Looking to buy a Honda. What is the Best Model?
 

I am interested in selling my 05 Polaris Sportsman 500 to get away from the belt. I would love to get a Honda.

1. What are the difference between models?

2.do all four wheels spin when you are in 4x4?

3. I know that all the models except for the rincon have stright axle. Is that a harsh ride? is one model more comfy than the other?

4. Does the Rincons IRS compare to polaris's?

5. Anything else I should know?

Thanks

Looking to buy a Honda. What is the Best Model?
 

IF your looking for simple & stout go for a Foreman 500 manual shift. The Rubicon 500 is a nice step up with a great auto tranny (hydrostatic drive) if your in Canada you can get the canadian trail edition which has a fantasic ride for a SRA machine. The rincon is nice, has a great ride probably smoother then your Sportsman but a tallish geared tranny. With Honda you have a limited slip front differential which works decent when new, tapping the front brakes causes it to lock and spin all wheels. A nice upgrade is a Detroit Locker which will give you true 4wd. The new Honda machines have selectable 2wd to 4wd.

Looking to buy a Honda. What is the Best Model?
 

You can read here about Honda's excellent torque sensing front differential: http://forums.atvconne....co.....adid/549959

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Personally, I have never been a fan of any kind of automatic transmission, and I do feel like the Honda auto trannies are needlessly complex....but that said, I would still perfer one to any belt drive.

Thankfully, I neither need nor desire to own any of the large utilities, so I am absolutely pleased with my slick and agile manual tranny fuel injected/water cooled mid size Rancher 420!!! Only thing I would change is to make it lighter. Some folks wine that its ground clearance numbers are low, but they are only "numbers"!

Looking to buy a Honda. What is the Best Model?
 

I was kind of looking to get one where you can switch from ESP to auto. i am just worried about the ride being not very comfortable. Does the rubicon hace a 5-speed?

Looking to buy a Honda. What is the Best Model?
 

the rubicon is your best choice, it has a selectable transmission with three setings, d1 horse power, d2 torque and esp push botton shift like manual transmission, low gear and reverse, this macine is bullet proof, I own a 2001 model and till this day,it runs great, the only upgrades I have done is a FMF pipe,K&N filter, warn 424 select 2wd or 4 wd and a jet kit, this quad is bery reliable, yes it is not as fast as the biger displacement quads but it gets the job done.

Looking to buy a Honda. What is the Best Model?
 

With the exception of the Rincon, ALL Honda utility ATVs ride rough when compared to the ride on the other manufactures 4x4 ATVs.The Rincon is generally used for recreational riding and does not make a good worker ATV because of its tall gearing, and also dispells the worst downhill engine braking of ANY 4x4 ATV on the market today. Honda still does not have a locker mode that will lock all 4 wheels together if/when needed.Dont buy into the ''torque sensing'' stuff from ANYBODY..Honda's are no more than 3wd ATVs at best without adding a locker.

Belt driven ATVs are fine if used correctly. Im wondering what is going wrong with YOUR belt drive that makes you want to get away from it?

Looking to buy a Honda. What is the Best Model?
 

So far nothing. BUt I'm afraid that 3-4 hours back in the trail the belt will break and you will be stranded. I also hate the fact that the can slip when going in water. Thats why I would want to pick up a Honda. I also want somethng I don't ever have to bring in to the shop. Hondas are great engines

Looking to buy a Honda. What is the Best Model?
 

after many years and 5000 miles i added a rubicon to the garage. it is a nice machine for utility work. i like the tranny. it is very smooth and i like the differnt modes i can run in. but compered to the popo no 1 it is slow. no 2 it handles like a truck, very stiff and unforgiving in the ruff stuff. no 3 you can not ride it like you would a polaris, if you like to ride fast and hard it will hurt you......i never had a belt issue with the popo. i have drug many logs with it, pulled many machines home over the years and drug my wifes car up the drive in the winter when she couldnt make it. plus many miles of plowing snow. if your afraid of the popo you might want to look at a 700 grizz i have rode then and they are nice. yes its a belt but a different setup

Looking to buy a Honda. What is the Best Model?
 

Well, of the larger Hondas, the Foreman is a solid rear axle, with 5 speed geared transmission, air/oil cooled engine. It can be had with push to shift buttons, or foot shift. Ride is typical of a solid rear axle.

The 500 Rubicon has a hydrostatic continually variable transmission, liquid cooled, solid rear axle, and has low range. It can operate in a couple different auto modes, or be put in push button shift mode where it emulates gears with 5 preset ratios you can shift through.

The 680 Rincon has a 3 speed auto with torque converter, similar to an automotive transmission. It can operate in auto mode, or push button to shift mode. I feel it has the best combination of excellent ride, and good handling of any of the IRS machines I've ridden. It will fly over rough trails, and you won't realize how fast you were going or how rough the trail was until you ride the same route on a SRA machine. It's biggest drawback is that it is quite high geared. Compression braking starts (lightly) at around 6 mph, and going down a steep downhill will have you doing like 12 mph without using the brakes, where on a Foreman you could hold 2 mph w/o brakes. It isn't as bad as riding a 2 stroke, for example, but you do have to expect to use the brakes on technical downhills. Also, people often run a gear reduction kit to go bigger than 28's. IMHO it is an excellent trail machine that is OK in technical riding and occasional work.

Although you asked about top end machines, the Rancher 420 is an excellent machine. It is a little physically smaller, but very snappy and manuverable, and stable. Ride is fairly firm, and ground clearance is a bit low.

Looking to buy a Honda. What is the Best Model?
 

I wouldnt call these new hondas bullet proof and reliable, just read thru a few pages of posts here.

You are going to be dissappointed going from a sportman 500 to any of these hondas,

get a sportman 800

or maybe try the rancher

stay away from that hydrostatic trans crap, that esp crap, and that rincon car trans

belt drive is solid, and if you are worried about the belt breaking, well thats why you are supposed to bring a spare.