Rooster, he is referring to the 3-wheeling effect of a limited slip when one front loses traction. Sure all 4 will did in when they all have traction, but you get into the 3-wheel thing when one front gets off the ground a bit, and the rear tires spin out. This is a main reason I'm getting rid of my AC. You will continue to move forward if the rears are still moving and one front is off the ground. However, if you get a front in the air, and the rear tires spin out, then you don't get that pull with the grounded front tire to pull the quad on forward. I hate that situation. Basically with the polaris, the rears spin out but the one front that is still on the ground has pull and will help lurch the quad forward (unless it is so slick or lose that it too spins out, there is no cure for this situation). I have all 4 pulling on the AC when they are all on the ground, but get one in the air, and then its basically up to the rear to keep traction to keep you going. Mine spun out a lot with stock tires, but the wide and gnarly Tri-Claws helped the rear gain traction when the fronts were doing nothing.

 

Good luck on that one. You will have to recycle topics and change the subject about a million times to ever get that far. Not to mention about 10 different bash sessions and arguements in between.

 

As was told I didn't come into this post with this attitude and hiofc maybe you need to read the whole thing before you open your mouth...heck anyway I like a good arguement anyway especially when someone else is plainly looking like a fool and about 30 other Polaris owners in here can back up whhat I say...so here we go again maybe you will get your crawl full this time rooster...rooster...crawl get it oh never mind...anyway

Wow, now I can see how RancherES had such a hard time with you atving. This is the last time I'm replying to your crap. It's obvious that you're making stuff up because you're either sorry you bought your Polaris, or you think Honda really has something on your machine that you're being so defensive.
Short and brief, the Honda 450ES is air cooled with an oil cooler. It's thermostat reads off of the engine oil temperature. The Rubicon is liquid and oil cooled. It's thermostat reads off of both the water and the oil, as opposed to all other liquid cooled machines that only take it off the water temp.

ok now that you changed your story I will give you that the Honda has 2 thermostats one on the oil and one on the water...so what big deal now if they can figure how to make 4 wheels turn instead of 3, invent a 2 to 4 wheel drive switch yada yada yada...well I think you guys get the picture a thermostat on the oil is about as worthless as t#ts on a boar hog...why do you think this is some big deal when the water maintains the heat on the engine and the oil maybe its one of those foreign parts Honda has dreamed up for you to pay for when it goes sour.

I believe that "4 wheel holdback" was discovered by someone on these forums a while back. Before that, nobody knew about it. I don't recall seeing it in the Sportsman's owners manual, so it must not be recommended or something.

Matter as fact I was the one who posted it here it wasn't my original finding but I made it knowledge on the forum so everybody can use it...so aren't you the guy that said if it is written on paper its got to be true well its not in the manual and apparently you never did use it or you would know what I was talking about. If I need to use it and it tears up my Sportsman, so big deal my warranty that lasts 5 years will take care of it, in the mean time if I need 4 wheels pulling going down a hill I will use it, but being the experience rider I am since I was 15 years old equals 25 years of experience of dirt bikes etc. I am experienced enough that I don't need to use it...

Low range? The Sportsman has it? No way! Duh! Transmission doesn't fully engage in high gear? What the hell are you talking about? Once the belt engages, that's it. How is the Sportsman supposed to be ridden? Like a riding lawnmower? So if you're on a trailride and you're on fireroads, you'd be in low range? If you were drag racing, you'd be in low range? And if you were trailriding on public trails, you'd be in low range even though everyone else that's in high with their Sportsman isn't and is way the hell ahead of you and waiting for you? How stupid! If I would have used it the way it was supposed to, we would have had no trouble with the belt...can you read? We didn't! It's still on its original belt. When I would pull anything with the Sportsman, I would be in low range. When I was hill climbing I was in low range, depending on the hill. If I'm trailriding with it and I come upon a hill on the trail, am I gonna stop and put it in low when high will do perfectly fine? I don't think so. Am I gonna just ride in low range all the time? I don't think so, at the end of the trail everybody would be done eating at the bar when I would be just arriving. And I'm not gonna run it wide open all day just to go the speed everyone else is going. Get real. If you do this, I hope you have a lot of confidence in your rev limiter. By the way, I really won't care if I have to replace the Rubicon's transmission 20 years from now.

