I don't own either, but it still seems obvious to me why the Sp500 won the shootout. True that I would agree that the Rubicon is a better built bike. I would figure that it would hold up long after the sportsman died as well. Here is the ticket though.

Reliability is not tested in shootouts and no matter how important it is in the real world, it carries no weight in a shootout.

That being said, The rubicon has a smooth solid transmission. Other than that, the sportsman dominates it in every other performance category.

Just ride a sportsman and see. Bigger cushier seat and the best ride in the business. 11" of clearance all the way down with no hanging gear housing to crack on rocks. High top speed (a must for a magazine shootout, its more fun and these guys all like sport quads anyway). 2wd option and tighter turning. Both front wheels pulling and not near as much slippage in climbing, mudding, and towing situations. Major power on tap for heavy pulling. DISC BRAKES- wake the hell up Big Red! Jumping is a stupid thing for a utility shootout anyway so I won't even bother with that.
Thats what they look at in a shootout. Brand new machines and their performance. There is no way a magazine could pick the Rubicon unless they were just biased to it. This is coming from a neutral source too. I have an AC500 and it would probably have come in last with the Suzuki in this shootout. If the magazine picked the quad that came in second in all the categories, then they would have just lied.

I'm sorry but the Sportsman won. And it deserved it. If you want the honda to win, do a long term shootout. Thats what I want to see. The flagship models from all manufactures put through a year and a half torture test at some ranch in Montana. Then a 10 page article over every aspect of every quad good or bad when they get done with it. That will give you your true king of the 4x4's.

 

ANDY B
Some real good points there,I really don't care about who wins it's on the trail that counts.I like your idea of year and a half trial,thats what seperates the men from the boys.Give TXDOC a RUBBY and me on a SP and head us for MOAB,we'll give ya something to read when we get back.These shoot outs are ok but what makes me happy won't be what somebody else is looking for.Just because the 500SP fits me don't mean it will fit you or your style.Let the average JOE ride them and then you'll learn something,I'm sure them test riders are good but what about the average guy.There are more of us than them!Put all them machines in the field together and you'll not really see a whole lot of difference,been there done that.Sure some are better at some things and bad at others but at end of day it all averages out.CM

 

Hey Rooster, have you ever looked at any of the Arctic Cats? They all have Independent Rear Suspension. From the 250 on up to the 500's.

 

Rooster I agree with you some what that the Sportsman should be in a class of its own to a point, I could really see this if the Rubicon retailed cheaper than the Sportsman. But this is somewhat hard for me to realize with the Rubicon costing almost a $1000 more. I mean if the Rubicon retailed for somewher around 5k I would certainly say that you were putting a more expensive machine up to a less costly machine...but this is not the case...Badcat the AC is SEMI independant suspension, big difference there, being a former Cat owner myself it really doesn't stack up against the Sportsman IRS...don't get me wrong the Cat has a very good SIRS but works nothing like the Sportsman. And dear old Alaskaweasel last but not least we just had the baby cow here and you should see the milk sacks on this baby. I really do not put much faith into DW but if anybody is pumping money to them it is Honda I really believe the Sportsman got the much deserved win. If Honda would add IRS, a cushier seat, disc brakes, and and a new improved improved improved 4 wheel drive system I really think they would be in the running with the Sportsman. You got to admit it fellows they have got all the rest a better low centered gravity machine, reliability and that new trans. It would help honda to add a 2 to 4 wheel drive switch also so maybe it could come from the factory with a locker option to compete with the Sportsman 4 wd system. And I do agree with you guys on letting actual Util riders do the test heck CM we should just start our own mag, we could call it Utility Quadders (the real week-end warriors) you never know we might get rich with the over half a million atv sales every year. WE could get actual testimonials from actual week-end riders...not a bunch of so called pro's testing, that were actually wishing they were on a sport bike. Andy you also brought up some good points good post as usual right to the point and very truthful. I hope and think the Rubicon will be a very reliable bike when they get the cpu bugs worked out but till honda comes up with a better 4 wheel drive system and IRS I will be stickin with Polaris...

