I'm new to this forum and relatively new to ATV's. I am very interested in the Rubicon CTE. Most of my riding will be trail with water and mud (nothing crazy). I might consider using to plow the driveway and do some work around the house. The only thing that wories me about the Honda is that is not a "true" 4WD as it doesn't have a locking diff! Can the diff be locked in any way? The people I will mainly be riding with have Polaris, and they seem to do well in the mud and water. They say I will be fine with a Polaris, however I have heard some pretty good horror stories. I just want to make sure I will be able to go where they go without having to be pulled out all the time. Also can someone explain how the tranny works? You have Low, High, D1, D2, ESP, how does all this work? Thanks for any and all info.

Wade

 

Dont listen to other people about Honda not having a "true" 4wd. It works just fine and the only time I ever get stuck is when high centered on the frame. Just to let you know, a Polaris 4wd will not engage going down hill. It has to detect wheel spin.

 

Granted I mostly ride with sporties but I do have some friends with utes too and I have only been stuck 1 time and anything would have been stuck in that hole (anything)[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img] I think the hondas are generally great quads. You shouldn't have any issues at all keeping up with your buddies. As far as the trannies it depends on what you by. On my AT it is 2WD/4WD selectable, fully automatic or ESP (selectable) the ES is a manual if that is what your looking for. Just depends on the Honda you buy. Good luck to you and welcome to the forums!

 

The automatic transmissions on the Hondas give you a ton of options compared to the typical belt-driven CVTs.

D1=Maximum performance mode.
D2=Maximum low-end grunt (torque). The real difference between the D1 and D2 is that in D2 mode, the transmission tends to stay in the lower ranges for a longer time thus keeping the engine revs higher. Good for just putting on trails or over rocky hills.
ESP=Manual shift. You can actually shift the transmission manually using the buttons on the handlebars through 5 speeds.

When in low range, D2 is automatically used regardless of where the **** is set.

I like mine a lot because it's super quiet and very smooth. The handling is awesome. The best thing about the Honda automatics (not including the Rincon) is the downhill engine braking - overall best IMO. Even on the steepest hills you don't have to do anything which includes using the brakes. You just need to steer it down the hill. Oh, it's a great hillclimber too.

On the down side, it's not much of a quad for deep mud. I've seen them get stuck even with mudlites on them. You'll be fine in most conditions, though. It has more to do with lack of ground clearance than a lack of a locking diff.

 

hey guy honda is tkink of the past polaris makes the best they have best ground clearance smoothest ride durabilty is great low mainance they are price lower than honda yahmaha kawaski i own 2trailboss 1outllaw 2scrambler 500 and going to buy the new outlaw in march

 

well we have had 2 hondas a 300EX my old one and a Rancher 350ES dads and the 300 is a 96 and the rancher is a 01 i think and the rancher has over 3000miles on it and they are not slow miles we beat the krap out of them and we have never had any problems at all but the usual up keeping on them and I am sure the 300 has more miles than that since we bought it used and it is older. I would recommend Honda any time to anyone

 

honda quads can be beaten, i have a recon and im 15, so you probably know what being a teenager and having a quad equals, just gotta take care of it is all...i would most definatly choose a honda over a polaris, my sister has an 87 honda 250 and that has gone through so much, yet it still works good for its age. if your not gonna be very rough with your quad then a rubi would last awhile. -tyler