I hope you don't mind but I went back and read some of your earlier posts. I haven't found much information detailing the difference between the 04 and 05. That is primarily why I purchased mine. I am surrounded by friends and family with 4 wheelers. This last summer we did alot of riding along the rivers....that means sand and mud in my neck of the woods anyhow! I rode an older Yamaha 250 so I had nothing on any of the guys I ride with. We did however have 3 kaw prairies a 360, 400, and a 650. Polaris Magnum 500 and Sportsman 500. Unfortunately for the sake of comparison no one has a Rubi although I hear they are excellent workhorses as well as the Foreman. My brother in law went where very few of us could travel and with grace. He had suspension that moved more fluidly over rougher terrain, he completely submerged it, temporarily (6 or 7 seconds) more than once. It had plenty of power to climb out of the sticky stuff as well as fly down the sandbars and bouncing across the ruts. The rest of us could not move as quickly with out fear of rutting a tire and endo-ing. No it doesn't engine brake as hard as others but then again I have never been use to too much braking as I have mostly been a motocrosser and we rarely used much for brakes. It kills me to hear people talk the 8 mph stuff...sheesh learn the bike. Anyhow. The concensus with all the guys is to buy Rincons. The polaris guys want'em, the Yamaha guys want/have em'. and the kaw guys want them. The Kaw guys had the all out speed, no doubt about it. But we don't race each other to see whos fastest, we like to go into the woods and down to the river and play. The Rincon is an excellent Play toy. It will move snow too....Now you sound like you want more of a work vehicle. Please don't get caught up in the 650 vs. 500, I have to have the biggest badest most expensive one honda makes. thing! They are all great rides some are catered more to work, power, and play and some are catered to more play and comfort. Honda declares the rincon as an SUV of ATV's and it is. Its a good let's say, "Expedition (ford)". Lots of amenities that make it a sweet ride and fun for all especially on Saturday night out with the guys. Its not however like Ford F350Superduty extended cab, which is made mostly for hard work, yeah you can squeeze all your buddies in it and go have fun but its more catered to hard work. To me if I wanted a work horse I would get something I shift into gear... 1,2,3,4,5 etc. Not the autos but thats me. I am 35 and have 2 kids I want to use it for a little work and alot of recreation. Not alot of serious hills in Nebraska although we do have some nasty ravines and bluffs here and there. We also have alot of potholes in farm fields either from gophers, woodchucks, fox dens etc. If you hit one of those on anything but a Rincon your going for a ride. This machine absorbs holes, dips, curbs, drops and jumps like nothing else, except maybe a racer 2 stroke. Its your call but if I were you in a tight spot moneywise and even pondering, go for the Rubi...Its solid, its a great value, its more affordable and that means more toys. If you were one of my buds your an equal no matter what you drive and the main thing is your driving something and having fun. Hell it could even be a Yamadog 250. LOL Hope this helps.

 

Sorry I got so wrapped up in my lecture I didnt answer your other questions. I truly believe some machines are just born better. My Rin runs 63 mph whether in 4 or 2 but my bro in law runs 68 and he weights about 75 lbs more than me. He also doesn't get drunk as fast, hmmm go figure! As far as the chugging thing I like the Rins low end feel. I can pull it up to my retaining wall which is about 80 degree incline and in 4x4 in esp and walk the front in right up. Tires are a little softer than others as they are radial (adds to soft suspension). It doesnt chug it walks. Also it doesnt have front disc brakes which to me is taboo but Honda is sticking to their story of triple sealed. No squeeking from the 04 so, so far so good. I would still rather have discs, in my opinion. ES vs. Auto well its nice when your toodling around to not have to shift but if your in the woods or plowing snow to keep your gear my brains says one gear at a time is better. Again hope this helps!

 

novativefaguy,

Needless to say -- You do have a way with words.[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

I too am a Nebraskan and plan to use my new quad mostly on the grasslands in the western part of the state, the trails in Halsey National Forest and for summer trail riding in the Rockies. It will be used mostly for pleasure riding and hunting. No muddin'. No dune climbing. No techinal stuff.

I think that the Rincon just might be the quad for me. A black one. I'm planning on purchasing a yellow Rancher AT for my wife.

There are one or two good things about being old (62). There seems to be a little more cash for toys. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

Tom [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-cool.gif[/img]

 

Getting used to the quirks of a machine is one thing, having to hold the gas and the brakes down steep inclines or in reverese down steep inclines is another. Later you tell us you dont have much for serious hills. I live in michigan and I have some that almost unclimbable with any quad. I've taken spills and flipped quads backwards over me less than 10' up the incline. It's been a while since I was out that way, but I do remember hills being few and far between.

I have a kawi, almost bought a grizzly. Rincon was on my list for about a week. Then I rode my friends machine and listened to him talk about it. He liked it and all, but said he would buy something else if the opportunity struck again. After riding the rancher at, grizz, vinson, and twin peaks, I ended up with a prairie. I wouldnt trade my prairie for anything but a twin peaks or a brute force at this point, and with all the problems with the brute, I would want to wait anyway.

My step father has a sp500. He has told me repeatedly that the only machine that could take its place would be a bigger sportsman. He has ridden other machines, but prefers the polaris. Same issue with other friends of mine, some of which have been on the rincon. This is a mute point, as people could argue all day about the preferences of others. The point is, that everyone will like something different, or like something different about the same thing. Not everyone feels that one atv is better than another, because one atv is not suited to everyone's varied needs and desires. This is the primary point on which these two atvs vary. One is better for one thing, the other is better for another.