This is where you really showed your stupidity and ignorance and I really hate using these words but I must after all the controversy on the belt.
Just ask Bill C. when in doubt use low what is the big deal about that if you are going faster than 25 put it in high and we would see who was waiting on who with the Rubicon...when you lay the gas to that HO. I would estimate with mine and it isn't an HO I could eat a sandwich and a cup of coffee while I was waiting on you to catch up...if you want me to make a believer out of you haul your a$$ to WV, I would bet gregsim would want in on this one. And Mr Rooster trust me when in high gear if you are traveling 10 or 15 mph the belt does not engage fully causing you to burn up your belt ask Bill C. on this one also and just about any other Polaris owner, apparently you didn't know anything about your machine before you traded it off or you might have kept it and saved some money and had all those features to boot.

Honda took the floorboards to a new level. They added the protection from mud, sticks, water, etc. of floorboards with the addition of full footpegs for those people that like footpegs or are coming from a motorcycle or sport ATV. No big deal, that's it.

yes new level copying from polaris this is another yada yada yada give me a break you even admit yourself you hope Honda adds a 2 to 4 wheel drive switch, and IRS well guess who has these features...I wouldn't answer anymore of these posts rooster I really hope you ride better than you argue.

Jumping with the Sportsman? Yeah, I've done it already. But certainly not very high and not big jumps. If you were at a motocross track watching people play around with their 4x4 utility machines on the course, would you be tempted to go on it? There's some there all the time at my local ATV track. A new Kodiak automatic last time I was there having fun. Not jumping much, but just screwing around on it having fun. That's the name of the game, to have fun.

Ok so you jumped your rubicon, I jumped my sportsman you are starting to sound like Max "I jumped my Max" so big deal...come to WV where you get a thrill climbing not on some man made manicured track...I will take you places where you will get the pucker effect going.

The LCD is a convenient feature. The analog ones work, but everything in the world seems to be going digital so it makes sense that quads do too. The LCD is not a big deal, but once you get used to it, there's nothing like it.

Something else to tear up that Honda can charge you a arm and a leg for...wouldn't mind having one on the Sportsman but no way with a 6 month warranty would I want anything electronic in the mud and water just ask the guys who are resetting their cpu's on the Rubicon...would be kinda hard to catch an HO while you had to perform a 10 step reset don't you think so vern.

No argueing with the price, Polaris quads are priced nicely. You can't complain there. Why do you keep assuming the Rubicon's transmission will fail at any given time? And it can be replaced as a whole, but doesn't have to be. You can get parts for it but Honda said it might be easier to replace the entire thing than to screw around with parts of it. Cheaper bike I'll give you, pulls better I have yet to determine, muds better I have yet to determine, rides better I'll give ya, stops better, I doubt it.

yawn oh this is getting old Sportsman with 5 year warranty $6500, Rubicon w/6 month warranty $7000.
Where do I get the assumption it will be trouble maybe it is where Honda had trouble w/ the electronic shift and few other new items when they added something new to there quads besides graphics, not to mention there frames on the ex but I won't mention that. but when Polaris adds something new waiting for somebody to copy it when they finally get it perfected then they are called unreliable...well go figure that...I will stick with my $30 belt thanks but no thanks. And when you get ready to make those determinations bring it down here in WV and I will make a believer out of you. The law of physics proves that 4 wheels pulls better than 3...what kind of grades did you get in school Rooster. I am just waiting to run into somebody on the trail rideing a rubicon that wants the rear end jerked out of there bike, I have already done the 400 and 450's this way guess you want to argue about this to Rooster like I said come to wild and wonderful WV...you guys forced me into this corner.

