Paramedic, great posts. Unbiased, informative and interesting. One thing I have to mention though.

The 2005 Rubicon is light years ahead of your old 2003 model.

It has a much improved suspension that gives it an incredibly smooth ride for a SRA.

It has great front disc brakes that will actually work after riding in mud.

It has an updated Hondamatic.

It has great new styling.



In short, although it is still a Rubicon, it has been enhanced in more ways than one. It will never outmud a Polaris, nor will the ride be quite as smooth. However, with the new features, you will be hard pressed to find a better all around machine with more driver options. I was skeptical at first when Honda announced this model, but after one test ride, I was impressed.

The 2003 model should not be entered into this discussion since the 2005 is so much better.

 

Owning a 05 Foreman I have a few comments - the two big differences is the engine and tranny with the Ruby. If I wanted a machine to go "Muddin" I would look at something else. The GC is lower on the Honda and it is not set up the best from the factory. I know someone is going to say "I take my Honda anywhere a .... can go" - ok, whatever, but the avg. rider is going to notice a little less muddin ability on the Ruby (or Foreman). Now if you plan on working the machine hard, hauling, and are looking for LONG term life - I believe the Honda is the way to go. IRS is not a good set up for hauling heavy loads, and a few of the IRS known brands are KNOWN for having problems. The only problem you hear of on the Ruby is a rare transmission problem - which I do understand is expensive to repair (maybe look at an extended warranty?). You may also want to look at a Foreman S if you want a simple machine with little to break (Oil cooled, manual trans, simple Honda engine, etc...) It will have plenty of power to get you where you need to go and with PROPER riding the GC will no be a concern unless you are riding swamps or MAJOR mud.
Good luck.

 

I agree 100%. You can in no way compare an 03 Rubi to an 05 Rubi. There have been way to many upgrades from the 03.

The only thing that I can say from experience is that I have put a snorkel on my Rubi and have been in water up to the handlebars without a problem. I have a buddy with an 04' Sportsman 500 and he won't even go in deep water anymore b/c he did once and his belt got wet and we had to pull him out of the creek. I know that Polaris has come a long way with their belt drives but let me tell you that they can still get wet. When they get wet, you won't move! Once we got his 500 out of the water and got the belt to dry, he was able to ride again. Just something to think about if you plan on riding in alot of water.

I can only tell you what my impressions of the 05 Rubi are, and I Love It! I will agree that the SRA limits the ground clearance but for my kind of riding, I refer SRA over IRS.

You need to test ride all models that you are interested in and see for yourself what fits you the best. All brands are well made and it comes down to what feels the best to you.

Good Luck,

Cirviver

 

Hey guys,

Thanks for not crappin' all over me, and for understanding my post for what it truly is. Although I now ride a Polaris by choice, you'll never hear this guy bash a Honda. That would only be real stupid.

Happy and safe riding to all !!!!

 

Paramedic, since you are Canadian, have you experienced the suspension on the 2005 Rubicon CTE? It is the same basic setup as the American version, but with slightly different geometry and much better shocks. I would say that the ride is 80% as good as an IRS. Except the Rincon, which stands alone at the top.

 

Well ATVtech,

As I previously mentioned, I'm a die hard Honda fan and I would go back to Honda if they were better or even at par with others (at least in the 500 class). I'm refering to IRS, ABS all around, true 4x4, good GC and so on.

I have tried the CTE (for almost an hour), and to be honest, I agree with my dealer in that the "new and improved suspension" is pretty darn close to being IDENTICAL to last year's model. I personally believe this because I've tried the 2004 then the 2005 side by side.

My dealer sells both Honda and Polaris. I'll tell ya where the BIG difference is. It's when you get off the Rubicon, and hop on a 2005 500 HO. Absolutely no comparrison whatsoever !! I mean the difference is litterally eye opening........ WOW !!

The 500 class is by far the best selling ATV. Honda is well aware of this fact, and they are also aware of just how many Honda owners have turned to a different make.

I'll bet you a paycheck that if not in 2006, the 2007 Honda 500 WILL have IRS, ABS all around, true 4x4 and better GC.

My dealer (good friend of mine) says that they have sold almost 300 quads in the last 3 years. Their stats show that so far this year, they have sold 18 Polaris for every 1 Honda.

Honda's been riding on their "good name" for the last couple of years, but now they must start "competing". I'm convinced beyond any doubt that if they produced a 500 that compares to the rest, they'll gain most of their fans back. I'm one of them !!!

Polaris has sold almost 15,000 500 ho's in 2004. I wonder how many of those used to be Honda owner. I doubt that I'm the only one....lol

Again boys, I'm not bashing Honda in fact, I'm telling you that I want to ride them again, that I WILL ride them again, just as soon as they produce a 500 that can keep up with the rest.

 

ooppss........ I meant to write "disk brakes" not ABS.

 

Fair enough.

Keep in mind that somewhere in the world at this very moment, there is a dealer who sells 18 Hondas for every 1 Polaris...

Good post once again!

 

paramedic

I have just recently switched from Polaris to the Honda Rubicon. I absolutely love it. With the Polaris I drove through a mud puddle about 30 mph and got the belt wet. I was not even barried in water. I have had a couple of buddies that have had the same problem. I just put a tire kit on my Rubicon and I will let you guys know how it handles in mud holes. Another friend of mine has a 300 foreman and I saw him in water just about over the seat and he had no problems. I just do not like the belt-driven machines. But I will admit that the ride of the Rubicon is not as soft as the polaris. Getting back to the mud, I have seen Polaris's, Yamaha's, Honda's that were alike except for the tires and got stuck. I think that with the right tire you can almost go anywhere. I think all quads are great, you can have fun on any one of them. Some do some things better than others and vise-versa. If a company would manufacture a machine with all the grear features of all the manufacturers you would have a perfect machine!!!

 

Hey Prowler,

The very last thing that I want, is to come across as a liar, we've all come across them on these forums............. I have heard of the older Polaris belt slipping when wet, but honest to God, I've crossed creeks and shallow rivers where the water is up to my racks and I've never ever experienced a slipping belt and I've never seen it happen with other Polaris in our group. You mentioned going through water at 30 miles/hour, maybe it has something to do with the water pressure hitting the pan or something. I pressure wash my quad THOROUGHLY and it never slipped afterwards either.

I agree with you completely in that ALL quads nowadays are pretty darn good machines. The absolute worst ATV today (whatever that may be) is still 100 times the quad that any of them were 10 years ago.....lol

You're also right in that all quads have their limitations. Believe me, I've had my Polaris winched out as well, sometimes even by a Honda. Only difference is that 9 times out of 10, "he" took a different path to get to the other side...lol (that just makes him smarter that's all....lol)

So tell me, what year was your Polaris and how new is your Rubi ?