Hi Everyone, I've been out of the 4x4 atv scene for a long time and have decided it's time to get back into it with my family. However with so many great quad's on the market I'm having a really hard time choosing what quad I will be the most happy with. I will primarily be on the trail's carrying the wife from time to time, but am not afraid to play in the mud if the oportunity arises. Horsepower, Handling & Reliabilty are probably the most important to me. A friend of mine work's at a Honda dealership and is pulling me toward's the Honda Rincon 680...the price is attractive but I've gotten very mixed review's when looking into this model. I'm very opened minded to any brand....preferbly 700 or bigger. Any recomendation's/comment's would be great!

 

I used to be a red rider above all other brands, but in 2004 when it came time to upgrade from my TRX300, Honda did not have a model with all disc brakes. I gave up on the brand after that, because although they make extremely reliable machines, they couldn't seem to pull themselves into the 20th century as far as brake systems. Now if you don't ride through mud or water over 8" deep, a drum brake system will serve you just fine for many years to come....but if you are like me and actually ride through mud/water more than ankle deep, you'll find out that drum brakes have no place on even a half-serious mud machine, especially one with a new price tag on it. If Honda finally got around to making an all-disc brake model, then never mind the rant.

NOW...as far as what the mags have been saying, the Grizzly 700 is an awesome ride, especially with the power steering. Polaris has a very powerful 800+cc bike with power steering as well, and they make a two-seater model. Arctic Cat has two-seaters in the 700cc and 1000cc (actually 950) sizes, but I don't know that they have applied their power steering system to them. I think it would be awesome to take the MudPro 1000, add the TRV back seat (since it's built on the TRV frame), and have power steering to boot.
Suzuki's KingQuad just got a boost in engine size, and Kawasaki's v-twin powered rides are pretty impressive. All of these have all disc-brake systems by the way

Honda would probably be my last choice, but that doesn't mean it would be a bad choice.

 

if its horsepower you are looking for, honda's make the LEAST amount of horsepower of the major brands. the most horsepower is can-am, followed by arctic cat (1000) and polaris.

handling is pretty good on all machines nowadays from the research i have done.

reliability, honda is still very reliable, but i think others have caught up some. yamaha is solid in this department as well. i think polaris, although greatly improved, is still the least 'reliable'

no matter what machine you get (if you're getting a new one), you wont be disappointed. i would recommend test-driving models that have the features you are looking for and then factor that into the decision. good luck!

 

Welcome to the forum.

Power on the Rincon is adequate, but not thrilling. None of the singles hold a candle to the big twins (Outlander 800, AC 1000, Brute).

What the Rincon does have going for it is excellent suspension, and long term reliability. It also has a refined and well engineered feel. People have been known to hit 30,000 rough miles w/o major problems.

It floats over really rough stuff, yet isn't wallowy on sweepers or have excessive body roll on fast sweepers or off camber stuff.

It's biggest weakness is in lack of engine braking. On a steep hill, the Rincon will be doing 12 without using the brakes, where a Foreman or Rubicon could hold around 3 in low.


It is an excellent machine, but isn't for everyone.

It would be best for you to get a real trail ride on several machines back to back, so you can see the differences.

If two-up is going to be a considerable part of your riding, I would suggest getting a two place machine.

 

I'm new to this forum but figured maybe I could help. Im in my mid 30's and an atv enthusiast thru and thru me and all my buddys have quad almost all different from prairies brutes to grizzlys kingquads and vinsons. I can tell you this if nothing else my rincon is the only wheeler among those that works trouble free week after week. Now i know people with other quads are gonna say "hey mine doesnt break EVER!" well.... I'm glad someone out there has other brands that actually stay out of the garage. I could go on and talk about what problems these people suffer from thier quads but I don't have time. Just try out a bunch of them you'll make the right choice. fyi I used to own a brute force got rid of it after 1 ride on a rincon.. well the constant trips to the shop didnt help the decision. Good Luck!!!!

