Wow, thanks Code54 for that great review, thats a lot more info than I ever expected. I went down
to my Honda dealer soon after that to take a better look at the Foreman. Nice bike, ergonomics are
top rate, looks and feels very well built. BUT, sitting next to the Foreman was a 2005 Rubicon Canadian
Trail Edition for only $1000 cdn(lately about $1.50 american) more. I know, I said I wanted the most reliable machine with a foot shift and air cooling but man, that Rubicon is an awesome machine. For the extra $1000, I can buy an automatic ATV without a belt, high and low range, auto shift or ESP, liquid cooling(which I said I didn't want, you can't have everything). With the canuck option, we get improved suspension, upgraded tires (though I am not holding my breath on this one, I have never seen useful tires from the factory) an oil cooler in addition to the existing rad to further help cooling and a bigger gas tank. So, tomorrow I'm off to the Honda dealer again to test ride the Rubicon, I will let you all know how that goes.

 

There is nothing wrong with the Rubicon, it is a GREAT bike also. I am looking to buy land and when i do I will be doing a TON of work so the Foreman with a 5 Speed fits the build perfect, plus no liq cooling (Now that is just because I had BIG PROBLEMS on a Prairie with liquid cooling - I am sure Hondas will be perfect.) If you can get the Rubicon for that little bit more it sounds like a great deal and you will have an awesome machine. Good luck and ride safe!
Scott

 

derky,
You will love either one. I have the 05 Rubicon and my buddy has the 05 Foreman. I have ridden both and absolutely love both of them.

At first I thought that ridding around in "auto" mode would be boring but let me tell you that it is so much fun. I stay in "auto" until I come to some mud or a steep incline then switch to "esp". Downhills on the other hand are much easier in auto "D1". The engine brake is incredible. I see now why people with Rubicon's say that they can go so long without replacing the brake pads. The thing will just crawl down a steep hill and you don't even have to use the brakes.

Good luck with your decision and let us know what you decide.

Cirviver

 

Well, today I went to the Honda dealer. I looked at both the Foreman and the Rubicon and decided on
the Foreman. I found the Rubicon to rattle a bit, and the throttle was not a snappy as the manual
shift Foreman. I like that instant throttle response, just a personal thing. So I bought a manual
shift yellow 2005 Foreman and I'm glad I did. The machine rides very nice, alot better than the old
Foremans. The shifter was stiff at first but soon loosed up. This thing has very good power, it feels like I could pull my house off its foundation with it in first gear. The 4 wheel drive engagement is smooth, the dealer told me it was shift on the fly but he didn't highly recommend that, he said engage it on solid ground if you can for longevity. Code 54, I noticed the stupid plastic panels as well, maybe tomorrow they will go in the basement, I'm not a fan of plastic that does nothing except look good. I put
20 km's on it today, tomorrow it's going for a longer ride for sure. Anyone have any thoughts on those
stock tires, they don't look like much but are they worth keeping for awhile? And has anyone bought a winch for it or found a mounting kit for one? Thanks to everyone who responded, you helped me
make a decision and to point out what to look for.

 

Good decision, I replaced the stock tires (see my equipment below my name). Now I have 4 good spares on
rims if I need them in a pinch. I also recommend the aluminum product stuff they have good package deals...check them out.

 

Hey, congrats on the new machine![img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

Neither would have been a bad choice.

I've had to patch a hole in my stock tires and am not overly impressed, but personally I plan to wear them out before upgrading.

I have a winch on mine. I ordered from 4atvtires.com. $325 for a Warn 2.5 with mount kit, including shipping, if I recall correctly.

Having now become a bit more educated, if I were to do it over again I would get the 3.0. I'd never need the additional pull rating, but apparently the motor is sealed better and it has a longer warranty.

Installation was a bit more work than I figured, but not too bad.

Have fun!

 

I have stock tires on my '05 Foreman and to me it seems that once you get just a little mud on them they get real slick and lose a lot of traction.

I have also noticed that hitting a muddy trail is fine with the foreman but if i try to take any type of puddle that has a slight incline coming out no matter what I do I tend to just slide back in.
Even though I have a dealer installed Warn 2500 lbs. winch, it is just a pain in the butt.
I was also thinking of replacing my stock tires with some that are more aggressive but I cannot decide whether to wear out these stock ones first.

What do you guys think I so do?

 

I have the stock tires on my new Rubicon and they are wearing really fast (only 250km). I took it in for servicing today and asked them what the problem could be. They asked if I was doing any road running. I live about 2km from the start of the trails and it's a pain loading up the quad for only 2 km of road driving. They said that was the problem - any pavement driving just kills them. Now they tell me!

I have had no problems with the mudholes with these tires. I find them to be quite good. Some of the holes I hit are really nasty so I am surprised to hear that you have problems getting stuck. Maybe we just have different crud up here in Canada??

 

it could be that we have different types of mud. I don't do any road driving b/c the trails start about 150 ft. from my backyard. But in some holes i can just feel the ATV sink as I go through it then it just stops.
I'll have to get some friends out here to see if it is my machine or the mudhole.

 

Could be the clearance, too. I have come close to getting stuck a couple of times but I felt as if the belly machine was starting to sit on the mud. The trade-off of stability for clearance I guess - with riding with my kids, I will take the stability and use my winch when I need to! Good luck.