Hi Everyone. I'm Brand New to this forum as of today. So thought I would say hello. I've been lurking in the background for about a week or so reading up a various topics as I didn't think I would have a question I didn't join until now. I must say I am very impressed w/ the vast knowledge here. As for a little about me, I am pretty new to ATV's, I have never owned one but have rode other peoples and I do own a motorcycle. I am in the market for an ATV now. I live in Utah just north of Salt Lake City. Looking forward to doing some trails down south (Moab?) next spring or maybe sooner.

Well enough about me on to my question. Rubicon vs. Rincon. I am just looking for some input from those more knowledgable than me. I am pretty sure I am going to go w/ the Rincon but wanted to make sure I had my head in the right place. For the type of riding I am planning on doing I see the Rincon fitting the bill better. I do hunt and I know the Rubicon would be the best choice for that, but I am also planning on doing some trail riding and the Rincon would be better for that. I see myself doing more trail riding and recreation riding than hunting as I usual go hunting only about once a year and see myself doing trail riding many times a year.

Okay, so am I thinking straight? If I see myself doing more trail riding get the Rincon? If I see myself doing more hunting than trail riding get the Rubicon? My wife plans on riding w/ me (speaking of which she just gave me the go ahead to purchase one, what an awesome wife I have!!!) on the trail stuff so I am thinking the Rincon would work better for that seeing as I am 6'2" and 250lbs, the extra room of the Rincon would be nice.

I like the idea of switching out of 4wd to 2wd, which the Rubicon does not do, right?

I've read other topics similar to this one and have formed somewhat of an opinion from them. Just wanted some input from everyone to see if I am thinking straight on this.

Thanks,
Todd.

 

Hi Todd,

I think you’re on the right track. The Rincon will be a good choice for you. With the IRS and the 650 engine I think you and your wife are going to enjoy the Rincon for many years to come. A few things you should add to your Rincon after you’ve owned it for a while.

Winch
New skid plates
Radial tires (make the ride even smoother)

As for the skid plates, check these out. http://www.aluminumproducts.com/aluminum/
These boys have figured out how to make skid plates.
[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

Welcome. The two of you need to go sit on each ATV together; the seats are quite different from each other. Are you going to add a trunk with a seat built into it or just ride it like a motorcycle? It needs to be comfortable for both of you. Where are the passengers feet going to hang? Some ATV’s don’t accommodate two riders very well. My wife and I have put close to 4000 miles on our Rubicon riding together. We both sit on the ATV's seat and have a Tamarack rear trunk with a backrest attached to it. We have since modified the cushion for more comfort. We don't care for the ones that the passenger sits higher than the driver because of stability on side hills and the weight transfer climbing steep hills. The Rubicon is a very stable ATV.

With both the wife and I and our trunk (we carry everything, over 100 items from fire extinguishers to toothpicks) we haul over 400 lbs., it helps smooth out the ride. We really like the engine braking of the Rubicon too. We have looked very hard at the Rincon but the Rubicon has suited our needs so well we would probably buy another one before we bought something else.

It's nice trying to chose between the two great ATV's because neither one will be a mistake. Make sure whichever one you get you let warm up before riding and as with any Honda product, follow the manufactures maintenance schedule.

Happy riding and welcome to the forum.

 

If you ride in the hills, the rincon may not be your best choice. It does not have any engine braking under 20km/h, and the IFS can be tricky when climbing or sidehilling on steep grades. It also has no low range. I think the rubicon is your better choice. And for about $500 or so, you can put in a gearless diff lock and 4-2-4 shift kit from hilifter. The only thing you will lose is a bit better ride, but I think you will be happier with a Rubicon.

 

Think of it this way.

Rincon=fast trail riding
Rubicon=work, mudding

 

Hi I'm a tech at a Honda dealer in Minnesota from what I've read of what you going to use it for sounds like the Rincon's the way to go the other thing is are you going to change oil yourself. Th Rubicon has the oil filter is on the bottom and have to remove the front skid plate to change it adn it hold 5.5 quarts. The Rincon's oil filter is on the side of the engine and holds about 3 quarts. And the 2004 Rincon's you can get with GPS which is a nice deal for hunting, or finding way back to your truck or camp site.

 

Thanks everyone for replying to this post. Your input is invaluable to me. My wife and I are planning on going on some test drives tomorrow and will try to come to some sort of conclusion. My wife doesn't really care one way or the other which ATV we buy, but I think she will once she rides each of them. She doesn't plan on driving right now, but that may change. She didn't want a motorcycle when I bought mine but now she makes comments about buying one for her. Maybe the same thing will happen with an ATV.

Thanks again everyone and if you have anything more to say on the subject please do so.

Todd.

 

I wish I was going to buy a new ATV tomorrow. Get the red one.

 

Well, I got to ride both the Rubicon and the Rincon today and now I'm more confused then before I rode both of them. I really like the transmission of the Rubicon especially the low range. This is probably my biggest hangup now. I got to thinking about this and how useful this could be when hunting. Last year we were in some pretty steep stuff and I got to thinking how the Rincon would do in situations like this? I'm kinda leaning towards the Rubicon now. Oh man which way to go? It was snowing here today and the dealer I went to only had a parking lot to ride in. Maybe I need to find a dealer that has some dirt and hills to play around on. And ride again, on sunnier day.......

I'll keep you posted. I'm planning on going to another dealer next weekend and getting this figured out. A ride in a parking lot can't be a good enough test. Need some roughage and see how I feel then......

 

to tell the truth, you can do the same thing with either of these bikes. The only significant differences between the two are that the Rincon will be faster and will be a little more comfortable ride, and the Rubicon has more rack space. Both are going to carry weight well, they have the same 4wd systems, both have more than enough power to do most anything you want (were we not doing this same crap 15 years ago with 250's and 300's??) and both are reliable.

Personally, I wish they put the Rubicon transmission in the Rincon and gave it disc brakes. That would have worked out great. There are things I like better on each bike, but for the money, I would get the Rubicon, because I honestly don't believe that the Rincon is worth that much more than it is. If I were getting a 650+ quad, I would personally get something other than Honda. For the 500 class, the Rubicon is awesome.