BigBowler1,

Although I am a rookie, I have still riden a lot of different atv's and I personally think that you are more on track with the Rubi! I think a 400cc engine is too small for you wanting to haul that much wood or 6 guys and 4 deer. I would go with a 500cc or larger. I have ridden 350's and 400's and you can def tell in the lag when you start pulling a lot of weight....and you want to plow a 1/2 mile! Get the Rubicon and don't get anything less than 500cc's.

 

Go with a Honda... no question...

 

Yeah, definitely don't get anything less than a 500cc quad for plowing a 1/2 mile road or pulling that much weight. I think that much plowing would be to much strain on a 400cc engine, simply not enough power there to push the heavy snow, trust me I had to plow 2 winters with a 400 and I could tell I was over stressing the engine and I was only plowing 200ft with a 48" plow, that's a big reason why I got a King Quad.

 

Hey,

I have a 2004 monster rubicon and love it......however (SORRY HONDA GUYS) Bombardier has a better engine and the front axle operates the way all atvs should. Thier front wheels apply the torque to the wheel with the least spin, not like honda and all other that send it to the one spinning wildly leaving you basically in 2 wheel drive. The hondamatic trans is great!!!

However get ready to pay the price for Bombardier. You need to wiegh your options on what you need vs what you can afford. If you got the money Bombardier all the way.

I have spent tons of money in my honda to get it to perform like a want it to. Check out my pics if you like. Im still not finished with it...LOL

Go to Bombardier web site and check them out.

Hope this helps

Ride hard and get muddy
CrazyJames

 

BigBowler,
You'll like the 05 Rubicon I believe. You can beat the pants off that $7,000 sticker if you shop around. Bought mine in August for $5683.

 

Reading your post about what you want to do with it 05 Honda Rubicon is the way to go...I just bought one two days ago and I'm still waiting for delivery. I got out the door(tax title prep etc) for 6500 for the automatic. Power not at the top of the class but what is 1-2Hp. Tranny...best going. Engine breaking...best going...you have to give them gas to go down hill.(my friend has two Hondas and both are like that) Brakes discs up front, drum on back, but with the engine breaking who needs brakes....Brakes are good. Dependability and toughness are what you are buying. To me it was between the 06 Suzuki Vinson 500 auto and the Honda Rubi....Suzuki had a better shock system with adjustable preload and 2" more travel, a slightly more powereful and quicker engine, big discs on the front and a single disc on rear(but that is to because they can freewheel if dynaminc engine brake fails and need that power to stop a 600lb quad) and 2" more ground clearance(with what you are doing you won't miss it). Everything else went to Honda. What to do is print out the specs to each quad. Then sit down a priortize what are your most important wants and features you want. As far as the locker...with your needs you won't miss it. My buddy has an older 2wd 250 that I used and it went everywhere he did on a 4wd. But we were hunting not mud bogging.
Hope that helps.

 

Hello folks!

I'm totally new on this forums and therefore have not read many posts, so if what I'm going to ask has already been discussed, I apologize in advance.

I guess I could have begun a new topic, but when I saw this Honda Rancher -vs- Bombardier Outlander one, I decided to ask here.

Like probably most of you I saw the little promoting videos on the Bombardier's website and what caught my attention was the sled pull video. In it, we clearly see the Honda Rancher not being able to pull more than a 3 foot distance where as other ATV can pull the sled more than 50 ft and some over 75 ft if my memory serves me well.

What do you guys all think about that? Is this pure crap? I agree that different ATV can have different performances, but can Honda be so off track? I tend to think this video was little biaised, how about you?

Thanks in advance for your opinions.

 

No atv manufacturer is going to show a video of their atv getting beat, they are going to biased toward their product and will rig it along the way somehow, so don't expect them to be truthful videos.

 

Another opinion.

Nobody has mentioned the Bomb's IRS!??

The Hondamatic may be nice, but you're still bouncing around with that solid rear axle. You'll need to stick to smooth roads.

Do yourself a favor and buy a Rincon, or stick with the Outlander.

If, on the other hand you are going to use this machine for heavy-duty work, the Rubicon will do nicely.

 

I really don't understand why every manufacturers don't use a similar system. Bombardier didn't creat this technology, it is the same tech than the « On-demand » 4WD system on some SUV's, but applied to the front diff instead than on the center diff.

I also think every 4X4 pick-up truck should also have this system when on the 4Lo mode, fully locked rear diff and Visco lock front diff as soon as you shift on the 4Lo mode.

For ATV's, it shouldn't even be an option, but a serie feature.