Rubicon owners send me your knowledge...

I currently have a 98 Grizzly that I use as a tractor. I have 70 acres with 55 wooded. I use the Grizzly to pull a 400# mower over about 8 acres of food plots, snow plow, pull a harrow when seeding, pull out firewood, hunt and on a rare occasion play a little.

The Grizzly is nice but for this type of work (< 5mph) it gets REAL hot (air/oil cooled), and it has always given me little problems. It is in the shop right now for an electrical problem. My Yamaha dealer is also an Arctic Cat dealer and is trying to get me to trade up to a 2001 AC 500 manual shift. This make good sense based on the kind of work that I do, but I love the automatic.

So the $64K question is should I consider the Rubicon as a possible alternative. It would cost me an extra $800 to $1000, however I would have the auto and hopefully the Honda reliability, or is this kind of work to much for an auto?

The local Honda dealer says "oh you really don't want an Arctic Cat, do you"? He says the Rubicon could handle the work "no problem". He seems to think the AC's have reliability issues and no resale value and no one would ever take one in trade. From reading the forums it would appear to me that the AC's seem to be a pretty fair machine. All things considered I prefer the Rubicon, however will it do the job and if so, is it worth and extra $1K?

Thanks Allen L. Grooms
98 Grizzly - One HOT machine

 

Don't count out the AC! Everything I've read and heard about them is very good. Plus I think a manual shift is probably better as a pure work machine. Plus the AC500 has even more torque then the Grizzly! (by 2ftlbs)

Rick

 

Just read a guide that poopied the AC. It seems a good machine but they hated the heel toe shifter and claimed it had no power, they look kinda dumb but thats not a concern for you. I think the Prairie 650 is going to be the strongest best 4X4 out there, wait a couple months for one, they look great.

 

I would have to say as a pure work machine the AC500 manual would be a tough to match. You've got the weight, the manual tranny, the torquey motor, 2WD/4WD, and low range. I'm going to get another wheeler next year and the AC is on my short list. Right now, they're selling for almost the same price as a Rancher ES!

However, a great work machine doesn't always make a good trail machine. Also, AC seems to have little problems here and there that may get annoying after a while. And, you take a big hit on resale, but if you plan on keeping it, that's a non-factor.

My opinion is my Rubicon is the best thing out there right now. It oozes quality and I wish I could ride it alot more than I do. I believe the tranny will handle your workload with no problems. If you can take a test ride do it. I guess the bottom line is that either quad will work, spend what you're comfortable with and be happy. I know if money were no object, there'd be two Rubicons in the garage next year.

 

One thing is you can't go wrong with Honda reliability, but it doesn't have the pure power of the grizz and it doesn't ride as well either or it doesn't have a 2wd mode. But it seems to be a good machine for sure that is liquid cooled.
I must ask, are you still on the original belt of your GRIZZ, and how many miles do you have on it. The wiring this is minor thing, and the 99-2001 have no more heat problems by the way.
2000 grizz with 2500km's and not a hickup.

 

Rubicon would be better than the ac in my opinion.
you can keep a steady speed with the es, and know exactly how fast you are goin with the digital speedo. it is also liquid cooled which is nice for slow work. They are quite torquey and are pretty sportty if you feel like goin for a trail ride.
I would mainly buy one because it is probably the most reliable automatic on the market. the ac is still good though. I may even consider the traxter500. rubicon is still the best in my eyes.

 

Thanks for the input thus far, keep those cards and letters coming. To answer a few questions; I am not concerned about speed, the speed of the Grizzly was never utilized. I rarely get time to play. I have roughly 1600 miles on the original clutch and belt system. I have had the original cooling fan replaced, several oil leaks, one twice up high one the head where the tach would attach if it had one, and several other little pains in the butts.

I am looking for a tank that will always be ready for more, will run in any weather and not make me take out a third mortgage.

Thanks Allen L. Grooms
98 Grizzly One Hot Machine

P.S. all the did to the 99 and up models is move the radiator up higher and out of the way of where it gets filled with garbage, other than that the cooling is the same.

 

I think the Rubicon is the most exspensive large utility made.Sounds like a 400 forman would be your thing ,it's as relaible as a brick and a 400 is still powerful enough for any job.

 

I think that the Rubicon is worth the extra money instead of an AC. First of all, this bike is built for work and play. You can go between automatic and ESP. You can't beat that. And if you're worried about pulling power, the Ruby has D1 and D2 just for towing. Also, you can't beat Honda's super handy LCD display. Plus, you get the legendary Honda reliability. If you're thinking about a 500 cc Cat, you might as well spend a G more and get "the best on earth."

 

The Traxter XT is the most expensive one with a MSRP of $7799.00. Actually the Rubicon and the Sportsman 500 H.O. have the same MSRP of $6999.00.