#1 Only 2 headlights, how do they perform?
#2 What about fuel usage, hours/tankful?
#3 That shuttle lever for selecting forward/reverse, if you come to a halt in a high forward gear, can you get reverse straight away?
If I'm rounding up stock on the 450, say in 3rd gear, and have to quickly select reverse, by the time the gears shift all the way back to neutral and then into reverse, the stock have long gone, opinions?
#4 When in 2wd, do you have a noticeably tighter turning circle tarmac & turf?

Thanks.

 

1. brightest headlights i have seen on a quad.
2. not sure about the hours per tank, depends on the rider, terrain, etc. i figure i can go at least 100 miles on a tank riding fairly hard.
3. yes, there is no delay caused by downshifting. when you break, the quad automatically downshifts. when you stop, it returns to 1st (if in auto) or remains in the gear if using ESP. if in ESP, still no delay going to reverse.
4. yes. 4wd increases the circle and the turns are much tighter in 2wd on tarmach, turf, gravel and rock.

 

i pretty much agree with kford. I don't know if I've gotten 100 miles out of a tank of gas yet, but I normally hit a few mud pits along the way so that tends to eat up a little more gas than usual. i can probably get 70 or 80 out of a tank before switching over to reserve and heading back. the headlights are like a car's headlights. at least my wife's little car. ;-) you can always get to reverse immediately as long as you are not moving. probably then too but I don't wanna tear up my transmission so I pretty much hit a dead stop before pulling it back. it's just like driving an automatic car. D for drive and R for reverse.

 

I agree with everything that they have said. Headlights have a pretty wide beam that takes up the whole trail.
And on the gas thing. I ride with a lot of Foreman 450's and I usually can ride almost twice as far without filling up.
~Tim

 

Thanks Folks, we're getting there slowly.

Trying to come up with sufficient reasons to bust the bank again.

Rincon's won't be in Ireland until 2004, checked with dealer yesterday.

Word among the dealers is that Honda have an ocean of Rubicon 500's to sell yet,
all locked up in permanent 4wd.

If they retrofitted them with Traxlok, they would sell themselves.
They are fast becoming the "must-haves" for any self respecting farmer,
much like the horse to a cowboy.

But farmers ain't dim,
they've scrubbed enough tyres,
and want switchable 4wd.

Please don't get annoyed if I keep asking more questions from time to time [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

went for a long ride on the rincon today. started with the fuel topped off and a 5 gal. can on the rack. 81 miles later i got the sputter and hit the reserve. looks like ramblinman was correct on the fuel range. funny thing was, the fuel gauge was still showing one bar above the red (reserve) when the engine started to die. a few minutes after that, it finally hit the red on the gage. next time i head out i will run it dry just to know how far i can go. am guessing that the reserve might round out to the 100 mile range i would hope for. add that to the 5 gallons in the jug and you got yourself a nice ride.

 

Speaking of the fuel gauge,
did Honda get around to illuminating it on the Rincon
to make it easier to keep an eye on after night?

 

yes, it is lit up nicely when the lights are turned on.

 

Thanks again folks, will keep y'all posted as to developments.
My 450 works hard but is kept in mint condition.
Just did a repair on choke cable,
and tightened up front brakes.
Other than that, it's a gem.
If the 450 is this good the Rincon must be awesome.

Honda have really done the Rubicon a dis-service by not making it factory available with Traxlok.
As I said in a previous post, shipping 3rd party parts to Ireland is a no-no, tax, tax and more tax.

Happy motoring [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

kford, mine also had a bar remaining when it ran out. kinda strange, but I guess they have them all set up that way. I didn't ride long enough on reserve to find out how far it would take me.