yes you are right Rogan, I read that wrong....it's the 06 US version that gets the bigger carb

When XR600s went from two carbs to one, I felt a loss of low end power. The trade off was better reliability and servicability. Hardly a difference in performance though. I sure couldn't call it substantial.

I could be wrong, but these are what I see as typical Honda progressive changes that further refine performance, not completely change it.

big deal if you can win a drag race.....with a utility quad....it's like drag racing station wagons or dump trucks

 

I owned a dual carb 83'XR500R and it was fast, to fast for a 8th grader!!! The bike carbrated perfectly Except when backing off the throttle when going up a steep hill it would hickup when the 2nd carb would close... The bike easily pulled 110MPH as i dropped one tooth on the rear and added one on the front- it was my fire road bike!

 

Propnut we may have a difference of opinion with regard to the term "substancial", however I have driven an 04 Rube and driven my 05 CTE immediately after and the difference is instantly noticeable. The CTE feels lighter, snappier, crisper and stronger. I appologize if that hurts your feelings, but don't worry it won't hurt your resale value after all a Honda is still a Honda. Whether you believe me or not, the fact is the 04 is downright sluggish compared to mine, however I do doubt that there would be 10mph difference on the top end...I would definately bet that there would atleast be 6-8 quad lengths difference in a 50mph drag if not 10. I guarentee it! Having said all of that I do agree that speed is not important on these utility quads and racing them is not neccessarily that cool. If I need to fullfill my need for speed I get in my Maxima and drive the snot out of it for a while and that will satisfy me for a week or so. It sounds like the U.S 06 Rube may be closer to the CTE so I'm sure you'll bump into one someday on the trails and you'll get a chance to compare.

 

my 05 Peterbuilt is substantially faster than your 04 Peterbuilt.....as I said before, you might as well be drag racing dump trucks - this doesn't hurt my feelings. If I want to go fast, I don't jump on a utility quad or a dump truck....

I admit, the disc brakes and traxlock are two features that make the 05 a better machine than the 04, but seat of the pants is not an accurate comparison of acceleration, and you should really line them up with your 05 in 4wd and compare to the 04 and earlier before you claim such a drastic change. An example of this is my friends Artic Cat 500. That Vinson motor feels more powerful to me too, and he can get me top end every time, yet up to 50 we are neck and neck - depends on who gets the jump. However, through the trails he just can't keep up, so what does the "extra power" get him? These machines ALL handle like crap when going over 50, so it just doesn't bother me if someone can get a higher number on the speedometer.

I wonder if the impression of more power you feel is that you are in 2wd, a common claim from those that install the 4-2-4 on the 01-04s??

I've got enough power to spin my tires in mud and do close to 50mph through a field with a foot of fresh wet snow. Good enough for the machine's intended purpose.

Relatively speaking, you ride close to where I do. How are the winter trails in your area? Are they starting to allow ATVs with the sleds?

 

I certainly wasn't trying to knock your machine. I know it's a hell of a quad and excellent at everything it was built to do....as is my 450es. I think in Quebec they allow AtV's on their trails but here in Ontario they still don't. Idiots, just talking about it gets me revved up. I guess they don't like money and the extra revenue that selling trail passes generates. I still hear them a##holes claiming that atv's do too much damage to the trails, and they are slow and get in the way. What about studded tracks on sleds? they would do a hell of a lot more damage than an ATV. All of these reasons are why I closed my 300 acre far off to them, that and the fact that I got tired of finding beer bottles laying everywhere and fences not being rebuilt in the spring. My cattle just love to eat broken beer bottles!

 

Sorry if I've upset you propnut, but I believe I speak the truth. The Rubicon is a great machine. Ask anyone who knows though and they'll tell you a Vinson flat-out out-performs it. The Rubicon is going to be the most dependable, reliable 500 available, but not the most performance-oriented. That is just a cold, hard fact, not my opinion. I am basing that belief on seat-of-the-pants and forum feedback of both machines. Ride a Vinson and tell me if you still disagree. To say that your friend can't keep up with you on the trails is ridiculous because either there is something wrong with his machine or he doesn't know how to ride it. How the hell are you going to know if the ignition mapping of the US Rubicon is the same as the Canadian? That is certainly not going to be on any spec sheet. If you don't mind going slow, more power to you. However, it's not my beliefs, it's common knowledge that the current US Rubicon is underpowered and probably undersuspended compared to the competition, plain and simple. That said, they are wonderful machines for everything except quicker-paced riding, rock solid reliable and the absolute best tranny in the business.

 

hey, I am not offended or upset by your comments, please don't be by mine. As a recovering technology junky I know there's nothing flashy about the Rubicon, except the transmission. But underpowered?

I think I take a more realistic view of the situation though, but you guys missed my point. If I wanted speed, I would not have bought a utility, particularly a 500cc when larger are available.

If I want to go fast, I don't jump on a utility quad.

My buddies AC is tall and wide and heavy, so even that extra HP is not enough to make up for these things. I did ride the Vinson manual motor, my decision wasn't made until I had seen both the Vinson and Rubicon (these were the 2 machines I had it narrowed down to, and the dealer had both). While the Vinson felt more powerful, lining them up did not back up the seat of the pants feeling. Top speed is different, but who has that long!!

I'm into speed too. My SRX700 is still king of the little lake. My KTM500 was king too. My utility quad? Like my lawn tractor, I don't care and 20 more horsepower still wouldn't make this thing fast. Utility and fast just don't go along together. I think these new 800s (unless maybe if you are a mudder with huge tires) are overpowered and overweight.

It's nice the CTE is 5MPH faster, but substantial, significant, or useful? Not really.

 

Does the CTE still have D1 and D2? Reason I ask is I love haveing both as a choice, D2 is great for hunting- and can coast down hills without as much engine brakeing. My 01' seems to take its time when in d2 to shift down, does the cte also lug for a second or two when quickly floored in d2?
Joe

 

Yes it has D1, D2, and ESP. D1 does seem to have more torque and the tranny seems to be a little noisier in D1. D2 seems like it's geared a hair higher and may be nicer for long road cruising, although I wouldn't say it lags when you punch it. Throttle response is very crisp on this quad. I guess I might say that it takes the tranny a second (or maybe only a fraction of a second) to respond to the throttle, but I certainly am not complaining about that. The engine/tranny connection is excellent on this quad and in my opinion results in the best power delivery set-up available on any ATV on the market today.

 

That's fine, but we're not talking about what's practical for you.