I have a 07' Rinny now! And miss having the engine braking and stability of (say) Rancher -Foreman 500 etc..
Anyone having IRS went back to having SRA machines?
If so, Why?
Also, Will 6ply tires make a differents in it's handling. It pushes bad w/ stock tires.
They are junk.....

Thankx.......

 

We first had a Rubicon until it got totaled so we bought a Rincon because of the IRS. We live on a farm after a while we decided to get rid of it and bought another Rubicon because of the solid axle because IRS could not pull as good as a solid axle. And the engine breaking is a whole lot better.

If you are going to just be trail riding then the Rincon will be fine, even though the engine breaking isn't that great. But truthfully, I believe the Rubicon is a far better trail bike than the Rincon. Better engine braking, better transmission and better stability.

 

I guess it depends on where you ride...

Really rough rock and root strewn trails is where the IRS of the Rincon is worth it. It will glide over stuff like that faster than I'd want to go over it on my Foreman or my friend's Rubicon. On my Foreman when we did back to back dawn to dusk hard rides on rough trails, I'd be reaching for the ibuprofen when my buddy (who's 15 years older than I am) was ready to go rip on his Rincon.

That said, the Rincon leans more in fast sweepers. It's not bad, but I feel I need to lean my body a bit more. The Rincon also gets more traction from the rear wheels, and doesn't slide as well as my Foreman.

Feed back wise, I think it is a little easier to feel what the tires are doing on the Foreman or Rubicon until you get used to the Rincon. Feed back and feel for what the tires are doing is still there on the Rincon, but it is sort of muted compared to SRA.

Lastly, IRS machines often have more ground clearance than similar SRA's, until you compress the suspension, like when you land a jump, or add a heavy tounge weight trailer...

The Rincon's lack of low speed engine braking is in my opinion it's biggest drawback, but that's more a factor of the transmission than the rear suspension....

For farm work or towing, the Foreman or Rubicon would be my preference. Trail riding, it's a personal preference thing and it also depends on where and how you ride.

 

As for the tires, carefully monitor your tire pressure! Play with it a little to see what works best. I find on the Ranchers, if the tire pressure is to far off, funny things like bump-steer will begin to develope.

I have ridden all my friends monster big bore long suspension travel IRS machines, and I wouldn't trade any one of them for my little SRA Ranchers! For stability out in the nasty stuff, give me an SRA every time.

 

Handling wise with the Rincon, you might want to check the toe per the manual's procedure.

Mine can also push the front end. It seems like the rear end can find more traction than the front at times, causing an understeer slide where most machines tend to oversteer.

I find with mine that getting my weight a bit farther forward, and although it seems counterintuitive at first, getting on the throttle gets it to rail around corners. Like ReconRancher said, a small change in tire pressure can also help.

As for Rincon tires from what I've read people get good results with XTR, TerraCross, and Bighorn radials. I wouldn't go too large, especially if handling while cornering is your goal. The XTR's are more mud oriented, and the Bighorns are said to be very tough and excellent on rocky terrain and a good handling trail tire. The TerraCrosses seem like a good overall tire, handling well and providing good traction.

 

I went from an 01 Kodiak SRA to the 05 Kodiak IRS. The ride was much better on the 05 and once I learned "how" to ride the IRS it was much more fun than the SRA. That being said, I went back to the SRA (Rubicon) due to the number and cost of repairs of the IRS. Rear boots getting tore, two CV joints gone bad, rear wheel bushings, and all the bearings replaced by 2500 miles ( I ride hard but I also do maintainance and washing the machine). The SRA kodiak needed only wheel bearings after 4000miles. I lost the comfort of the IRS but I'm hoping to save $$$ in the long run.
Buck

 

Interesting: http://forums.atvconnection.co...tid/25/threadid/525868

 

I really kind of wondered why they were building an IRS sport machine... Most sport quad riders don't seem to spend the majority of their time riding on a jumble of big rocks, which is where the IRS becomes worth having...

Anyway, SbuckJ has a point that hasn't been brought up, that IRS does have more suspension pivots, CV joints, boots, and stuff...