What manufacturer still controls the majority of the ATV market. I think just about everyone knows the answer. If you do not know it will be easy to find out.
As Texmudder said, "you will find nothing but bashing here". Asking a question like you asked leaves the door wide open for the bashers to come out of the woodwork.
I know it is a tough decision when you will be spending your hard earned money to purchase one of these machines. I have owned a 99 Sportsman and now own a Rubicon. Both are very good machines. However, I prefer the Rubicon for the way I ride and for the way I use it and for Honda's reputation.
Since you will be riding the quad you buy, take your time and ride both. Talk to mechanics in your area and get their input. You might want to visits other forums and read what problems other riders are having with their quads. Decide what you want and what is the best quad for you, not what someone tells you to get. Just my opinion.

 

quadfather,

some things never change, and you'll always continue to bash in Honda forum. Some day you to will realize that Polaris is a worthless machine to defend. We're all bored with you - go away!

 

Rancheres: You always take negative facts about Honda as bashing. You need to see a certified Psychiatrist for your inferior complex. I gave my review of my first Rubicon ride a couple weeks ago, and stated that I was impressed with the machine. But everyone knows it can't compete with the Sportsman. At least I didn't say that Honda sucks, as the person above my post said about Polaris. Why don't you take up stamp collecting, and quit flaunting your ignorance on this forum?

 

About the disc brake/drum brake thing.. Yeah disc brakes are better, and I wish my rancher had disc brakes, but look at the craftsmanship on the brakes on Polaris'.. I was riding with my friends dad and he drove into a log and it ripped the brake unit right off! Look on the Polaris how there are so many exposed wires and tubes just out in the open to get ripped off.. You cant deny it, man, the Honda is built better.. Yeah the SP has advantages over the Rubicon, but look at the quality.. Do you want to buy a quad and have to repair it all the time? No, then it wouldnt be fun.

Go with the Honda.
(No bashing intended, I used to have a Polaris)

 

That's wierd, I ride with no less than six Polaris', most of our riding is very technical, tight woods riding, and even blazing our own trails. I've yet to see wires, or tubes ripped off of a machine. No break problems either. As a matter of fact, only one of the Polaris' has had a problem in the last three years, and it's an old, beat to crap '94. Maybe we got a bad batch of quads or something, 'cause they never break down like you guys claim they always do.

On another note, each and every Honda owner I ride with has had at least one major thing go wrong with his/her quad. Funny thing is, it's usually on a quad that is less than a year old. No quad is perfect, and like the old saying goes, if it's got breasts or tires, it'll give you problems sooner or later. No bashing intended, just the plain facts.

 

Rubicon for me! I rode both and found the Honda the best. You must balance the unknown honda tranny against the Polaris questionable reliability. I ride with a sportsman owner and both quads get stuck. It always seems I am pulling him out. I attribute this to his "hit the hole hard" riding style against my steady as it goes and you can always back out. Rubicon does have its down side to. I miss the 2wd/4wd option, but it seems highlifter may fix this. On the other hand, the polaris still leak water on to the belt if you are in deep enough and long enough and I have seen this be its achiles heal in the mud. Good luck

 

OK Guys, I have one quad from each manufacturer, The Polaris is a 1000% more fun to ride that the honda ( does someone want to jump in here and tell me how much better the TRX300FW is than anything that polaris builds? ). The next quad I buy won't be full time 3 wheel drive or have an electronic controlled transmission. I can work on belts and sheaves. It's a simple system once you get it apart and look at it.
I've put the polaris through stuff I wouldn't dream of putting the honda through. Even my wife would rather ride the Scrambler than the "red garden tractor".
Any of you die hard Honda lovers want to buy a near showroom condition TRX 300FW so that I can make the "same mistake twice" and buy a 500 Sportsman or Magnum?
I'll bring enough rope to pull you out, and I won't even get my boots muddy.

 

Quadfather, the thing that will slow your quad down is a brake, not a "break". As for the disc vs. drum issue, Honda still uses drum brakes because they last longer, not because they're cheaper to make. I've yet to see anyone who has had a set of disc brake pads last longer than a year when the quad was used in a lot of dirt and mud. I've never known anyone who's had to replace a honda drum brake shoe. The hondamatic transmission is hardly unproven, a variation of it was used on a honda motorcycle in the mid 1960's. Honda may "make a bundle on those replacement units" but I doubt it. I'd bet the barn and the buick that rubicon owners will get a lot longer useful lifespan out of the rubicon's transmission than any of the belt driven CVT units on the market. In any case I find it hard to fault a company that develops a product with the intention of improving upon a questionable design like that of a belt driven CVT, especially considering all the weaknesses the belt driven design has demonstrated over it's lifespan. It's about time someone came out with an improvement.

Both the sportsman and the rubicon have their own strengths. If you want a quad that gives you the utmost performance at the expense of reliability then get the polaris. If you want a quad that gives the utmost reliability at the expense of a small bit of performance and features then get the honda. As you can tell from my name, I use my quad for hunting. I place a premium upon reliability and don't really care if my quad gets me there 10 seconds before the other guy. The honda always starts and always gets me where I want to go without any reliability questions. Most of the fellows at my deer camp also drive hondas for the same reasons. The one guy at camp that drives a polaris admits that honda's are better, but he got a year old polaris for half the price of a new model so he couldn't turn it down. The last time he was at camp he had the recoil starter rope zip tied to the frame because it wouldn't retract and it wouldn't start the next morning when we went to get on stand. I carried him to his stand on my honda.

 

I don't get all of the "unreliable and breakage prone" trash about the Polaris'. I beat the tar out of mine and have modded the snot out of it as well. The brake pads are original, and I'm pretty heavy handed with the brakes, I tend to brake late going into the corners and do alot of hill riding.
The only problems I've had has been connected with taking a 38 horse mill and bumping the output to the 55 - 60 hp level.
The belt is the one they put in it in MN, and doing fine thank you.
At least Polaris will upgrade their product line on an almost yearly basis. They improved the brake system, the steering bushing, and installed the 500 HO in the Sportsman. Better than "Bold New Graphics" and a new color of plastic.
Hunter, I am in a hunting camp outside of Thomasville, AL. just over the Line. Maybe I'll see you at Ezell's Fish Camp one weekend.

 

Captnemo, that's a good area for a hunting camp, there are some good deer in that area. Mentioning Ezell's gets me in the mood for some catfish. The original Ezell's was about 10 miles up the road from me in Chunky, MS. We've got a couple of great fish camps around my area, I think I owe it to myself to visit one of them this weekend.