HRC4ever,
To answer your question, yes Honda has been using advanced electronics on their cars for years and they are very dependable, but how often do you take a new Honda Accord on a steep rocky mountain trail ride and then jump into the biggest mudhole around and still expect everything to work like new. My point is that there is probably no mechanical vehicle that gets abused more than a utility ATV and all of the ATV makers realize this. It's just everyone sees a different path to take to get to the same locoation, which is a reliable ATV with all of the bells and whistles that the riding public wants. I can still remember when the first ATC 3-wheelers appeared on the market. I would say todays ATV's are light years ahead.

 

Tim1
I agree with you about suspension, to a point, there is no doubt in my mind that the Sportsman is by far the best riding ATV out there and for a recreational and light utility ATV, perfect, but an IRS ATV can not carry as much weight as a straight axle and still retain ground clearance and/or ride. Compare this to pick-ups..... you don't expect a 1/2 ton to carry or pull what a 3/4 or 1 ton can and a 1 ton sure won't ride like a 1/2 ton. Different vechicles for different uses. Again, let's compare a straight axle ATV to an IRS ATV. The straight axle ATV will carry it's maximum rear rack weight plus maximum hitch tongue weight without affecting the advertised ground clearance. On the IRS ATV you have to consider hitch tongue weight as well as rear rack weight because they both weigh down the IRS causing less and less ground clearance.

QUESTION! Do the manufacturers of IRS ATV's stipulate wether or not you can carry the maximum rear rack weight and maximum tongue weight at the same time like the straight axle ATV can or are these specifications one without the other???

MY POINT .... all the pluses for smooth, soft riding machines, are minuses for a work (Utility) machine. You can't have both, one or the other. Some of the ingenius things that have come out to bridge this gap are adjustable shocks. Who knows maybe even adjustable air shocks with onboard air in the near future or air bags.
Besides they still make straight axle pickup trucks, wonder why.

 

The Sporstman can haul and tow as much as any other bike for that 10% of the time they work and deliever a smooth ride for the 90% of the time a bike is not working.A pickup is made to ride on a road so the straight axle is fine but the only true off road truck (the Hummer) opted out of that set up and I here to it also is quite the work horse.

 

I think Honda has their act together on the Rubicon when it comes to reliability. IRS is nice but it sure increases weight and raises the Center of Gravity. With the Ruby's excellent engine braking, disc brakes would be without merit. As far as the possible failure of the electronics, the Honda Accord has several times more electronics than the Rubicon, and the failure rate is nil. Belt drive "automatic" transmissions are dated, generate a lot of heat, and wear out. Last, but not least, why would one wish to contend with the many grease fittings on the Polaris? Again referencing the Honda Accord, no grease fittings here, and have seen many still tight after 250K miles.

 

Again I will not disagree with you that a Sportsman can get the job done, but around here it is about 80% work and only 20% recreation. Pulling hay wagons, plowing snow or sand/gravel, carrying water tanks and feed are daily chores for us. Try and go through a field with two bags of grain on the back rack or a water tank and a loaded trailer with an approximate tongue weight of 300 pounds, the IRS does not have much suspension travel left (I've been there). The IRS has to carry the weight of both the grain bags and the trailer, which reduces the IRS ground clearance advantage and ride.
And of course we cannot forget the Hummer, but there are more factors to 4 wheeling abilities then just IRS, like wheel base, drive train characteristics, etc. All in all the Jeep is still the #1 choice of 4 wheelers.

 

BigRed450,

I appreciate your input. I also don't agree with you on some points. I don't know of any atv with a tongue weight rating over 35 lbs. Within the manufacturer's limitations/recommendations, the SP500 should still take the cake. If you do exceed the maximum tongue and rack weights and still want advertised ground clearance, go with the Magnum 500. Why doesn't Honda offer a quad to match the sp500? Anyway, I think a conservative figure would be that 90% of all bikes get used for recreational riding 80% of the time, and utility use for the rest. Manufacturers are going to target the majority, and while you use yours for 80/20 utility/recreation, you are by far in the minority. True, the IRS has its cons, but the pros far outweigh them. Also, when heavily loaded, the ride on the sportsman only gets softer. The ground clearance is reduced, but the ride gets softer. I'm was reminded of this every time I would go mud riding and collect a couple hundred pounds of mud on the bike. It rode even more like a cadillac. For working around a farm, I don't know what you would need 11" of ground clearance for, and I don't know anybody who pulls trailers with 300lb tongue weight on trail rides. A couple sacks of corn or grain to the hunting stand isn't going to compromise the ground clearance of the sp500 enough to avoid the bike. And the reason that jeep is still the number 1 choice of 4x4 is that they've been around as long as dirt, and are affordable. Last time I checked, the hummers were way out of my price range.
I'm not saying that Polaris is better or that Honda is worse, I'm just saying that the "improvements" that honda is making such as the ES and auto tranny are much more prone to failure than anything they have produced in the past, yet other features that have needed improving for a long time remain unchanged. And to the guy who stated that the Honda accord has lots of electrical equipment with a great track record, we're talking about all terrain vehicles here--not highway vehicles. Most electrical failures on atv's are due to mud, water, or heat from the conditions we subject them

