Just broke my new one in on the first ride. Nice bike, excellent tranny, excellent front diff, rock solid Honda tuffness. Rides like a Honda though. Depends on what you want. I've had almost every 4X4 4wheeler made and I always get tired of them breaking down and go back to a Honda Foreman. For example, I have a 03 Arctic Cat 500i manual with 170 miles for sale right now. Something broke on almost every ride.

First gear in Low range is a little high for mud riding so don't get wild with too big of tires. The 2wd/4wd option is the only thing I really miss. I almost bought the 450ES just to get that feature.

 

got a question for you fellow rubi owners, last year I hit a milk crate size rock with my right front tire at 20mph that resulted in it flipping my quad. ever since then im not totally sure if it handles the same, nothing looks bent and the allingment is still on.... but when cruseing on hard pack, either clay or pavement the turning is very "twitchy" withen the first 1/8th of moveing the barrs left or right, just enough to do a lane change on a 2 lane road- just breath on the barrs and boom it turns, but if you want to go around a corrner it knifes in pretty hard if you force the barrs past the "twitchy" part. I dont rember the rubi being super easy in the first 1/8th of a turn but then getting really tough and knifeing in around corrners on hard pack. If someone could take there rubi on the pavement and see if they all do it that would be cool, IF you look at the front headlight- from center to when it aims directly over either edge of the plastic brush guard it turns on pavement easy, force the barrs further and it knifes in and becomes a tad tricky.
thanks, Joe

 

I just purchase a new 03 rubicon, hands down it has the best auto transmission on the market.
I had a yamaha kodiak 450 That I sold because I did not like the auto transmission.
I could not get over the wind up the rubber band delay that the transmission had in high range.
The handling on the rubicon is much more stable than the yamaha and corners alot better.
The only draw back I could find with the rubicon was the full time 4x4 so I installed a warn 424 kit, problem solved.
I just wish I would have bought the honda rubicon 1st

 

JRM You might have a bent tierod or even a bent hub. Does it hog one side of the road if you let go of the handle bars?? You could have also bent the stearing stem, wich i would think u did from u you are describing. IF thats the case you will have to pull it up and out going up through the top. I dont know much about how to do it on the rub but i have done it to my warrior and just took it a welding shop and he put it on the press and pressed it right back it works alot better. Hope this helps

 

ill have to check into that, somethings not the same... but to the eye everything looks good