Once again, you should get your facts straight. You only hear what you wanna hear and read what you wanna read. The Rubicon is new from the ground up over the 450. It just looks similar. Every single thing from the 450 has been improved. Is that a 10 year old Foreman with a new tranny? Sure it is.

Water cooled foreman that they added 50cc to, a new trans and oh yes added the word Rubicon to foreman, how do you you improve a solid axle rear end if you make the springs softer then you suffer stability if you make them stronger then you suffer ride comfort...sounds like I have my facts pretty straight.

There are lots of things that use a belt to drive it. Lots and lots of farm machinery. As I said in an earlier post, our Oliver combine was belt driven, only thing it left us sitting on the road once when the belt slipped off the pulley. What kind of conditions do you put a belt driven air compressor through? Lol. I don't ride it through the mud, water, snow, rain, or dust, do you?

NO but I do ride a belt driven Sportsman through mud, water, snow, rain, steep hills yada yada yada and I currently have 1200 miles on the stock belt...yawn

We sold our Sportsman for reliability issues and it was the oldest machine we had and it was getting a lot of miles on. You don't wanna ask how many problems we've had with my family's and relative's Polaris quads. Don't even go there. And don't tell me how superior a quad your recycled King Quad is.

Yes Rooster you are one of these guys that when you had the Polaris it was the best thing since peanut butter now its gone, its junk right. Well I used to own an AC 500 and you have never heard me say anything bad about an Artic Cat in my book it is second in line to the Sportsman at least they do have enough sense at Artic Cat to give their customers an automatic trans, 2 to 4 wheel drive switch, disc brakes all around, a semi independant rear suspension that don't ride like a HOnda buck board. And they are a d#m good bikes.
Yes early Polaris did have reliability problems that all seems to be going away that is the reason I bought one and sold the cat, smoother ride and true 4 wheel drive...end of story.

No, I meant all 4 wheels spinning. Why is it when I went back in the field to drag between the potatoe rows all four wheels of the Ruby were digging. I would watch the front wheels as I stopped and gave it gas, and they would all dig. Same as when I went on a small steep hill and got the tires to spin, both front were digging holes. I'm not going back to school, I do know how to count to 4. There were 4 wheels spinning all at the same time.

And this one is your most stupid one that really showed how for a kinder word uneducated you are. Do you even have a clue how a differential works on the HOnda...well ask Andy on this one, I guess your bike is doing something that Honda is not even claiming, I will try to explain it to you in small terms. Yes all four wheels spin but the differential is sharing the load until a true bind is put on either wheel then you will experience the famous 3 wheel drive...oh and on a honda improved 3 wheel drive. Do as Andy says jack up one of the wheels and watch it spin, try this on a Polaris and you will put a nice whole in your garage...do you ever even read this forum.
So Rooster has a Honda that will do something that not even HOnda will tell you all 4 wheels PULL AT ONCE...can some of you guys please explain this to him...help me out Greg or Andy...

Why would I jump a utility quad? Correction, sport/utility quad. Sport meaning what? To screw around like what a sport quad would do, just being less aggressive and smaller jumps, etc. Have to remember you're on a 600 pound (in the case of the Sportsman, 1500 pound) machine.

Gee I never thought of it that way so I guess my Sportsman is a sport bike. So call Honda and be sure to tell them they are advertiseing the Honda wrong it is really a sport bike. and Rubicon 600 lbs Sportsman 700 lbs another one of your exagerations, I will put up with the extra 100 pounds for all the extras...

That's enough for me.

I should hope so, some of you started this and I am just enlightening you to your ignorance of Polaris...I didn't start this and if you are happy with your Rubicon then why are you in the Polaris foreman argueing it is better...seems I am not the insecure one here...I hope you learn more about your Rubicon Rooster than you did about your Sportsman or you will be on here in the next couple of years telling us what a junky HOnda you use to own. The most important thing is any of you guys be careful on the trail because I just love all you hard headed atvers....you are now being returned to your regularly scheduled program.

