I'm looking at either buying a Rubicon or a Sportsman H.O. from what I've read about both of them the H.O. seems to outperform the Rubi in a number of areas.I'm wondering why should I consider the Rubicon over the H.O.??

 

mainly because 10 years from now the honda will still be running. dont' get a fired up polaris owners, I like the H.O. they look cool and run good but it is just a fact in the long run the honda will last with fewer problems. Take for example the suspension on the H.O. it rides better than the Honda but.. it has more moving parts to wear out and if you would happen to have an accident and tweek the suspension a little bit it can be a nitemare to find and fix, I know this from experiance. Do yourself a favor and buy the rubicon. at least until polaris proves itself a little more

 

Performance & ride - Sportsman.
Reliability ???
That has more to do with maintanence than anything. Polaris quality has really improved just in the last few years. The '01 models have fixed about all their known weaknesses. They still need regular greasing, though, and will wear out without it.
The Honda is much more maintanence free and will run longer if you aren't the type who likes to grease.
The Hondamatic is new, and no one knows how they will work in 10 years, but my experiences tell me they should hold up OK.
I know Polaris doesn't have the reliability reputation that Honda has, but I think they are going in the right direction.

 

FYI- the Hondamatic is not new by any means. It’s new to quads only. It has been around since 1962. I have a 1978 Honda 750 motorcycle with a Hondamatic transmission and it runs perfectly and it’s 23 years old. I have complete confidence in Honda and their products. The Hondamatic will last a lifetime.

 

I'll be darned...learn something new every day. With all the hub-bub about the 'new' transmission, I figured it must be all new.
Is it anything like the auto scooters from years ago? Those held up well.

 

Well, Ive got 4500 miles on my 98 sportsman and about 400 now on the 01 rubi.
My impressions:

Smoothness of ride - Sportsman by a minor to medium margin. In the rubi, honda finally addressed the ride quality issue.

Power&Speed - rather tough one, the rubi beats the sportsman (non HO) 0 to 40, above that the sportsman catches up and pulls away. Of course that's flat trail riding. In the real world of hill climbing and decending, I'll take the rubi every time. The sportsman has a real problem with the 4 wheel drive/ebs/single lever brake concept when it comes to downhilling. There is no way to keep the back end from trying to come around except to accelerate. As you can guess, this can be real hairy. The sportsman is great for strieght ahead stuff, the honda is far better on off cambers, etc...

Maintenance - In 4500 miles I've replaced rear brake pads 5 times, front 3 times. Had to replace one IRS jackshaft and the other one needs it now. Both outboard rear bearings replaced. Bottom steering bushing and tie rod ends replaced once and the tie rod ends need it again. Overall, I've probably spent about $600 in parts, I do the work myself. Doing the work myself brings up another interesting point - quality of design and construction. There is no comparison here, honda is light years ahead of Polaris. They seem to "over engineer" most everything.

Handling, yes handling the catagory most seem to miss - Honda has something with this mass centralization thing. The bike handles like its glued to the road, where as the sportsman leans and pitches all over the place. If your a sportsman owner you kind of get used to it after a while or at least I did. Now with the Honda, I notice a big difference. I'd liken it to a sports sedan vs a jacked up 4x4. Consider which one likes to corner!!

Resale value - Honda by a wide margin. Smart used bike byers know where the reliability is.

Overall - I've enjoyed the sportsman and its a great bike for certain types of riding (crusing, for example). Actually, I'm ready to sell it and am toying with getting another, but will wait until the Kaw 650 shows up. For me the maintenance cost and time are above average, but livable. But I have to say if I could only have one, it would be the rubicon (or will it become the Praire 650)??

The answer to your question can only be determined by you. Get out there and test drive both of them, lots. I'm of the opinion I will not buy another bike unless I can spend two + hours in the saddle, its the only way to tell.

Good luck..

 

Except for the new tranny the Rubicon is a bored out 450 Forman with the same short rough suspension and mind of it's own steering found on all full time 3wds.I could not put up with that for 10 days let alone 10 years. It 's the year 2000 every bike made is reliable now a days.To me the Honda is under engineered to stay so maintance free, that it makes it a duller machine to ride.

 

The rubicon's engine is not the same as the 450, but it has the same idea. It also has the Surtrac front differential, which works flawlessly. But it isn't better than the H.O. I would say that it is more reliable, though.

A friend has had a TRX 3004x4 since 92. For the first two years he rode it everyday when he got out of work. He sill rides and runs it just as hard, but now he plows snow of the trails in the woods(yesterday his oil got too hot and he had to quit), and him and his uncle hull logs about every week. They hauled three loads of cherry out in a couple of days, the tractor broke down.


A kid I ride with everyday has a Foreman 400. It is 18 months old and has over 6000 very hard miles on it. He needs to get new tires, they are about to blow out. Maintnence? A new muffler and rear plastic, he got rearened. New glass cover for the spedo. Other than every piece of plastic, that is it. And a new skidplate, the crappy one in the front.


I have just as many miles on my 300 4x4, but it is in much better condition, although I ride harder. Before it was a week old we had to get a new rear axil and rim because my brother and I locked tires going down th road. He slammed the brakes, and it went over. After bouncing off the front rack, it slammed onto its rear, which bent to hell, it did two flips in the air and landed on its rear wheel, which bent it and the axil. My brother broke his ankle, probably because he was wearing gym shoes.


Hondas are as relible as they come.

 

Tim1, The Rubicon does not have the same engine as the 450 Foreman.

 

under engineered to stay maintence free??
are you kiddding me? Dull to ride? thats more your problem than the bikes. Good job demps, that was probably the best, most well thought out, not to mention fair comparision I've read yet.