 

well honda rincon dose have disc brakes and mine has been thro hell and back and is still running strong just kept oil changed and that is about it never been in shop. and most of my friends also have every thing but hondas and we have gone on trips to black hills and there been days were the guys that dont have hondas are workn on there atv for some thing going wrong yes we are hard on things but never lost a day of riding for the honda guys doing the same riding. but yes every one likes what they like and the guys that are having good luck with brutes and KingQuads great i have riden them great atvs but i dont like to work on things when i travil 500 miles to ride for a couple days and things dont hold up. Now i have been looking at the grizz 700 the only one i have been around has held up great so far if it keeps holding up like it has so far it is going to be hard to not buy one when it is time for me to get a new one. now for can am same thing i like them but the price is a little higher then i would pay it seems like the guys i know that have them half love them the other half dont but i dont know of any problems with the ones i have been around.

 

If power is your thing then Honda's OHV make the least power per cc then any other make. For example the 680 makes 39hp and a 500 Can am makes 40hp and a 500 Polaris makes 36hp. The 500 Honda Foreman makes 27hp.

Also Honda is the the only company that offers no True AWD diff lock system if traction is important to you. I find Honda behind the times with there Utility ATVs, but there second to none with there Sport ATVs.

Polaris 850______69.06 hp
Can Am 800 R____67.05 hp (updated 2/13 to 70.5 hp)
AC 1000_________65.84 hp
Can Am 800______61.7 hp
Can Am 650______55.4 hp
Brute 750 Carb____50.1 hp
Brute 750 EFI_____49.8 hp
King Quad 750____49.6 hp
AC Mud Pro_______49.06 hp
King 700_________48.5 hp
Polaris 800_______48.3 hp
Brute 650 I________46.3 hp
Grizzly 700________45.6 hp
Polaris 700_______44.3 hp
AC 700 H1_______41.4 hp
AC 700__________41.4 hp
Brute 650 ________41.4 hp (solid axle)
Grizzly 660_______40.9 hp
Can Am 500______40.4 hp
AC 650 H1_______39.3 hp
Polaris 550_______39 hp
Rincon 680_______38.5 hp

 

well.. honda may make less horsepower, but a weaker motor, will last longer. if you run an 800 horsepower dragster motor for..? 10 minutes? it would probably overheat and seize. if you run a 200 hp chevy truck for 10 minutes, the heater would just be getting warm. i consider that your sacrificing power, for longivity when buying a new honda. if i invest 8500$ in a new atv I dont want to invest another 1500 in parts, or repair bills. i hope you buy the new rincon. no offense, heres my ratings: Honda 5 star out of 5, kawasaki 3 stars (bruteforces fault, buddy owns one and its blowed up 4 times) suzuki, same as kawasaki as i've found they run good, but around 6000 miles they start smoking) polaris, i just dont like, i've never rode one so i wont rate, and yamaha is up there with honda, but in a huge atv like the grizz, you spend 8500$ to get a CVT transmission. the honda has the most advanced transmission on the market, that is still CVT. please excuse me for ranting and raving about other brands. i just love hondas.

i own: 2 yamahas, 1 honda, 1 suzuki, 1 arctic cat. and when i get the money, a new rincon. lol

 

It wasn't that many years ago when a 350 ATC was a bigger ATV.

Still, if Honda were to come out with an IRS V-twin with low range, I'd probably snag one.

 

You know Honda is a giant company and their team of developers arent retarded. The reason they don't make vtwin diff lock monsters is that the reality of it all is that those machines don't last PERIOD! I have had a 2 vtwins a prairie and a brute which I bought because of people giving them good reviews so I thought the prairie I bought was just a lemon! WELL if you wanna overheat blow motors and OMG kawasaki has the worst 4x4 engagement system I have ever witnessed and a whole rap sheet of other things that go wrong with them. The only thing those vtwin monster quads do(besides the can ams really but those are pretty pricey!) is go fast in a straight line thats it! I might be ranting at this point but whatever.. I mean seriously belt drive trans? That crap only exists because polaris decided to put a half assed snowmobile engine in a quad and people were like wow no gears I don't even have to shift jeepers thats FUN!!! That belt drive stuff is so lazy on the development side its nuts they do it so they can keep charging people for belts and springs and whatever else. Not to mention that rediculous WHERRING WHERRING sound they all make WTF IS THAT?? As soon as another comapny besides honda decides to make a real tranny people are gonna go wow this is better Hmmmm. Anyway thanx for reading hehehe PEACE!!!!