 

After reading the entire post... You may have not come in to this with that attitude but some one obviously riled you up enough to sink to their level.

You seem like a resonalbe guy. My advise is ignore them. They have childish attitudes and they are probally in here just to **** someone off.

These forums would be a lot more informative with out them.

 

ATVING, you have very selective hearing or should I say reading. I admit I get a little bent out of shape when I read your mindless input, but if you can't get along with Rooster either . . . then I guess you've got problems. How many people in this forum have asked you to leave or just shut up? Hundreds would be my guess!

It's not worth my time to argue with you on your ill advised facts because you are clearly confused so I just leave this thing alone. Your still a jacka_s, and will always be one.

 

Rancheres I am really touched by your post...glad to see you got bent when you read the truth...well I really don't have any trouble with anyone except you who thinks he knows it all and can never leave a post with facts except to tell someone how mindless facts are. Seems you and are the only one who wishes I would leave or shut up...so I guess I will be staying...everything I have written has been backed up by facts so I guess the truth really hurts you. Besides me and Rooster were just having a friendly little arguement, guys like you are the one who bends these post out of shape and treat me like I am some kind of Honda Hater which I am not. I have owned various Hondas through the years...Honda 70cc HOnda 90cc and other dirt bikes and just sold a Honda cr 125 and have rode the 300, 400, 450 and they to are great bikes that are bullet proof. But till Honda adds the features like IRS, 2 to 4 switch, disc brakes, and other things I will be sticking with Polaris.

 

I just rode a Rubicon at the dealer in Oakland Maine and it was not the machine i heard it was...Drum brakes,Really light duty a-arms,SOLID axel rear, and $7,000.00. I went to Canada to purchase my '00 Polaris 500 for 5300.00 out the door. No taxes at the border-American/Canadian makes come across duty free! Check into it, I'm going back soon for a '01 Sportsman H.O.! Maybe in a couple years for the 725cc twin! Probably for the price the dealers here in Maine sell a stripped 335 for...
All registered here also..don't let the dealers scare you with this line...it's total bull****- in case youre listening "Gagonme Sport center"
riders- check out motovan.com for accessories, they make alot of the best cargo boxes sooo many to choose from, you name it they stock it, these are canadian prices, the exchange is currently 1.457, a very good one for us.

 

if u get your quad in canada does the speedo show kilometers instead of mph? $5300 is a great price, no way u could get that price from a US dealer.

later
jon

 

I have owned a 1999 SP500 and now a Rubicon, and for the type riding I do I like the Rubicon better than the Sportsman. In fact I sold the Sportsman to a friend of mine and bought the Rubicon. I bought the Rubicon for a number of reasons. I like the feel of the Rubicon better. To me it feels more stable especially on off cambered riding. I like the fact that when you break going down hill all 4 wheels break together causing the rear end not slide around. I noticed with the Sportsman when I would break hard at a moderate speed the front end would dive with me. The Rubicon turns easier than the Sportsman. My wife likes this. As a matter of fact she is the one that mentioned it to me. Drum breaks vs disc breaks are not an issue with me. The breaks on my 1988 Foreman have never given me any trouble. Of course I still take it to the Honda dealer in my area once a year for a full service and maintenance. I still like the reliability of the Honda. I really don't care who's quad is faster, pulls harder, is better in the mud etc. The Rubicon does everything I want it to do and more.
The fellow I sold the Sportsman to has had no trouble with it. I would not have sold it to a friend if I thought it was a bad machine. Personally I like the Rubicon better than the Sportsman.
If I was riding and got stuck I wouldn't care who pulled me out as long as I got out. The whole idea is to ride and have fun.

 

Brakes on a 98 Foreman should be good still. If you run it through mud for 5 years, then you can start worrying about brakes. The brakes on my honda 300 were real good until I took it into the mud and now they are shot. In fact, its almost dangerous. I replaced the front shoes, and sanded the drums front and back, but it still . . . Granted that it is older, but still, the drums and water/mud go together like peanut butter and tuna fish.