 

WOW, lot of info and opinions aren't there, that is the beauty of this place [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img][img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img][img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img][img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img][img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img][img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

litegide,

I HAVE AND RIDE BOTH A RINCON AND FOREMAN.......

Bottom line is the Rubicon and Rincon are two different machines, period. No comparison.
They are both good at what they are designed for.

The Rincon is designed as a SUV. MORE sport than utility. Honda did this on purpose.
That is why they have the Rincon, Rubicon, Rancher, and Foreman.

It is NOT made for steep, technical, crawl down trails. IMO (AND VAST EXPERIENCE) it is a dangerous quad to take on these types of trails. I'VE BEEN THERE DONE THAT MANY TIMES. With no low range and no Engine breaking, you must constantly be on the brakes, rather than being able to crawl along. It is hard to stay on the brakes while trying to physically manipulate this physically big 600 lb quad.
The Rincon is also pyhsicalyy pretty big, and wide through the middle. I am about 5'6" and about 170 lbs. I would definately not recommend the Rincon for anybody smaller than that. I think I'm on the small side for this quad, it's made for larger adults.

This thing is made for having fun. Lots of power, no matter what anybody says. It just uses it different than the "mostly utility" quads. It is great on the trails, the IRS is awsome. It's like riding a Cadillac on the trails, and the Foreman is like riding a dump truck. It's great for cruising the trails, logging roads, around the farm, etc. I have had no problem with the tranny or the ES.

The Rincon DOES NOT "chug" at all at slow speeds. This is due to the tranny. It is very similar (practically the same) to the automatic in your car. A maunual will "chug" at the bottom end of a gear, a automatic doesn't.

I absolutely love my Rincon. Great ride and lots of power. I am selling mine because it is physically a little big for me, hard to handle with all the power sometimes. I want a more utility quad with low range, etc. I'm waiting for more to go to the IRS, I don't want to give that up.

Don't slam BareTread to much.
He just needs to educate himself on how power, torque, horsepower, and gearing work. You can have a motor with a lot less power do a lot more work that a much powerful motor. It just depends on how it is set up. I had a jeep with a Pinto 2300 motor in it, I could climb (crawl) up and over things some of the big V-8 jeeps had a hard time doing. They were geared a lot higher than I was.
Bottom line is if you are going to post on here, you better know what you are talking about. There are many that will figure out if you know what you are saying or not.

 

With the new Rubicon being 2wd/4wd selectable, that is great. Yes it is harder to turn a quad (or vehicle) when it is in 4wd. You honestly don't need 4wd all the time. It's usually more fun riding in 2wd.

Knowing what the new Rubicon will be like, I really like it. If you have lots of snow, and if it's deep wet and heavy, the Rubicon may make much easier work of it. If you think you will need a low range at all, for either work or trail riding, the Rubicon may be it.

novativefabguy,
I've ridden my Rincon in numerous conditions. No matter what you do, you cannot make that thing EB enough while having to crawl down a steep hill. No way no how. You will never get it to crawl slow enough. Even in ESP and 1st gear. Now it works great while bombing down the logging roads or faster paced trails, it works good in those conditions. That is what it was made for, not slow and go trails. I can crawl up or down anything with my Foreman (likewise with the Rancher and Rubicon) and never have to even think about touching the brakes.

BOTTM LINE is most every quad is good. Just some better than others for certain things. Some are designed for different types of riding and activies than others. Some have nicer, easier to use, more convenient features. Some people love one quad, while others hate it ( those haters generally haven't even ridden the quads they hate [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img])

Listening to you way of riding and activities you want to do, and the two choices you are asking about, I would maybe look at the Rubicon.

Good Luck

 

Quad fun, how many miles on each/ How much? litegide24@yahoo.com

Great Posts Guys!

Thank you,

Phil

 

Only about 650 miles on the Foreman
Almost 1000 miles on the Rincon
Not one problem with either one so far.

The Rincon really wakes up after about 250 miles. I heard that from reading on here, but after I hit close to that, I really did notice a difference. Boy did it wake up. They are all nice, but you'll like the Honda if you get one [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img][img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img][img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img][img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

 

Most of Honda's brochures include " has everything you need and nothing you do not". So Reconranger, I think that is your answer to the question on why air cooled? Honda just wants to provide the most reliable machine possible with nothing added that is not needed in Honda's opinion. The new 475 Foreman has added a second oil cooler and I think Honda believes that is enough. I suppose that with an auto tranny more cooling capacity is needed than with manual or ES.

I think Honda forgot about " has everything you need and nothing you don't" with the Rubicon because they loaded up the auto tranny with a lot of gingerbread, three seperate shifting schemes plus high/low for each scheme. I guess it is nice to have but is it needed?

I have been thinking a lot about the 475 manual shift 4WD. It would sure fit my needs.

 

I personally would go with the rincon just 4 its comfort while riding on the trails. Don`t get me wrong it just fits my riding style. but like some of the others said, it has no engine braking under 8mph which if your going down a steep trail will put u in a world of trouble. So if your a steep trail rider, u might want to go for the rubicon, but lets face it, they are both Hondas! You can`t go wrong with either of them.[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]