Im in the market for a new machine i use it around the farm so i will be pulling wagons and a small cart i built for cutting fire wood i now the forman is more of a work horse real good machine but now i know the 500 forman is still out there but getting older and the power steering real good but they tell me when you want power steering you have to get the rubicon 500 would this be true and is it still a good work horse machine thanks!!!

 

honda just changed the foreman for 2012, it is basically a larger displacement / larger framed rancher. single range and single rear shock now, but liquid cooled and fuel injected. it will still be able to do work, no doubt, but i must admit i love my rubicon in a work environment....

 

Rubicon have a low range there Hondas true work horse, the Foreman's just have a low first gear and like mention are not as beefy as they once were.

I like how Honda calls going from two rear shocks to one a "improvement" when its really a "cost saving" change in reality.

 

The Foreman is a two valve air/oil cooled single with a 5 speed auto-clutch with a granny 1st. The Rubicon is liquid cooled, 4 valve, with a hydrostatic transmission and a sub-transmission with low range. The Foreman can be had in foot shift, or with electric push button shifting. The Rubicon is an automatic, but has a mode where it emulates a manual by letting you "shift" through 5 preset ratios with push buttons.

Seat of the pants wise, both feel to have equal power, and handle very similarly. The hydrostatic unit in the Rubicon is pretty similar to that found in tractors, and it is well suited to heavy pulling, dragging or plowing.

Both have a reputation for long term durability, but, with the Rubicon especially, be sure to use quality oil of the proper specification and change it on schedule. The hydrostatic section in the transmission is ordered as one assembly, and is not cheap.

 

Your right looks like the foreman has not changed except for going from dual shocks to a single. 2012 Honda FourTrax® Foreman® 4x4 ES (TRX®500FE) ATVs

 

Except it lists a throttle body on the 12, where previously it had CV carb...