Not a stock 420 Honda around that is going to stick with the 650 Can Am. And as for the instability and sloppyiness on the Outty?--------its refered to as Jealousy by some of those that are still riding undersized/underpowered red machines.

I left Red after my 2003 Rincon did'nt offer anywhere near what the OTHER manufactures did and have NEVER turned back.

Your going to have FUN no matter what you choose, just dont REGRET what you choose!

 

Stay away from drum style brakes if you buy a 4x4. Drum brakes WILL eventually LEAK and than you are constantly going to have to pull the drums for a complete cleaning everytime you mud with it.

 

Some time ago in an ATV forum everybody posted their hours/miles and if I remember right the average speed overall for sport/utility quads was 8.5 mph.

I personally don't understand the big deal of everyone "requiring" disc brakes other than the fact that they are the "newer" of the two designs, although they do stop better. I can see their advantage on a sport quad but not a utility quad unless you're trying to stop one of those huge over-weight ATVs.

In 11,000 miles of riding I have never been in a situation where disc brakes would have proved to be better or safer than my drum brakes.

At 11,000 miles I still have over 1/2 of the original brake lining left and have had zero brake issues other than one broken cable and then the foot brake just took its place.

I don't submerge my ATV in the mud on a regular basis; other the crossing small rivers and streams I like to keep it dry.

In my opinion I would insist on two separate braking systems over the poor single lever brake system. I would rather have old cable operated drum brakes than no brakes at all. I have seen on more than one occasion when someone in our group has lost all of their brakes due to one simple problem; that to me is a poorly designed and dangerous braking system.

I would like power steering but I would like to know what the trade off is. I would not trade PS for a pull-start; in fact I don't think I'd buy an ATV that does not have a pull start.

The best chance that you have to keep up with the big boys on a Honda sport/utility is a Rincon.

You'll get tired of riding with big-bore ATVs on a small cc ATV.

The two things that would keep me from buying a new Honda today is a front locking diff and HP.

 

If Honda truly updated the Rubicon I'd buy it even with drum brakes. I realize why mud riders don't like them. But the disc brakes on my Scrambler were the only brakes I've ever had trouble with they froze and didn't work at all. My Rubicon with drums has been going for 9 years and I haven't done anything to them. Our 1985 Big Red that we still use today just turned 25 years old and we have never touched the brakes yet. I'll never argue that discs are the most capable for sheer stopping power but are they always the best?

 

The problem with Honda drums is significant enough for an aftermarket company to design, build and sell a conversion kit to solve the problem.

Maybe you never took your atvs through mud, water, whatever to where they were immersed long enough to leak, but knowing the design of Honda's ATV drum brakes and the unavoidable wearing of the seals (even three of them) with usage, it is ridiculous to argue that they can't leak. Here in the south, we ride lots of mud and waterholes, and flooding drums is an inevitability. Once they flood, they keep the water, mud, crud trapped inside the drum and the corrosion process begins. No disc brake ever had that kind of problem.

Take a look at the product available: Honda ATV Disc Brake Conversion Kit

 

The best for one person is not always the best for everyone else.

For me that conversion would be a total waste of money.

 

Where did anyone claim drum brakes can't leak? Of course they can! They always have, always will but unless you ride in those conditions drums will work just fine. I don't think anyone is saying drums should be standard on everything. My next ATV probably won't have them.

 

If your brothers are running Can Ams and you guys are at all competitive, the Rancher will let you down. Actually pretty much all the Hondas will let you down.