Your top link did not work so I re did it.



500 Rubicon HP

500 Foreman HP

Seems like they share the same frame ,suspension, tank and brakes. 500 Honda compared tp 500 Honda

Hard to believe 24cc can give you a extra 7 Horse power, does the Rubicon have other tricks going for it such as 4 valves, double over head cam or a hotter cam ,better pipe,air beather to help it out also?

 

That is cool stuff. Pretty technical. It looks to me like the 2007 model has less HP than the 2006. Am I reading that correct or am I just a retard and overlooking something?

I am from TN and we dont have to deal with much technical government stuff round here :-)

 

Yes, the Rubicon does have 4 valves, and the Foreman does have 2. To me seat of the pants power is about equal. I think the Rubicon may have a higher top speed due to having a higher gear ratio in high? Anyhow the Foreman tops out in the mid 50's but is reved way over the top of it's power band.

Noise wise, I think they are pretty equal. I suspect my 1st is as low as that on the Rubicon, but haven't done a side-by-side comparison.

What a person needs to do is ride both, and pick the one that you have a personal preference for. Both are very nice, very reliable machines.

Between the two I prefer my Foreman, but I think my friend with the Rubicon probably likes the Rubicon (or my Rincon) better. Mainly I think it comes down to do you like the automatic transmission or the foot shift.

 

You are looking at the difference between the Foreman and the Rubicon. Yes, the Foreman is less.

 

I presume, though, those numbers are at the crank? Typically hydrostatic transmissions aren't as efficient as geared transmissions, and I would assume this would apply to the Rubicon?

In any event, riding one and then riding the other, to me it didn't feel like there was much of a difference, certainly not enough to make a person choose one over the other...

 

What about the cooling, air vs liquid? I will be doing mostly low speed riding (under 20mph). Is one more effective at lower speeds than the other, I HATE hearing a fan running all the time. Would one cooling ststem make the bike run quieter than the other? I am leaning toward a Foreman, but I like an auto for ease of riding, just not sure which would be more appropriate for my needs yet. The simplicity of a Foreman manual foot shift is looking appealing, especially if the suspensions are the same, and I assume a manual shift would make less mechanical noise as well.

 

Though a person would usually expect an air cooled motor to make a bit more mechanical noise, having ridden both the Foreman and Rubicon I don't think there is much difference.

Fan wise, the fan on my Foreman will come on when doing slow stuff (like 2-3 mph) or sometimes in the winter it will come on when constantly winching out of snow. The fan on the Rubicon will also come on in those conditions, as will the fan on my Rincon. Since you said you aren't planning on playing submarine in deep mud, clogging a radiator should never be an issue for you (and it hasn't for me). None of our machines has ever had an issue with overheating.

Really, I think either of your two choices would meet your needs, and I think you just need to decide if you like to shift with your foot or if you want an auto.

 

How about in hot weather (90-100+), is there an advantage of one cooling system over the other?

 

Again, I've never had a problem...

 

Last summer I rode with a guy who had an older Foreman than did not have fan. We did lots of low speed stuff and he complained about his legs getting hot from the extra heat but it never over heated. I have fallen in love with my Rubicon now though. I may speak differently if I have troubles with the ES