What kind of oil, and what weight are you running???? While one would generally run a thicker oil in an engine that runs hot, this is an air/oil cooled engine, and running a thinner oil that is more pumpable may get it around the circuit and through the oil coolers quicker. Then again, if you are running at very slow speed, are you getting any air over the oil coolers in the first place?????

 

Hello All ,
I'm afraid that this mystery will likely go unsolved . I'm on my way later today to pick up a Rubicon . The service manager has talked to the Honda tech rep and they too are surprised that I'm having this problem .... they thought that a thicker oil and additional oil capacity from a larger cooler may help . I like my chances with the Rubicon .... fingers crossed !!!

What kind of break-in period should I employ before I ask it to work ?? I wonder if a lengthy break-in would've helped the Foreman ... hummmm .

J.D.

 

<a target=_blank class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm
">http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm
</a>

Break it in hard, in order to seat the rings! Also, do a very early oil/oil filter change. This will get any matal shavings out early on. Change out the oil in the front diff and final drive early on, for the same reason.

Use a petroleum oil diring break in (Honda GN4), then you can switch to a synthetic or blend later on if you wish.

Do not neglect to get an valve adjustment at 20 hours!!!

 

Ditto what Reconrancher said. Work the thing during break in, but I'd avoid prolonged operation at a steady speed, and if you prefer synthetic don't switch until the thing is fully broken in. Keep the oil and coolant topped off, and make sure to do the first oil, filter change and valve clearance check on time or early.

Valve adjustment is pretty easy on the Rubicon. As I recall, it takes a bunch of oil.

Let us know how it does for you.

 

Recon and Jeffin ,
Thanks for the info ... I am known for the 1st. oil change at 'immediately' and the next one at 'soon after immediately' ... so you can bet I'll heed your advice . At this point I need to understand and make friends with the tranny ... I've riden it a bit around my property , but I don't yet have a real good grasp on what the tranny likes and what I'll need to do the job that I require .
From the 'shameless plug' dept ..... Salem Honda BMW Ducati in Salem Oregon hanldled this whole deal as well as I could've hoped for . I basically ' traded' back my new '06 Foreman for exactly what I gave for it and paid the difference for the Rubicon .... I already own both BMW's and Ducati's and my new ones will come from them . Truth is ... I made the wrong choice and they were willing to let me ' recover ' without pain .... that's just good business .. to me .
J.D.

 

Glad to hear they took care of you. It's nice to hear about a dealership taking care of customers.

I think you need 6 quarts of oil to do an oil change on that machine, since it will take 5 point something with a filter change.

I've heard conflicting info on when to use D1 or D2, so I guess I'd do whatever the dealer suggested.

P.S. It sounds like you aren't too far from my neck of the woods... Ever ride the Tillamook off road park, East Fort Rock/Millican, McCubbins, or the Morrow County offroad park?

 

Jeffin ,
I ride a few trials events a year near Tillamook . Brown's camp and Jordan creek are the 2 places that we go to most . Trask river is an awesome place to ride as well ... even good 'ole Malcom Smith listed the Trask on his top 10 places to ride . This weekend we are going vintage mx racing in Chehalis Wa . Where are you from ?
J.D.

 

I'm over in The Dalles. Since I'm a ways from the Tillamook riding area if I go I usually take the 5th wheel and stay several days, usually mid-week with my work schedule and to avoid the nuts. Haven't done the Trask river... Where is the riding area?

If you haven't, I'd highly recommend the Morrow County Park. Trails aren't super-steep, but they are fun. The camp ground has a little burger stand ran out of a camp trailer with good food at reasonable prices. No hookup sites are $10, power/water are $15, and little A frames with two bunks are $37.50...

The East Fort Rock and Millican areas are also lots of fun, the kind of place where you want to carry extra gas on the quad...

Anyhow, have fun with the Rubicon, and let us know how it does for you.

 

My friend's loads his 500 Foreman heavy and pulls a heavily loaded ATV trailer and chugs down some rocky, hilly and slow trails without a problem. When his fan comes on he gets no oil light. Even when we stop for a break he shuts the bike off and turns the key back to "on" to lets the fan run itself out.

You problem sounds like the fan comes on to late or your oil light comes on to early. What gear are you pulling this thing around in ? Because the Foreman has no low range option and should not slowly pull heavy loads beyond 3rd gear at most.

My smaller 89 350 Big Bear could pull as good or better than my 450 Foreman due to its low range option.