Longgun,
I see you have no location under your name and no profile to see. You may want to put in a general location so folks close to you can let you in on a deal. I got my 03 when the 700's were out for 5825.00 out the door at http://www.smithbrothersoneonta.com/ in Alabama. I believe he is out. He will come off of MSRP though. Search your but off for a new 650 to save 12 to 1300.00.
On the Rincon, why I did not even go look at one, is my buddies head lights and fenders are banged up pretty bad due to no bumper type protection. The racks are super small. The tires have worn out pretty fast also. No low range and a no locker front end.
I had a 2000 Kodiak Auto 4X4 that kept letting me down with the Un-Limited slip front Diff. I believe the Yamaha is the worst out there. When I first got it I nosed up to a tree in some top soil in 4X4 and dug 4 little holes. At first it only let me down when the wheel needing traction was in a real bind. Feathering the front brake would work only 25% of the time. The last time I rode it the diff slipped on a flat, steep incline on moist hard Pak. It put me and the quad in a dangerous position. I trailer'd it home and never rode it again. I took the P650 to that same location and did not even have to pull the lock lever. When I have had to pull it, it's like be ready, your going to move.
To me, if you are going to produce a 4X4 ATV it should have a locking option and at least disc brakes. Why will Honda not loose the drums?
I believe the evaluation statement of a magazine test "The RV of 4 Wheelers" really applies to the Rincon.

 

I love my kawi...and i beat the crap outta it..

 

thank you. your point is well taken.

 

I'll try to figure the profile thing out. I'm in Denver Colorado

 

I just wanted to say that you are very wise to do this kind of research before a 7k purchase. This is what will keep you from regretting your decision.

As far as your question goes, I have some but minimal insight. My grandpa owns a 2002 Prarie 650. I have ridden a 1997 Wolverine for most of my riding experience. Personally, I jump on the Prarie and I'm not that impressed with its power. Maybe I'm not used to that big of a machine, but when I slam the throttle that 650 V-twin should make me hold on for my life. It doesn't.... My 350 air cooled Wolverine does however just because it is so much lighter. I've cruised that Prarie around it just doesn't do much for me. I must again say, this is personal opinion talking. These guys probably will BEG to differ, and I respect that.

I have 25" tires on my Wolv and it will go anywhere that the Prarie will, sometimes it seem more places. I've went through holes on the Wolv then had to change my grandpa seats to get his Prarie out of the same ruts! I know, a LOT of that is rider, but still.... that thing should be amazing and it just doesn't seem to be to me. I think if I was looking at one though, I would definitely look at the Arctic Cat that is using the same 650 V-twin but that is using independant rear suspension. It seems to have a little better in everything. I think it would probably ride better, mud better, and do the sideways stuff better as well. The only thing about the IRS is that it won't turn quite the same, won't jump the same, etc.... depends on what you are doing with it for that decision. I don't know much about the Rincon at all, only seen a few running around and never heard a complaint, but again they haven't been that impressive either from what I've seen. A guy on one was watching me mud one day and had never seen or heard of a Wolverine! He couldn't believe what it could do because his huge (in comparison) mud machine was about equally capable and I was riding a little 350! I think the main problem is that both of these bikes are severely corked up and have soo much untapped power potential. But I do wonder how their auto trannies and belt drives take it when you do open them up a little? These guys know better than me, surely.

Neither the Prarie or the Rincon are the bike for me, I am sure of that. I think before I bought the Prarie I would have the new AC. I think if I wanted a bike to last forever, I would buy a Honda. I've never seen or heard of one quitting on anyone. I have a friend with a mid or late 80s 250x that starts first kick no matter what kind of hell he puts it through. We do quite a bit of riding in the hills of West Virginia, and that is seriously Honda stinkin central. The only reason is reliability. Those guys ride quads to the grocery store man. EVERYONE down there that we ride with rides a Honda. It's rediculous to see it. You would think they had a Honda hill-riding sponsorship. If you ask them why, it all comes down to reliability. The nearest dealer is probably a 2 hour trip through the winding hillside roads - they don't want to make the trip very often, so they only go when they want a new one and make sure they buy a Honda so they don't have to go unless that is the reason.

Wise man, doing his research. I applaud that and hope you find the right bike for you.

 

Thanks Thomez, I've been looking at the arctic cats and the grizzly too, but still come back to the prairie . If Honda did the changes it needs to do to the Rincon, I'd have a more difficult decision to make. I really like all of the features of the Prairie, for my uses, but I want it to be bullet proof and reliable. I don't mind changing belts occasionally , but the overheating and other complaints make me leary. My neighbor has a rubicon and is going to let me take it out for a ride, it wouldn't be my first choice but it fits my bill closer than the rincon. That is yet another contender. I may even wait another 8 months and see what is on the drawing board for 2005. My daily driver is a 1974 BMW 2002, it has 354,000 miles on the origional engine with a new set of rings. I like my machines to last and last. I guess I'm cheap that way.

 

I know what you mean. I drive a Toyota truck, my mom drives a Toyota 4-Runner, my dad a Camry, my grandpa a T-100 and a Sienna, my aunt a Lexus, etc.... we drive Toyotas because in our experience, they are THE most reliable machines on earth. I don't think any of us have ever been left stranded. If my grandpa sees a Toyota on the side of the road he doesn't even consider that it has quit - he comments that the driver must have ran out of gas and looks for them on the side of the road to see if they could use a ride to the station.

My Wolverine, bulletproof. Enough said. Never had a problem, ever. And I ride the **** out of it. I do so because it CAN take it and it's more fun that way. If I wanted something to baby I'd adopt one. That isn't what a quad is about.

What is it that the Prarie has that the new AC doesn't? I don't know of anything off hand...

 

Your toyota analogy is great. I agree that those particular vehicles are really reliable. There are some of that group that are lemons and will be plagued with problems, but the majority of those toyotas have established a stalwart reputation. Now is the Prairie one of those atv's. I started this post by asking about the percentages of postings between Kawi and Honda and the number of complaints accordingly. Man... I still see overheating and belt postings. Come on Kawi engineers get your stuff together. I don't want to buy a marketing campaign, I want a solid machine.

 

I don't know if he has been around lately, but the user "puttputt" seems to know quite a bit about the Kawi 650's problems. I believe he might have posted some of them in the thread in the Arctic Cat section about the new 650. If you were interested in what he thought you could send him a PM. I don't hear about nearly as many Honda problems as Kawi problems, but it is hard to tell too I guess. I don't own either so I would think others could tell you better. Although they will almost always tell you that what they have is a better machine. Very few will admit they made the wrong decision when buying an ATV.

 

Here is another comparison. Ford came out with their new 6 liter diesel. I am a big diesel fan and would like to buy a crew cab in the ford f-350 because I feel it is a solid truck overall. But the new 6 liter was so plagued with problems from injectors to trannys and leaks that I'm going to wait. The dealerships are in denile about any problems but yet they are buying them back in record numbers. They do offer supposed fixes, but all have proven to be dismall failures. I'm waiting until the problems are all fixed, or someone comes out with a better truck