so you are saying it's impossible to get a belt wet on a kawasaki, that's not what i'm reading, if i was looking for anew quad and read about all these belt issues on ALL BELT DRIVE QUADS i sure wouldn't buy one, i think we should have a pole. which trans is more reliable, belts or gears? i get the feeling you think i hate kawi's, i don't at all, i just can't see a belt system being as reliable as gears. i think kawasaki has some of the best features out there, like a bulletproof braking system, and the diff-lock is virtualy foolproof and works perfect. i can't deny the 650 is the strongest quad out there, if only they would build a foot-shift version of it, their sales would sky-rocket. i think you will agree that the only reason some people are buying other brands is because of the clutch and belt problems. for guys like us that do their own maintanance it's no big deal, but some people don't have a clue what their doing, so even the things that seem like nothing to us scare the crap out of them, so they buy something else. i sure enjoy these discusions, no harm intended honest!

 

so you are saying it's impossible to get a belt wet on a kawasaki, that's not what i'm reading, if i was looking for anew quad and read about all these belt issues on ALL BELT DRIVE QUADS i sure wouldn't buy one, i think we should have a pole. which trans is more reliable, belts or gears? i get the feeling you think i hate kawi's, i don't at all, i just can't see a belt system being as reliable as gears. i think kawasaki has some of the best features out there, like a bulletproof braking system, and the diff-lock is virtualy foolproof and works perfect. i can't deny the 650 is the strongest quad out there, if only they would build a foot-shift version of it, their sales would sky-rocket. i think you will agree that the only reason some people are buying other brands is because of the clutch and belt problems. for guys like us that do their own maintanance it's no big deal, but some people don't have a clue what their doing, so even the things that seem like nothing to us scare the crap out of them, so they buy something else. i sure enjoy these discusions, no harm intended honest!

 

sascach where in northern canada do you ride, maybe we could hook-up sometime so i wouldn't have to go alone . i live in central alberta and ride in the rocky mountains and foot hills.

 

nothing is impossible... you can get the belt wet however it is recommended to keep it dry... If you get water in your clutches though and you know how the bike responds you can drive it out with water in your belt, not to the point of sunking but by that point my carbs would be bring in water[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-frown.gif[/img] There is no question in my mind that gears are more reliable than belts; however the belt does not make an auto tranny ATV unreliable on one run. With regular maintance and a little advice you will never have to worry, I was in your shoes when I jumped from gears to belt. Checking/adjusting your belt is no biggy infact you could switch it quite easly if you wanted to with out a clue of what you are doing. I've been running an auto tranny for over 5 years and I will not go back to standard shift because it never let me down, in the deep snow and in the rough stuff you are always in the right gear and the power is always there. Out of all the biking I've done I only seen one polaris towed home because of a broken belt and when I seen that bike I know it was abused and mistreated so keep that in mind. I do not do any maintance on mine even though I know what to do, that's what I pay my dealer for! As for the pleasure in these fourms; no I don't like the fourms where I need to straighting out the facts I like the fourms that are accurate and helpfull, but I feel someone with less knowledge than you and me are trying to get some facts out of this fourm. I'll make the poll for you I made one last night aswell.

 

he he he he, you should get a light quad that you can simply lift out of the water....no need for useless diffs or anything like that.....i have been able to take my mojave just about anywhere that any of my freinds can take there big 4x4s......less maintenece, cheaper, not to mention your gonna get hurt if that heavy thing rolls over on ya in the woods, whos gonna lift it off ya if your ridin alone.....i can throw my quad off me before the oil spills into the airbox......how bout you..........

 

check the polls "The BELT question For ToyTech"
[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

 

I have been riding ATV's since I got my first one in 88 and have no real brand loyalty. I have owned Kawa, Yahama, Honda, and Polaris products int thg past. Myself and my buddies have had them all over the years. I have to put my .2 cents in here.

I and I think most would Agree that honda is and has been the most reliable brand over the years. The 300 and 450 foreman series are virtually indistructable.

One of the great points of these bikes is their simplicity and low maintenance.

However, this was originally about a Rincon and a P650. The rincon is not a typical honda. It has IRS, which as more moving parts to tear up, and an exotic (unproven) car like, auto tranny, which would cost a fortune to replace if it goes down out of warranty. Like at 10,000 miles or something. You could buy a nice atv for what a new replacement rincon tranny would cost from the dealer. Plus it has no commonalty of parts with other honda models. You won't find many good deals on parts in the aftermarket. Like you would for a Foreman 450.

Not to mention it vibrates a lot more than any other honda, and has terrible engine braking. I have ridden one and I was very disappointed.

I am also I big fan of manual shift, and I think its much better than auto.
I wish the P650 was a manual, however after having mine for a month or so, I have grown to like the automatic. If you have the black spring the belt should last a long time.

My dream quad would be a Prairie 650 manual, but a Prairie 650 auto is still better than any thing else.

I know this I was visting my dealer a couple of weeks ago, I just bought my p650 used, and wanted the dealer to look it over, I was asking him about the reliablity issue. He let me ride a prairie he had in for service around the parking lot. I This bike had 794 hrs and almost 8,000 miles the dealer said he had changed one belt on the bike. He had installed the black spring early on. My dealer sells, and always suggest the black spring. He said this was the second time he had the bike in for service, (first time was belt) and that he just replaced something in the rear diff. The dealer went on to say that this was probably from the fact that the owner had never changed the rear diff fluid. He said he thinks the prairie 650 is the best engineered quad kawasaki has ever made.

I would much rather change a belt every 3,000 miles or so, or even a clutch on the Prairie then try and change or work on that tranny on the rincon. If you a do it yourself er forget it on the rincon. The rincon is not even well liked in my area, where honda probably has 70% market share in ATV's, and Honda is god. If honda stops making these in a couple of years, (because they don't sell well or are not reliable as other honda models.) People who own this odd ball IRS, auto honda, are going to be really screwed, cause parts for the tranny and rear end will be hella expensive.

With the huge populatrity of the p650 just look at this board, look at the sales data, parts will always be cheap and widely available.

If reliablity is by far your #1 priority and you care about no other factor, get a 450 forman, maybe a front locker, and put some 27 inch tires on it. nice.

If you want the best sport/utility big bore quad get the prairie 650, the black spring and some new tires. You will not regret it, reliability is excellent and its so much damn fun to ride. Just like a sport quad.

Good luck with whatever you do,.

 

kawi650 thanks for making the pole. you sure replyed fast, it took me half an hour to 1 finger my way throuh the last post. i gota get some typing lessons. what do you think of auto tranys in the 350-400 class? enough power? the reason i ask is i drove a kodiac 400 last week and was very disapointed with the performance, and it's suposed to be one of the best in it's class. have you driven a 350 to 400 auto? what is your average maintanance bill at your dealer? ihave no clue, i do all my own work. it would be nice to know for all who don't do their own work.

 

hey LETCHER i think we are on to something. let's design a manual trans for the p650 and make millions!

 

the thing about getting a supposedly better reiliable honda 450 or 500 you spend about the same money as a 650Priarie makes no sense rather drive a 650 stck then the hondas with tires the power alone is worth the diff.I got stuck in the snow the other day and no way would I have gotten out with my hondas I had and my old arctic cat 454 all had aftermarket tires but the priarie stock 10 times the bike. thats my 2cents[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]