HI GUY'S:
I just finished reading the June Issue of Atv Rider. There is a shootout at Smoky Mountains with the following machines...Artic Cat 500, Suzuki Vinson 500, Grizz660, Pol700, Kawi P650, Bomb Quest650, and the Honda Rincon650. I flip through the article to see where each machine finished, and went on to read the article. 7th place was the Artic Cat...not a whole lot of good said about it. 6TH was the Quest...good and bad , but mostly good. 5th was the Pol700...They actually said the tires were too hard and unyeilding to give much positive traction. They also said it didn't seem to have enough muscle for the big hillclimbs!!! Not enough tourqe!!! I think otherwise. 4th was the Grizz660...Great handling ,power,and suspension...plushest of all. Great engine braking,but bad steering. 3rd was the Vinson...They liked the Vinson alot in fact if the engine was a little larger it probably would have won. Here's where I almost fell out of my chair. The KawiP650 was 2nd. Ok...fine lets read on. They said a couple things like the suspension wasn't the best for very rocky terrain. Ok fine, but then they said the engine braking was too much! And they also said some testers found the front a little too willing to roll over in off cambers!!!??? But the rest was glowing and I quote "In the loose , steep.power sapping trails of the smoky mountains the Kawi was a real ringer. When forging up freshly snowed-on passes, there was only one machine that led the way: The Prairie. Between the easy to use diff-lock and power that never quit, if the Prairie wasn't getting up the hill, nothing was- except the tank like Quest". In the opinions section where the 7 testers got to say what they thought of each machine...the Kawi was the machine with the most good things said. Yet the Honda Rincon was awarded 1st place. Now I have no problem with that IF they can show me why. Basicaly they loved the handling. They did say the suspension was great as well. But thats it! What about the power, braking and such. Well they said it felt more like the 500's in power...In fact they said the Vinson seemed to have more pull up the big hills. The transmission got mixed reviews. They said , on the wide open land ...it(rincon was strickly mid-pack. In the opinons section...5 of the testers said the Rincon needed more power...one even said it offered as much excitement as a merry-go-round. In this section the testers raved about the Prairie...2 said they would modify the suspension some. But other than that they loved it. The brakes were "better than any other" the power was "by far the most powerful". The Rincon was knocked for not having enough power for a 650. The Rincon was awarded 1st based on it's handling and suspension alone. The Rincon tires were guilty of 3 flats out of 6. (The Quest2 the Grizz1) Yet one tester said the Rincons tires belong on every atv!?!? The" frame rails on the Rincon got hammered, though the more critical components escaped damage" due to lack of skid-plating. They said Drum brakes are for vintage racers, not expensive atvs. No mention of how they performed , or the lack of engine braking...I would think brakes are important in the mountains. They mentioned the other bikes brakes. I read the article with an open mind...but as I read it I had to look at the Authors name. Billy Bartels...In the opinions section everyone else loved the P650. He said all of "big motor,subpar high-speed handling" he basicaly ranked the P650 6th just ahead of the Arctic Cat! I the looked in the front of the magazine...guess who the Editor is...BILLY BARTELS...big suprise. It was his 6th place ranking that put the P650 in 2nd over-all. Everyone else ranked the P650 1st or 2nd. There was one who ranked it 3rd but even he said he had the most fun on it. Thanks Billy for your CREDIBLE article. Next time a bike wins a shoot-out...try this...tell us why it deserves it. All the shoot-outs the P650 has won were because it has the Most power, It's the Quickest, Best brakes, great engine braking, best climber, great diff-lock, awesome stability off-cambers due to its low centre of gravity, most sport, great ride, great controls and features, and the ability to be a top notch work horse. At least it was credible. Oh well, I guess once again $$$ wins the shootout. Read it and weep!

PS: I sound biased...I am! I also had a couple drinks.Ha Ha!

ROB

 

They say it FEELS like the Rincon has less power, which it does because is so smooth !!!!!

They said the same in another shoot out , but after the radar runs only the prairie had more power but all the testers said the grizzly felt faster because all the noises they make!

