You raise an interesting point, WV250R! Why should information (or, "alleged" information) on a new Polaris model be of particular interest to the Honda ATVs forum readers? Would this info not appear as fascinating to the Suzuki, Bombardier, Kawasaki, Yamaha (hey, the Grizzly WAS mentioned!), etc., forum readers as well? Not to mention the Polaris ATVs forum readers.

I am not criticizing the practice of publishing information on another quad in a different brand-specific forum; however, I wonder, why? And, why Honda?

Even if this is a simple case of, "Nyah, nyah, nyah, nyah, nyah, nyah!", why is Honda ATVs the forum of choice?

Tree Farmer

 

Tree Farmer,the reason I suspect Mr Sims wrote this over in the Honda Forum is because of all the earlier hype about the Ruby being the new king of 4x4s.In no other Forums[Polaris and Honda] do you read as much hype[new king of 4x4s] as there is between the Ruby and the Sportsman.Thats just my guess,perhaps im wrong.===Bill

 

Oh. In other words,

"Nyay, nyah, nyah, nyah, nyah, nyah!"

Maybe so. Thanks, Bill!

Tree Farmer

 

What Greg is stating is true. The Octoboer issue (got it yesterday) has a shootout between the 500cc quads(Magnum, SP500HO, Rubicon, and Quad Master). The HO Sportsman had little to no changes except a bigger carb, different cam, and better waterproofing. It was a very god article and I am not surprised about the outcome. It basically said that the Sportsman is a better quad, but they did not like the reliability problems of it.

 

If you go back to April or May (befere the Rubicon was even available) and look at the posts about who would be the "King", the vast majority of posters said the Rubicon would. The reasons given were: 1.It is new 2.DirtWheels is biased toward Honda 3.Honda pays off magazines to get favorable or advantageous results 4. "I don't care what they say in magazines cause they don't tell the truth, anyway".
Well, are those same people gonna say: 1.Dirt Wheels is biased toward Polaris and against Honda 2.Polaris pays off the magazines 3. Polaris bought more advertising for favorable results? 4.The magazines are not telling the truth.
Depends on the focus group, I guess.
As I have said before, as have many, many others, it should not matter what anyone thinks about any purchase--but YOU. It is your money and you will be the one riding and using it. There are always going to be people who try to tell you what to do and how to think. And, if you don't do what they want you to do, will either put you down directly as a individual person or try to put your choices down as "not as good as mine". How many times have critics said a movie was great or terrible and you saw it and thought just the exact opposite?
You cannot go wrong by going and riding the ATVs you are interested in and checking on the dealer to see if the support you after the sale. Think for yourself, no one else will have your best interest in mind more than you.

 

You took the words out of my mouth. As always, a great post, Doc.
If the Rubicon had been declared the winner, it would certainly have been more appropriate for it to be posted on the Honda forum rather than the Polaris forum. The opposite should be true as well.

 

DOC,
nice polite response.I was going to post something similer.Thanks,you saved me some typing.===Bill

 

At the risk of belaboring this further, I was interested in what the article said about the shootout and WHY the SP500HO won over the Ruby. What's it got that the Rubicon doesn't? Why is it better? I am very interested in buying a Ruby and will try and find out all I can about it before dropping the cash. If this article dug up something about the Ruby I need to be aware of, it's of interest to me. Living in the Northern boonies, I won't see Oct Dirtwheels until Oct. Any friendly info I can get on the Rudy directly or indirectly is appreciated. Thanks.

 

By the way, I do think the 500SP the better suspension for ride quality and is has an advantage in the mud with its IRS. I have thought that and still do. But, the Rubicon is a defiinite major step ahead for Honda.
Two of my best friends have Dodge 3/4 ton, ext cab 4x4's with Cummins diesel engines and straight front axles. They can pull a 36 foot gooseneck loaded with 1000 pound round bales of hay stacked double with ease. I have even looked back to see if the hay or trailer fell off . Those trucks don't ride as good as my IFS GMC Z-71, but its 350 cannot pull like they can. My Hummer with IFS and IRS and go thru mud than these other trucks could not begin to. But, it is expensive to fix and maintain and is very cramped and pretty loud. People think they would be great to own, but it has its shortcomings, too.
When you have the "best" and come up short, people say "what happened?" and want to blame the rider/driver, since the machine cannot be faulted. But, if you are the underdog, you can only exceed people's expectations of you or your rig. Not necessarily talking about the 500SP, but any rig. I have a couple of friends with Jeeps with 350 Chevy engines in them and 44" Super Swampers. They can outdo the Hummer in several places (and they love to go to those placew ), plus they are excellent drivers. When people see them go where I can't, they just don't see how it is possible. They have only heard they Hummer is unstoppable--which is entirely a myth. That is why it has a 12,000 winch!
Anyway, I will be happy to ride with someone who can "outdo" me. If their bike is more capable, then they can help me get mine unstuck. If they have more riding skill, then they can teach me new skills or new methods of getting down the trail. Either way, it is better than golf.

 

To those of you that question why I posted this in the Honda Forum, you should know that I posted it in the Polaris Forum also. I thought it would be of interest to Honda riders also. I fully expected DW to preference the Honda, and was surprised with the outcome even though I personally prefer the SP500. Anyway, to those of you who want to complain about me posting this here... maybe you shouldn't take this stuff so serious.

Oh, someone deleted my post in the Polaris Forum.
Greg