Treefarmer,

You make a good point. I didn't consider the size of the tank when I purchased my quads. If I think there will be a gas issue on one of our rides, then I put a 2.5 gallon can on my racks, no big deal. I have never heard of someone NOT purchasing a quad because it has a small tank! I guess there could always be first time for everything.

To me the most important factor is price!

 

First off I get as good mileage (if not better) when I'm on my 400EX and my wife is on the Sportsman 335. And I ride ALOT harder than she does. And this is an impartial fact.
Also, recently, I turned down the opportunity to purchase the new Ferrari (exact model escapes me) because it only got 8 miles to the gallon. Boy am I happy with the Daihatsu!!! Not really.

 

Good point. I can tell you that I will use about 4 gallons of gas in my sp500 compared to 2.5 in the smaller rancher when we go on the same trip. My buddies 450es will burn about 3 gallons. This tells me that the honda is a little better on gas, but the big tank in the in sp500 still will give it better range.

I agree with Tree Farmer, is this real important - I know TIM1 loves to pick on the ruby but this is kind of dumb. I guess I'd pick a quad that won't lay down on the trail.

 

Actually fuel range was considered when I choose my quad. Some of my trips easily can get as long as 8-10 hours. I also carry fuel with me as a backup.

SP500 in NS.

 

As I understand it, the Rubicon uses engine oil in the tranny, this is why it take 5 1/2 quarts of oil from empty to full. The term sealed is a misnomer in this case. When you change the oil in a Rubie, you have two drain plugs to remove. Also three oil filters. This is because there is a bulkhead between the crankcase and the tranny. It separates the crankcase from the tranny. Both of which have there own separate sumps for oil pickup. In the case of water intrusion, you can get cross contamination.

 

Thats a good approach. I also carry fuel even on a short 20-30 mile ride. You never know what can happer.

On one of our club rides our usual ride the loggers had destroyed one off our trails so we had to detour, then more destroyed trails. Our ride ended up being close to 60 miles. The guys on the banshee & trail boss ran out of gas.

Always carry extra gas.

 

Thanks for clarifying the discussion, Minehunter!

From your information, apparently the Rubicon transmission is no more nor no less vulnerable to water intrusion than the crankcase of the Rubicon, or, generally, the crankcase of any other quad.

I would not consider water a unique threat to the Rubicon transmission, since running any quad with water in the crankcase seems a bad idea.

When you get in so deep water enters the crankcase, it's time to drain all fluids--be your quad a Honda, Polaris, Bombardier, whatever (been there, done that!).

Diogenes

 

I just think 3.7 gal. tanks belong on smaller bikes not 500 utitities.I have a 5.25 gal. that gets me 100 miles safely but I would like to see it even larger I do not like stapping gas can all over it but coolers of beer and ice yes.

 

I was comparing a Honda 499cc heavier quad with larger carb. to a 329cc Honda that gets 25 mpg and some guy thinks they some how get the same gas milage.

 

Tim1, we have 60 miles on our Rubicon so far and it's not on reserve yet, but it's about to go on according to the gas gauge. But we'll run it for awhile on reserve to see how far it goes since it has a full gallon in reserve. It is also breaking in, so more than likely it will get better.