Hey guys I have an 04 Arctic cat 650. I love my bike but I am not sure on the rubberband theory. I almost bought a rubicon when I bought the 650 but I was concerned about all the fancy shift stuff, I should have just thought about Honda's rep and bought the thing. My AC is a good bike but I am on belt 3 at 180mi and that is BS I don't care what they say! My main question, will I have any regrets over gettin a rubicon. I know I will lose ground clearance and acceleration. I am not overly concerned about the acceleration. I mainly work and trail ride/hunt. I bought an old farm I am clearing brush and I don't have time for slipping belts it is not good for my nerves! So I am contemplating trading it off and getting a rubicon. I am 6'6" and 280 So I need a decent sized bike. Thanks for any info guys!

 

Hold the thought on the "fancy shift stuff". Everything else on this machine is Honda quality. Some can claim to be on par with it, but none can truly claim to be better. As far as the "fancy shift stuff", the only shifting mechanism that would be considered unusual to most manufacturers is the ESP or Electric Shift Program. This is a proven system on all ES Honda machines and is absolutely nothing to worry about. The transmission is what is considered very advanced (fancy) on the Rubicon and it's the best in the business. All the automatic performance of a belt-drive............minus the belt. 5,500+ miles right here and absolutely 0 tranny/shift problems to speak of. If you're tired of belts but want automatic: it's either the Rubicon or the Rancher 400AT. They both have the same Hondamatic tranny. If you do faster-pace trail-riding I would consider the Rancher because of it's factory Traxlok (2x4-4x4 switchability). If you want the extra power of the 500, have your dealer install a Warn 424 on the Rubicon. Same thing, except it's not electric so the reliability would be even better. The choice is yours.

 

arcticcop.
i had a 2003 arctic cat 500 and i traded it for a 04 rubicon and im very happy with it.
sure you loose a bit on gc but the rest of the machine makes up for it.
the only 2 things that i liked better on the ac was the ride and the ground clearence.
and the seat was a bit softer also.
but for performance its about the same as the ac.
and the rubicon has a better 4 wheel drive system then the 500.
probly not as good as the 650 with its front diff locked.
but it is better then with out it locked.
me and my buddy both have rubicons and we put through there paces
and we havent had a single problem with them yet.
knock on wood.
my bud has over three thousand kilometers on his and i've got just over a thousand kilometers on mine.

 

Do a search. There are a fair number of post about electronic problems in the control computer. Seems like the transmission is mechanically sound and a good design, but it is just electronic glitches. Usually, the computer can be reset, and that fixes it. It has a limp home mode, but who wants to "limp" home 100 miles?

I personally would buy one before I would buy a rubber band drive, but I just prefer the simplicity of a good old manual shifter. Trouble is, Honda has abandoned us and is clearly going all auto on the big cc bikes.

 

The ES Ranchers an the ESP in the Rubicon are not even close to being the same. The ES on the Rancher is a servo that shifts a manual transmission, the Rubicons transmission is far from a mechanical transmission. Apples and oranges.

We have been 110% satisfied with our Rubicon, 4500 miles, 525 hours, ZERO problems.

As far as dependability goes, #1 manual trans, #2 Rubicon (2 1/2 Rincon), #3 Honda ES (Recon, Rancher, Forman 450), #4 belts, IMO.

Even with all the new ATVs out there, if we replaced ours tomorrow, we would buy a new Rubicon.

 

Thanks for all the info. That is exactly what I wanted. I am fairly certain I am going to sell my AC and get the Rubicon. I am tired of the belt mess I just want to work and play when I can. I don't want to work on my toy so I can play, Ya know?!? I beleive the reliability and the hasslefree features will outway the ground clearance and acceleration, after all a honda is a honda! The AC is not a bad bike just not what I wanted and the dealership does not have the right to be selling them knowing what little they do about the bike. This summs it up, You have to use low to tow, trail ride, or work not high range or you will smoke the belt. However, reverse is highrange, did'nt think about that much now did they, I mean you never have to back what you pull, right?? LOL!! Thanks again guys!

 

I wouldn't think about ANYTHING besides the Rubicon. Our 2001 with 5500 miles has run flawless all the time. It's been a workhorse around the farm (1100 acres) and it's the only bike I feel safe with when my wife decides to take a ride.....she about ruined a Wolverine. The Tranny is the #1 feature to me. It's always in the right gear for the conditions and it's sooooo smooth. After seeing my sister's Polaris's continually eating chains, bearings, & the 4 wheel drive fail to engage at the worst time, my nephew's Rincon having to sit & warm up before it'll move........and their decisions to get Rubicons because of mine...........We're VERY happy with our decision.
I'm 6'2 - 280 and have never felt a need for more power......not that I wouldn't like it though.

 

I've worked on hundreds of Rubicon's and ES's. Specta's right, the way they work is totally different. I personally don't know of any "problems in the computer". The shift program's on both models are very sound. If we see an issue, it's most always an INPUT to the computer, whether it be a component or connection problem. Either way not too difficult or expensive to fix in nearly all cases. Both models have self diagnostic programs, which are very helpful to us techs if you do have a problem. Tranny probs on the Rubicon are relatively rare, but we see stuff on occasion. 01's are known for oil pump problems, a lot of trans got replaced because of low oil PSI that were fine yet. Overall, Rubes have been pretty reliable.

 

[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img] Mines a 03, 1000 miles mostly work. Trans is exelent, super engine braking, super smooth, Plenty of power. Runs with the best of them when its time to play. Draged my Artic cat Sled 5 miles last winter when it left me walking. if only Honda made a sled!

 

My only regret with the rubicon was I didn't buy it sooner.