail somewhere where you wouldn’t have an impact wrench. Looked pretty simple other than the need for an impact. But maybe you can actually do it with a regular socket wrench. Not sure. How often do belts usually last and how often do you change for general maintenance?
#9
I owned a couple of Yamaha Grizzly's, and the belts essentially last forever. One of my Grizzly's had 4000 miles on it when I sold it, and still on the original belt. I did clutch tuning on one of the Grizzly's, and tried a number of different combinations of weights and springs. I decided that stock clutching is just fine, and a lot of the clutching mod claims are just hype. But I learned how to get the belt on and off easily. With an impact wrench you can change to belt in < 15 min. You could change it without an impact wrench, but you would need something to keep the pulley from turning. A branch wedged between the pulley and the engine would do the trick. Seriously though, I don't know of anyone that has had a Yamaha Ultramatic transmission belt fail. They are the most reliable CVT made.
If you plan on riding double I would get a two up ATV though. My wife and I have ridden double off and on for years, and have done it on one up ATVs and two up ATVs, and the two up ATVs are far more comfortable, and much safer in the mountains. Some of the trails in Hog Canyon (Kanab area) could be dicey with two people on a one up ATV. A few trails on the Paiute system could be dicey as well, such as the 74 coming up out of Otter Creek. And I would not do the Rocky Ford trail on the Fremont trail system at all with two people on a one up ATV.
Good luck though, there are lots of great 50" trails out there. Have fun with whatever you get.
If you plan on riding double I would get a two up ATV though. My wife and I have ridden double off and on for years, and have done it on one up ATVs and two up ATVs, and the two up ATVs are far more comfortable, and much safer in the mountains. Some of the trails in Hog Canyon (Kanab area) could be dicey with two people on a one up ATV. A few trails on the Paiute system could be dicey as well, such as the 74 coming up out of Otter Creek. And I would not do the Rocky Ford trail on the Fremont trail system at all with two people on a one up ATV.
Good luck though, there are lots of great 50" trails out there. Have fun with whatever you get.
#10
I have never owned a Grizzly, but did own a Praire for 16 yrs. Changed the belt once at 1600 miles but didnt need to as old belt was fine, just kept the old belt as a spare. With the Praire, the only tools needed were to get the cover off, I could easily change the belt by just opening the clutch by hand and slipping the belt on. Those belts were made of Kevlar and they were stiff!