 

I agree they do long term test on cars and trucks in the Mags why not atvs? to me it should be a 2 year deal. Use it like real people do. not just for 3 days and them load them back on the factory trucks and send them home. If you put a 2001 SP up against a Honda on durabilty and longevity they would be very close. The gap is closing. They should put them through the same stuff exactly. We should write in and ask why they don't have long term tests.

 

Well, guys, I've just got to put my 2 cents in on this one. I have a sportsman, and really like it. I think all the magazines are biased towards Honda. That to me means that when a Polaris wins a shootout, that it won by more than a little. I think Honda makes a good bike, but the SP500 has been a dream machine from its' introduction in '96. I really thought the magazines would give the Ruby the win on this one, just due to the tranny alone. Something like: The SP rides better, has more ground clearance, disc brakes, true IRS, better 4WD, but man that tranny on the Honda takes the cake.
We all know for a Polaris to win a shootout, it really has to leave a great impression on the riders to overcome their bias towards Honda. I do, however, compare the mags' judgement with my own and meet somewhere in the middle.
The guy talking about disc brakes only being good for dry riding doesn't have a leg to stand on in my book. His 300 is one in a million if it's holding up the way he says. I've just been there and done that with too many bikes with drum brakes. Honda has a good drum brake setup on the rear of their bikes, but even it is susceptible to water in the long run. I may have to replace my brakes more often on my Polaris, but I'll always have brakes, even if the pads are gone and it's metal on metal. Drum brakes(unless ridden in mostly dry climates and kept out of water and mud) require frequent adjustments, are a pain in the **** to change(compared to disc brakes), and have more moving parts to seize, corrode, and service. If disc brakes weren't better overall, then why does Honda put them on their sport bikes? Things that make you go hummmmmm is all I can say. I have to agree that the disc brakes don't function as good immediately after running through the mud, but they dry quickly(minutes or seconds). Once a Honda has gotten water in the drum, the seals keep it in and it eats away at the shoes until their is little braking left. For example: The '98 grizzly that I owned had disc on front, drum in the rear. Within 2 months, the drum brakes were fading bad and in need of replacement. I bought a new set, did away with the seal in the drum, and they held up for the other 10 months that I had the bike. I never had any trouble out of the front disc brakes. Then, Yamaha came out with the Kodiak automatic. Guess what they put on the rear of that bike?????? Disc brakes. Seems to me if the drum brakes were better, they would have kept the rear drum brake, and changed the front over to drum as well. But hey, they're only a huge company: who says they know more about brakes than some of us. Also, if anyone will notice the trend, all the manufacturers are slowly changing all their brakes over to disc. Honda will probably get there, but who knows when? I know, the dog is already dead and now I'm just kicking him around, but it just aggrevates me when people rave about how much better drum brakes are over disc brakes. Something else that just doesn't make sense to me: Honda keeps their 4wd all mechanical, due to simpler design and fewer things to go wrong. What in the hell were they thinking with this new transmission? They have more electrical-dependent things operating in that one transmission than a whole Sp500 has. Every since Honda has been going more electric, their problems have multiplied. Such as the electric shift models. I can replace the clutches on my sp500 for about $500. I wonder how much the tranny with all its electrical stuff on it from the Rubicon would cost to replace, not to mention the labor involved in replacement. For the past couple years, Honda just hasn't been making any sense to me.
To wrap this up, long live the KING, and until Honda makes some major improvements, I'm a Polaris man all the way. See you on the trails!!!!!

 

the RANCHER ES 4X4 is better than all of them.....

my $.02

 

Yeah! what walexa said!!

I went the Honda route with a 99 and I ride in the mud and the mountains. Before every montain trip I had to disassble and clean the brakes or they would not work...

on the other hand nothing every broke on it.

Greg

 

CARTMAN
Why ruin a good post with statement like that that only causes problems.CM

 

if you ask me the only thing that would put the ruby and the sp500 in the same class is the engine. the ruby belongs with teh mag 500 and the griz. the sp500 and the traxter xt are much more closely matched but i still think the sportsman tackes the cake. just for fun lets pit the sp500HO vs. mag 500 vs. griz vs. traxter xt vs. ruby vs. ac 500 vs. the quad master and see who still ends up on top!