This message is to anyone else who reads DIRTWHEELS magazine.


In the December issue DIRTWHEELS did a so called 'shootout' of the Rincon to the Prairie and Grizzly and in doing so demonstrated that their objectivity (or their ability to use it) is slipping.

Admittedly, they are entitled to their opinion, however, whether their opinion is based on false interpretation of data gained from test riders, or filtered through an editor with an agenda, I don’t know (don’t care).

The Honda Rincon is in a class all by itself with respect to handling. I have put substantial seat time on both other machines and they handle fine, however, they just can’t compare to the smooth and confidence building ride of the Rincon. The configuration of the rear suspension components and their relationship with the front suspension provides unparalleled action and ride. Their suspension system has raised the bar in a big way. If we are lucky other manufactures will use the Rincon suspension as a guide stick in the future designs of their systems.

I have never been more surprised while reading DIRTWHEELS magazine. To read that they put the Honda Rincon after the Grizzly in handling and smoothness was shocking to say the least. While the Grizzly system is nice, IT IS TOO TALL! Not to mention the STIFF SPRUNG REAR END that forces the excellent front to earn all the marks. The ride suffers and is not even close to matching the high or low speed action of the system on the Rincon.

And as for the engine braking: DIRTWHEELS wrote that Honda should go back to the drawing board! That was an abusive and irresponsible statement to say the least.

If we define engine braking as the ability of the engine to slow down the machine, their system does indeed live up to their claim. I CAN SKID THE TIRES USING ONLY ENGINE BRAKING BY DOWNSHIFTING FROM TOP GEAR!

The fact that their system only slows the machine down to around 8 mph has nothing to do with poor design and everything to do with gearing. By nature of their 3-speed transmission (which is flawless), first gear is rather tall and is capable of taking the machine up to around 25 mph before hitting second.

By nature of this tall first gear, the engine rpm can only dive so low before hitting idle speed and 1st gear can no longer slow the machine down.

Leaving any other auto-clutch 5 speed tranny in 2nd or 3rd and see how slow the engine slows that machine down.

This seems like ATV 101 stuff that the DIRTWHEELS folks should know already.

Honda’s win at Baja 1000 didn’t happen simply because they were backed by American Honda (though a big factor), it was also due to the superb handling, rider friendly transmission, and smooth power that is typical of Honda. If someone want's to argue that the flipping Rincon was highly modified, and that is the only reason that they won, well so is every other flipping machine in the race!

If anyone should go back to the drawing board, it is the author(s)/editors at DIRTWHEELS who have allowed their impatience with Honda to leak into the pages of an otherwise fine example of an ATV magazine.

Buying the Rincon was almost as good a decision as the decision made by HONDA to build it.

Sincerely,

Wily
Fairbanks, Alaska

'86 Honda ATC200X
'98 Yamaha Wolverine
'03 Honda Rincon



-------------------------
Wilber

 

I'll second that...Dirt Wheels is off thier rocker...while I understand that such a test is going to be biased by rider preference I find it hard to believe most of thier match-ups...the are the ATV magazine equivilant to the national enquirer. Bad information most the time...wreckless info the rest of the time



BRAAAAP

 

To add insult to injury, read their description of the Rincon in their 2003 models spread. ALL of the other machines listed their strength, and their paragraphs were complimentary, but the Rincon's was just plain a slap in Honda's face...

 

Maybe DW is just as pi$$ed as many on this forum about Honda's failure to release a state-of-the-art sport quad. If that's it, they should just say so. Or maybe in their professional opinion, it sucked, and they called it like they saw it.

 

I'm a professional too. I think (having 2 Rincons) that making the statement that the Rincon sucks is saying you have not spent much time on one.
Not much else compares.

 

By nature of this tall first gear, the engine rpm can only dive so low before hitting idle speed and 1st gear can no longer slow the machine down - Wilber

Wasn't this pretty much the same complaint made by Dirtwheels?

While I agree the article was overly harsh for what I'm sure is a fine ATV (I've only seen a Rincon in the showroom, not on the trails) The way I read this article is that Dirtwheels did go against the "usual" trend of endorsing the latest and newest. IIRC, their complaints centered on two areas - 1. Acceleration and "drag" results against the P650 and Griz and 2. Less engine braking as compared to the others.

I think the harshness of the article comes about due to expectations of recent R&D trends where a new model is introduced that is just a little better in several areas than it's best competitor. Case in point lately is Suzuki ie - Ozark vs Recon, Eiger vs Rancher, Z vs EX. In each case a long running class leader was dethroned by another excellent ATV - one that just happened to have maybe 1/2" more suspension, 1/8th of a second faster time etc. Small things that quite frankly don't mean very much in the real world but will always show up in a side by side test where only one will be declaired the winner. I think the Rincon failed in this area. I bet it's an awsome bike. It's definately in a different class - what was it called?? the SUV ATV? But what it did not do was outperform the competition on a point to point basis. New models are expected to at least be a little better all around than the older competition, if they fail to do that the natural tendency would be the harsh response in Dirtwheels.

I understand the concept of doing the shootouts and I get a lot of information from them. However, I do not believe that many of the small performance differances really matter.

Jaybee

 

I was informed last Tuesday by my Honda field Rep that the Rincon used in this shootout had EXACTLY 2 miles on it,while the other big bores were completely broken in ATVs.If so,shame on Honda!They know it takes about 200 miles before their Rinny wakes up.

I dont buy Dumb Wheels.They have presented false facts/stats on many ATVs in the past and they do NOTHING to correct their mistakes in the next issue.Say what you want about the Rinny,I like mine alot and am very happy with my choice.

Bill

 

That break in time is VERY important, and if what you say is true than the rincon didn't have a fair chance. I find it hard to believe that some people tie p650's and sometimes even beat them in a drag race (remember KNOWSALOT, he tested a rincon, and a p650 behind his dealer, they tied from a start with no rpm's, but when they built up rpm's from the start, then he said the rinny won) and in DW they showed a pic of the rincon a mile back! that tooooo much of a speed diference!! just don't make sense!

 

I think Honda should start producing golf carts instead of atv's. I was on the waiting list for the Rubicon when it came out(because of all the hyp about it being such a awesome quad)and had it for 2 months before I got rid of it. Sounds like the Rincon is just about as big as a flop as the rest of Honda's quads have been lately. Its time Honda get real and make a descent quad that they are capable of making.

 

I think the big gripe about the engine braking came about because they were expecting something the likes of the Rubicon (best engine braking around - all the way down to 1 or 2 MPH) and in comparason, it didn't slow the quad down enough.
If the machine wasn't broken in properly, that really wasn't DW's fault. If the other bikes were delivered to them broken in, and the Rinny wasn't, that was an instance of Honda dropping the ball. As for the race results, they have to go with what they get.

I applaud the Rincon for completing the Baja 1000. From what I understand, the drivetrain was modified very little, what got the attention was the suspension (tuned as close to perfection as possible). I wouldn't brag too much about the WIN, though, because from what I understand, it was the only machine entered in it's class. Just finishing is one heck of an accomplishment, though.

Farmr