Later

Mark

 

Everything that they said just may be true, but for now, the Prairie 650 is the quad against which all others are measured. I would have to agree with the smooth ride and the ground clearance complaints, but everything else about the 650 is simply world class. As for the engine breaking remark, obviously, they don't know how to properly handle the 650 yet, or that would simply not be a concern. It does take some getting used to going down a hill and pushing on the gas to slow down, but I wouldn't have it any other way!

 

I agree that the Prairie is a excellent performing atv.

Mark

 

Which manufacturer had the most advertisement in the magazine?

 

Goattrotter:
The mag said..."Although peppy (Rincon), it felt more like the 500's than the 650 classers. Due to the supple ride it always seemed slower than it was". But went on to say..."even the smaller 500cc Suzuki seemed to have more pull up the big hills". "Hondas one missing ingredient is the one it's closest rival (P650) has in spades...POWER". In the opinions section 5 of the testers said of the Rincon..."I expected a bit punchier power", "Lacks on demand power", The only thing the Honda needs is more power", Somewhat underpowered and not as good as climbing as the Kawasaki", "The Rincon does everything well but offers as much excitement as a merry-go-round". Clearly it is underpowered compared to the other big bores. It's probably an excellent machine...but I have a problem with any big bore winning a OPEN CLASS shootout when it (Rincon) does not have open class power. As for that joker Billy Bartels... for him to suggest the Kawi P650 be in 6th place out of 7 in this shootout is CRAZY!!! He never done his magazine an ounce of credit for this outlandish placement. If he had put the P650 where it belongs...towards the top...it would have won yet another shootout. Especially one where power, braking and stability were so crucial. The P650 was ripped off plain and simple. They said (p650) soaked up the bumps almost as good as the Grizz. Which had the plushest of all suspensions. We in the real world know that the P650 is one of the most stable quads on the planet...due to its low centre of gravity and straight axel. We in the real world also know that the P650 handles like a dream and powerslides around corners like nothing else. So how did Billy Bartels arrive at his shootout decision...PAID OFF THATS HOW!!! The way I see it The Rincon handles better in rough terrain ...everything else its all P650!


ROB

 

they said the rincon was number 1 becasue its the newest quad out. usually if a new quad comes out it should be number one. im dont know atv rider that well but when dirtwheels did a shootout like this i think it was yamaha, kawasaki and the honda and they said they werent impressed with the honda at all they gave it third i belive (havent read the article in awhile) so somthing must be wrong with the judgeing

 

I will never ever buy there mag again!

 

the rincon won??, that's funny, especially when you consider the location where their doing the shootout. The Rincon, for those who have not rode one, has almost no engine braking at all. In the smokey mountains you would ware the brake pads out in a month trying to slow that thing down!! Very steep terrain, plus you would be sliding down every wet rocky hill holding down the brakes and praying.

The rincon tranny also is very bad for this kind of terrain, you can just be riding along on a steep hill and it all of a sudden it just upshift or downshifts out of no where with really no warning.

If they would have had this shoot out in Kansas, Texas or somewhere else with flat terrain this might have been more beliveable.

I think its almost dishonest of that pubilcation recomend this bike in that type of terrain, I ride in similar mountains and most folks I ride with here own honda ATV's. Honda probably has 70% of the local market. A lot of them are die hard honda loyalist and they even they don't like the rincon. I personally know two different honda freaks in my area who preodered the rincon, got it, one sold it and one took it back and traded it for a rubicon. (mostly over engine braking issues)

Also if there including the Vinson why did they not include the Honda rubicon? The rubicon is an a great machine and much better for riding in the smokey mountains area than the rincon. Personally I have rode all the bikes in that shootout other than bombardier and artic cat.

I would take any of them, because of the terrain I ride in over the rincon. The rincon might be a great bike for flat country, but not for the smokies. I do agree with them that the Vinson is a very underrated machine. Bang for the buck its the best ATV out there no doubt. You can buy them here new for under $5,400 hard to beat that price

Whatever your thinking about talk to people on these forms before you buy anything, people generally will be honest with you here and these magazines misrepresent the bikes I can't believe some of the stuff I read in them, I think their afraid to make the manufactures too mad.

 

Well to all you pissed of Kawasaki atvs, you are all mad that Honda kick all other atvs butts. Once again Honda rules. So get over it