 

Every quad has flaws and advantages. Some have this, some have that. Deal with it. Nobody is every going to make the perfect quad.

 

Worked with both style rear axles. Straight axles don't lose ground clearance when pulling trailers or loading the racks. The IRS is smooth and nice when herding cattle. Kind of shows my preference when looking at the work to do. What does the job at the time I need is what I use. It may be a Ruby, an SP500, or a Kodiak.

BTW: I've had to pull Hummers over places I can drive my solid axle Dodge. If you want proof, find me a Hummer and meet me in Moab (Pritchett Canyon/Rock Pile). Are the Hummers amazing? Yes. Are they the ultimate? No. Is my Dodge amazing? At times. Is it the ultimate? No. Would I buy a Hummer? No, it doesn't fit my needs (sound familiar?). Would I buy another Dodge? Maybe, if it fits my needs.

 

digginpig,

I've got a few questions to you:
1) Which style hummer was it, as they have different types of differentials on different ones.
2) Is your dodge stock, or does it have detroit lockers or some other type of traction enhancer?
3) Was the traction system on the hummer stock?

You say that a hummer doesnn't meet your needs, but that another dodge might. If you could get a new tricked-out dodge or a new hummer for the same price of say $18,000, which would it be. Sometimes it is a balance of what will meet your needs for its price.

I may sound harsh, but I don't mean to. I'm just trying to compare apples to apples. If money were no object, I'm sure we'd all see alot more hummers around. I know that if I could afford one, I would get it in a heartbeat!!!!!!(Not that your dodge isn't the best thing since sliced bread) Just picking!!! Have fun and ride when you can!

Later,

Waylan

 

Hey Waylan,
Didn't read your post as harsh. Great questions. I've played and driven with modified Hummers and stock Hummers. Been around Hummer wagons and pickups. Are they cool? Yup. If price were no object I'd love to have one. They are difficult to drive as you sit way on the outside and it's a very wide vehicle. $80K+ for a noisy, compact interior, rough looking vehicle? I don't know about that. If Hummers were cheaper we'd definitely see a ton more of them. Is my Dodge stock? Nope. Does it perform like a Hummer? In some places yes, in some places better, in some places not even close. Does a Hummer perform like my truck? In some places yes, in some places better, in some places not even close. I looked at Chevy (at heart I'm a Chevy man), Dodge and Ford and then chose the Dodge since it fit my needs at the time.
An interesting thing about a Hummer is that the center section for the diff's is very small (Dana 30, I believe) and a Detroit Locker (Polaris?) will fit in easily. The stock diff is a Torsen style (Honda?) that is wierd to operate as you must use brakes when travelling up a slope to fake the diff into thinking it is on level ground. When riding a Honda try using the front brakes slightly and back off the throttle a bit when you get a front wheel in the air - fake it out.
What does this have to do with an ATV? Different designs to do basically the same task. Go off-highway. Do it as effeciently as the design called for. Make compromises where neccessary.
My family uses Grizzlys, Kodiaks, SP500s, Wolverines, and my Ruby on a ranch for work and play. They each have advantages and disadvantages in any situation. My only favorite is what I need when I need it. They will all perform whatever task I need. Some will do it better than another. Some worse.
Funny thing is I'm looking at buying 2 more Kodiaks as they will perform the job I'm intending them for as I'm looking for a mid-size ride. Light weight, decent motor, decent ride, good automatic. And about $1k cheaper than a SP335.
I thought the Dodge Brothers invented sliced bread!

P.S. I agree wholeheartedly that Honda has been acting wierd for the last few years.

P.P.S. I have friends at Superlift in West Monroe. Stop in and say 'Hi' to Trent McGee for me.