Is the Honda Rincon a great bike? If not, can anyone tell me the bad things about it.

 

well i now its really fast and it won the baja 1000 it beat rapters, DS650s,banshees i heard its a really good quad the only thing i don't
like about it is the hole quad is plastic.



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250ex
blaster
koadiak
LT80

 

I just got mine about 3 weeks ago and I really like it alot. I just returned from Arkansas yesterday and the bike performed great. I am definitely glad I got it.

Strengths: power, handling, rider comfort, looks
weakness: engine braking downhill at creeping speeds, wasn't bad but could be better

 

Have a friend with one. Nice bike, but a couple things: Suspension is too soft, he bottoms out constantly, Needs a low range, for the money you would think it would have a diff lock.

I think it is a great trail bike, but has issues in the mud and hard aggresive riding.
I would have one right now if it had my rubicon trans. and adjustable suspension.

 

robo
Where in Arkansas did you go riding at.

 

Not true about it not being a good mudder. I am a pretty serious mudder and I run 27"x12" tires on it. It does great! No bike has ever gone thru anything that I haven't. And I have pushed people out of holes and just gone right thru.
I love my Rincon.
~Tim

 

I've had mine for four months, I love it. You have to decide what type of ATV you want though.

I saw the Baja 1000 mentioned again. (no offense pensy) That is an endurance race, not a sprint; So don't get the idea that you'll be lining up on a line with raptors, ds 650's and the like and then doing 1/4 mile races with them. Those are sport macines pure and simple: they're fast and will crush you in acceleration. Also the Rincon is made of mainly Aluminum, not plastic.

If you want to do alot of trail riding in all types of conditons, the Rincon is great. I've been riding in snow and mud for the last two months and I haven't had any problems. I don't mean dustings of snow either. I've rode this thing through stuff right around a foot deep. I had wondered about the lack of low gear or a diff lock when i bought it: I ain't missin nothin'! I've had no traction problems, and if I did, I'd change to mud tires - I think that would clear it up.

If you want to jump, ride wheelies, and race 1/4 mile races, buy a sport machine. I've jumped my Rincon a few times (only a foot or two off ground) for the type of machine it is it jumps nice, but it isn't a raptor by any means. The suspention is soft, and not meant for jumping doubles. You can't take this thing to your local MX park.

The bad stuff: The front brakes are drum brakes. After about the first 100 miles they softend up on me alot. I just need to go in and adjust them, but I have a feeling I'll be adjusting them often. Also the engine braking does not go as low as most would like (holds 8mph). I ride steep stuff -and I don't have that much of a problem with it, that's what the brakes are for. It does slow the engine down and despite numerous articles bashing the engine brake, you get used to it.

The good stuff: Everything else! Rides like a dream! Handles like a dream! Plenty of power, feels great. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

Didnt I read somewhere that the Rincon that was in that Baja race had its engine tweeked? Or was it replaced, I dont remember...

McNasty: The engine braking, so it doesnt slow you down like the rubicon does? That might be a good thing. I was constantly slammed on the front racks if I wasnt paying attention.

I have been doing some shopping around, (shh, dont tell my honda dealer) it seems that even the griz has plastic in places you wouldnt think it should. The front skid plate for one. Granted you can get after market for most quads. Seems that all the (rice burners) try to keep their quads at 600 lbs., makes sence then that there is alot of plastic.

How is the power of the Rincon? I was alittle disappointed with my Rubicon in that respect only. The rubi was a great trial quad but I wished it had more umph.

 

I have yet to ride any utility atvs in the 500+ class besides my own, so for power I can't compare it to anything in the class. I know that there are gobs of bottom end as far as I'm concerend. The rincon is really strange in the fact that you don't have anything close to a granny gear. You can just crawl over & through stuff if you want & there is no high rpm whine of a granny gear. The power is there and usable. Even in ESP my first gear tops out at 15mph. I learned how to use the throttle on this thing pretty efficiently, sometimes you realize that you can back way off the throttle and it just keeps pulling slow but steady.

 

Had my Rincon since Late Sept. Only had 120 miles at Christmas but put 300 on that week. I am very impressed with the machine. I don't miss low gear, but I don't do any heavy towing. Even the front drums aren't bad. I can do endo's on pavement and on the trails I use ESP and slow down by downshifting. The engine braking seems to slow the bike to 7 or 8 MPH. I have gotten the bike to 64 MPH. I spoke to one guy that said he got to 67MPH. But I rode with 13 bikes over th holidays, 11 besides myself 500cc or better. 7 were 650cc or better. I got to go head to head against some griz's, sp700, and a p650. It was tough camparing on an icy dirt road. Some of the bikes had studded tires. But it looks to me like the bikes are evenly matched. Except the Kawi. It is quicker from the bottom to the top. But top speed seems the same. The kawi would get two to three bike lenghts and could get no more. Even at 60 MPH!! One thing that surprised me was the 500HO. I raced one on pavement. A rolling start at 5-10 MPH and we were dead nuts. Off the line I smoked him every time. I also had a couple good drags with a sp700 on a snow covered lake and the 500ho. The Rincon and the 700 took turns winning and the 500 was consistantly last. We both beat him off the line every time and he topped out earlier in the snow(6 inches). The only fair comparison would be all four bikes ( stock), on pavement or dirt, side by side twice and then switch drivers until everyone has tried each bike a couple times. I think the Kawi will win at the strip, but the Rincon would be second off the line. The sp700 has a great top end and the Grizz falls somewhere in that tight knit bunch. But if the Rincon is not at a standstill, it could get beat by the CVT bikes.

I rode a sp700 for about twenty miles. I was not impressed. Much more relaxed ride though. Bottomed out the front about six times. Power is smooth but there doesn't seem to be much. But I think that is because I am not used to a CVT. It is different to ride and not have the motor gain rpm's. The handling is different also. Much more tractor like. I could feel every bump in the front suspension. I had a hard time getting my bike back! We were doing alot of high speed trail riding. We did 150 miles one day. The Rincon has a nice sporty side to it. It rides a little stiffer and handles almost like a sport bike. A great trail bike in my opinion.