According to one mag, Honda said they couldn't use the Rubicon tranny and meet their self imposed weight limit of 600 lbs. dry. Do you think they wanted to use it or should have? Seems to me the Rincon's tranny will have a lot less "utility" and not that much more "sport". An auto that can be manually shifted in 5 low gears and 5 high gears compared to an auto that can be manually shifted in 3 gears. Guess we'll have to see.

 

Remember, the Rincon is going to have an automotive style torque converter. Not just 3 fixed ratio's.

 

its the same concept as the king quad, super low, low, and high, or maybe a medium instead of super low, but with a VBT

 

Yep, an 3 speed auto w/ a torque converter - like a GM turbo 350

 

I'm interested to find out how the Rincon will compare to the other big bore auto tranny quads. I read in a a magazine awhile back that the CVT trannies don't work near as well when the engine size increases. The example used by the magazine was the Honda Civic with a CVT from a couple of years ago. From what I hear, it was a big flop.

I hope it turns out to work well, it is the best looking 4x4 quad out there, and Honda usually builds the most reliable quads.

 

The CVT belt drives are used in all the snowmobiles and some of them are around 200 H.P. now, so they can certainly be designed to handle much more H.P. than current ATV's.

 

250rampage, the torque converter is basically the replacement for the clutch. It's not like it acts like a CV transmission, it just allows for some slippage if it's not locked (can the Rincon's TC even lock up?).
The Rincon will be slower with it's 3-speed automatic than it would if it had a 5-speed (or even 4-speed, or probably even a 3-speed!) foot- or electronic-shifted manual. It's got less gear ratios, and all the torque converted will do is provide for SLIPPAGE. Slippage will never make the output shaft of the TC spin faster than the input shaft...

 

Hey Guys,

What about the new AUDI CVT tranny?? Motorweek tested one of their sport cars (high horsepower) and they loved the new CVT. Are they using similar technology?? Does anybody know??

 

Campy, remember that the torque converter, depending on how it's designed, might actually amplify the torque from the engine. That might give the Rincon incredible takeoff acceleration, probably lifting the front end off the ground.

 

Perhaps, but unless it locks, it's still gonna feel just as slushy as any car with a non-locking TC.

I dunno about you guys, but when I'm riding, I like to KNOW that I've hit the gas, not just because the engine revs up, and I can see my speedometer jump... why else do you think I bought a stiffer primary clutch spring?