My brother and I went together and bought a pair of Rincons. We got a better deal since we purchased two. He took the Camo 08 and I took the green 09. Was wondering what people have thought about these machines.

Also bought an 01 Foreman 450 ES for the wife.(Was looking for a 350, oh well) Found it on craigs list. It had a plow and only 61 miles. Looks brand new. Only paid $3500 for it. It hardly left the guys heated shop. Have there been any issues with these.

Sold my POS Arctic Cat last year. Always had problems. Almost left it in the woods on the last trip to Canada. Hoping to have better luck with Honda.

Any thoughts would be great. Thanks

 

I am not a big fan of the Rincon myself. Not that it is not a nice bike, but to me compared to my Rubicon, it always feels underpowered. I mean, it has a 650 engine in it, but it just doesn't seem like it has the same kind of get up and go as the Rubicon. They ride like the Polaris though, its smooth. Great machines for trails.

 

These have a 680 Fuel Injected. Thought it to be very similar to the acceleration of my buddies Rubicon. Thanks for the info.

 

Have you done any long, steep, nasty, technical descents with the Rincons yet??? They don't have engine braking below 8 mph, so that if a fatal flaw in this design for me. It's going to be all brakes!

Personally, I like to do technical descents by just putting it in a low gear and letting it creap down the hill on engine compression braking. I have more important things to do on a nasty descent (like pick the right line), than have to be on the brake the whole time to save my life!

The Foreman 500 has been known to be hard on the rear end/driveshaft, becasue of high torque when in 2wd. If you are working it under heavy load or doing fast acceleration, keep it in 4wd and that will spread the stress around.

 

My buddy has a 650, and riding it was one of the reasons I got the 680.

The positives: Great suspension- rides super smooth riding fast over really rough stuff, without being wallowy or having unreasonable body lean when cornering. Great reputation for racking up tons of miles with only routine service. The 680 has sharper throttle response, the transmission doesn't seem to have to warm up as long as the 650 does to shift right, and the 680's shift points are altered a bit. It will shift firmer at higher throttle, and it will downshift at higher RPM when you pop off the throttle.

The negative: Engine braking starts at about 6 mph. On a super steep hill my Foreman could hold 2-3 mph w/o using the brakes. Try the same hill on the Rincon and you will likely be doing about 12 mph. The extra ground clearance and suspension has me doing rough technical stuff a bit faster on the Rincon, but you still have to modulate the brakes on anything steep that requires less than 12 mph.

Some people aren't bothered at all by that, and it bugs others enough to never consider the machine. I'm somewhere in the middle- in that I still think the machine is a good choice and a blast to ride, but I would like it better if it had a low range.

Anyway, enjoy the quad.

Also, do not pressure wash the camo, and do not use cleaning products that contain 2-butoxyethanol, as that chemical can attack and soften the clear coat on camo quads, making it suseptible to damage and peeling.

A lot of automotive products and household cleaners have this stuff in it.

To find out if a product contains the chemical, go to http://householdproducts.nlm.nih.gov

 

Thanks for the info on the camo, will make sure I let my brother know.

 

Usually folks ask what is good and bad about a machine, before they buy it!

 

I had done my research, but hadn't been on this forum in a while. Was hoping to avoid any issues after the purchase that people might be having. Thanks for all the info.

 

When you do your oil change, there is a washer between the filter and spring. It often clings to the filter, and a person could throw it away without knowing. Also make sure you check the oil by letting it idle for 4 minutes or so, then sit for about 2, to get an accurate reading. If the oil level is too low, the transmission might act funny.

When you check the valve lash, it's kind of a pain on the EFI machines not having a fuel shut off... Some folks like to install a valve.

Check to be sure your tie rod lock nuts are tight. Mine weren't, and one tire toed in bad on the first ride. I talked to someone with a Foreman that had the same problem. Fortunately they seem to screw in with suspension movement, rather than come apart.

A bumper would be a good investment, as there isn't factory protection around the headlight. Moose and Warn make bumpers, but I prefer the atv guru...

I can't think of anything else at the moment. You might also like rinconriders...

 

Thanks for the info. Was looking at the atv guru bumpers yesterday. Might just be a late addition to the x-mas list.