Hello:

Is there anyone out there that has a Rincon and uses it for trail riding which has a fair amount of steep downhill portions? How does your Rincon perform on these and what type of style do you employ for these steep portions? Also have you ever had the Rincon loaded down with some gear while tackling this steep portion?

Thanks

 

In one of your other posts, I asked if it helps at all to put the bike in ESP and hold it in 1st gear. Have you tried this???

 

Depending on the condition of the trail. i.e. wet, muddy, dry, rocky,............
Will depend on how easy it is to traverse with the Rincon.

I have had one for over 2 years.
The biggest drawback to the Rinny is no low gearing and no engine braking.
Honda made the Rincon as a SUV.

Putting it in ESP and 1st gear does not do much good if you are going down a steep, slow, technical trail.
You must use the brakes, and be able to manipulate the quad.
You cannot idle and crawl along as you can on the true Utilities that allow you to put it in 1st gear and creep along. Even some of the auto's have some EB that make these trails easier.
Depending on your size of course, it is hard to physically manipulate the Rinny when needed on steeper/technical trails due to the fact that you have to constantly ride the brakes.

The Rinny has a wide girth around the fuel tank and seat.
I'm only 5'6" and about 170.
The bigger you are, the easier it will probably be to manipulate this thing.
So I'm sure some of the bigger guys don't have as much of a problem.

Bottom line is though, that without the low gear and engine braking, it is pretty dang tricky on steep/technical trails. Which to me isn't very safe.

Anything else other than those few trails, the Rinny is great. It has a sweet and comfy ride, and handles well. I love mine.

Good Luck

 

The lack of engine braking or "EBS" is why the Rincon was the first Honda ATV to recieve disc brakes. LOL

 

I agree with Quad4Fun's comments about the Rincon. I am 5'9, 170, and had a hell of a time on the steep downhills. It was fine, if you were extremely careful, but if you ride all day in the mountains, you can get complacent, and it can get away from you. On anything steep, and off-camber, I would walk it down. Guys on other atvs thought I was nuts, but I'd learned the machine's limits. I always had the Ricon loaded up with gear, and that made it all the harder to manage. I've had my share of roll-overs with my Rincon, and that is why I sold it recently. For all of its virtues, it is not worth dying over, it's a heavy machine. I've decided to bye a Rancher AT, which has excellent engine braking for an automatic.

Actually the Rubicon is the first with front disc's, the Rincon only has one disk on the rear drive axle.

 

I believe you will really be amazed at the RancherAT. We have just recently in the last couple of months purchased one and love it. Its my girlfriends ride and it is a cadillac in my opinion, and I would be happy with one for my personal ride as well. We added a bigfoot kit with the mudlites and this thing is super stable. My Foreman is about as stable as any I have seen on the trails as of yet and especially on off cambered trails. The Rancher seems to be as stable. She has only ended up on two side wheels one time so far, and thats was because she was running a little too fast for the trail and angle at the time. Its very impressive with the speed and power as well. Runs real close to my friends Rubicon as far as power and speed. The Rancher AT I believe would be a good selection for anyone. Everyone around here that owns one, will not part with it. I know a couple of guys with the Rincons that say they want to trade for Rubicons, Ranchers or Foremans. You can watch the papers for used Rancher AT's for sale, and you wont find one anywhere! You just have to go out and purchase a new one. That says a lot about the machine to me.

 

Sounds like a lawsuit waiting to happen!

 

Well thanks for all the feedback. I have learned some things to look out for from this rincon.
This last weekend I went to Hungry Valley OHV park and did so more riding. I did use the ESP option and 1st gear while in 4 wheel drive and noticed that it did enhance the EBS a little. I went down some steep hills there and felt that this might be do-able with the use of the brakes and the enhanced EBS. It will still take some time to get as comfortable as I was on my Foreman 450S. I will try for a while and I figure the real test would when I go for a ride at Rock ranch at Santa Maira. Thanks again to all who have responded to my post.[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

the rincon is a great machine....all it needs is a great driver to handle it....all said...

 

GMTEKK-Couldn't agree with you LESS. I am willing to bet that you live somewhere where it is mostly flat, huh??? One should not have to have a death grip on the brakes to negotiate a technical downhill. A properly designed machine should help you, not hinder you and make your ride more difficult or even dangerous.