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.

Very professional post Rubion if there had been posts like this I would not be writing my hilarious but truthful and fact filled post. I also find the HOnda to feel more stable and the descending down hills is lot better on the bikes such as HOnda and Artic Cat (did I say that). You can trick the Sportsman into 4 wheel hold back for really steep stuff but it makes the steering very difficult especially when the down hill has a steep turn in it. But I do like the 4 wheel pulling power and the IRS better on the Sportsman.
Well you mean the Sportsman isn't perfect...no it isn't and I do not portray it to be. But you have a bunch of a$$'S in here like Rancheres that try to make a big deal of my post's. And I am getting help with my troubles Rancheres it cost about $200 a month do you know any other cheaper forms of council. I have never been biased to any brand of bike I like them all, I just like some better. Kinda like women (hope the wife doesn't read this and don't any of my enemys try emailing her to tell her). I have always said if you could take a little bit from HOnda and mix it with a little bit of Polaris then you would have the perfect bike...maybe call it a Polarda or a Hondaris. And as you Rubion I bought the Sportsman because of the 4 wheel drive, disc brakes, IRS, I could probably do without the 2 to 4 wheel drive switch and maybe the disc brakes (what am I saying) but as long as they are there I am not complaining. Oh yes they need to work on that price on the Rubicon a little bit too, to really compete with Polaris...

 

Hey chicken!

Did u read the part that u wrote about having to many gears??? If u ask me that sounds like suzuki knows what they r doing. Like I said, my LITTLE King Quad pulled his 600cc Grizzly backwards about 3 feet. I would like to see anyone's belt driven polaris or yamaha or whatever belt driven quad, pull agains mine. I even admit the King could use some more power, but I think along with many other people, that the numerous amount of gears makes up for the loss of power. I simply put it in low range 1st gear, and thumbed the throttle, very lightly, as to not spin my tires. (I am running stock tires!) It's isn't that the Grizzly is a bad machine, I didn't say that, I meant the belt drive system was bad. I know for a fact that if the Grizzly (or any polaris, for that matter) was a manual, and didn't have a belt it would pull me back 10 times over, but the fact that it has a belt, is the reason that I pulled him. And yes, he did have it started, etc... Trust me. He wants to pull me again with his honda forman 450, I highly doupt standing a chance with him seeing as though it isn't belt driven, but..... With all the very low gears and the numerous amount of gears to choose from, I will just leave it in super low lock the differentials and put it in either 2nd or 3rd gear in super low that is. I'm sure I can hold my own. I've hooked my 281 (300cc) king quad up to my father's 397 (or whatever) Honda 300 4x4, and have pulled him backwards, again only about 4 or 5 feet when I aid we had better stop. The only reason I won that pull was because my father didn't have as good of a 4x4 system in his quad... Whether u believe me about the Grizzly or not, I couldn't really care less, but it did happen and me and the guy driving the quad know it... He said the same thing u guys did, there is no way!!!! Until I hooked the king up to him and pulled him. (And yes, for all of you, I do pull fair, I don't jerk or rip stuff apart, because I wouldn't want someone to do it to me). I'm sure I'm going to hear all of your stories trying to prove me wrong, but go ahead, because I know it happened. It was because of the belt!


-wes

 

Correction on the 397 thing... I meant 297

 

The suspension of the Rubicon sucks compared to the SP but nice try.Even pro Honda Dirtwheels had to admit that in there shootout let alone the SP has much more power.

 

JESTER
Don't really mean to hurt your feelings,AS I said I wouldn't have said anything had I not seen what I did with my own eyes.They really surprized me as to how bad they performed.I'm looking at the video now,trying to get it posted.You can argue all you want about the belt drive but they speak for themselfs nothing will beat them in ATV pulls.I know for a fact that some of the pulls used to make POLARIS, at that time only belt drive pull in thier own class.

https://atvconnection.com/atvconnect.../nyatvpull.cfm
As far as the gears I don't know where you ride but can tell you they are just plain dangerous here in the mountains.If you try to attack something serious that your not in right gear you have trouble.A friend had 95 KODIAK and when we played in snow I would sail thru,he would get out there in high gear and when he needed power would try to shift and down he would go.With all them gears you either have power or speed you can't have both.I'd like you to explain to me why you want let alone need 35 gears!!Like I said earlier the only reason I said anything at all is watching them for two days.I've not ridden one but followed them.If it makes you happy thats all that counts but I can tell you that I'll not be rideing one and shifting 35 times at 25 mph.Prospector and I took another route as we were tired of following at such a slow pace.I just called it as I saw it.CM

 

Hey Jester, I couldn't agree more. If I wanted the power and prestige of having a Griz, I had to take the damn tranny the way it was. I prefered the 5 speed on my Kodiak about 100 to 1 over this auto. When I out pulled the Sportsman last weekend I didn't smell any belts burning from either quad. I didn't win by anywhere near 3', more like 3", but a win is a win. Must have been an amature riding the Griz. Especially if you out pulled him! NOT!

 

Yes like we all are going to believe a 300cc pulled a 600cc bike yeah right. THe story Griz told is pretty believable depending on the tires on each bike, engine tuneing, rider performance, condition of the vehicle this a truly believeable story...but I am not going to believe that a 300cc suzuki even in 4 wheel lock puled a 600cc grizzly but oh yes the suzuki does have 55 gears, big deal check out chickenman site where polaris placed 1st in 9 out 11 pulls. You must live a very sheltered life jester what was you trying to jerk a grizzly out of a salvage yard...I am sure there is a polaris owner maybe near you that would be more than happy to jerk the guys out of that Suzuki...if you want to brag or be noticed try typeing some believeable story like Grizz01 where you backed up back to back with a 300 HOnda or Kawasaki, but don't come on here and try to make us believe you pulled back to back with a Grizzly unless somebody who was a little slow for a kinder word was driveing the Grizz.

 

The rider must have been of the "challenged" sort. The more I read of this, the more stupid it gets. I personally don't even see the locked King Quad outpulling the Grizzly. The power difference is like a .460 weatherby magnum and a Red Rider. The weight difference isn't great, but still, the power of the Griz ought to bury the poor little 300. There are certainly technicallities that could not be stated. Like tying the rope to the top of the Grizzly's rear racks and then to the hitch on the king quad. That might pull the Grizzly's front tires off the ground a bit and give the 300 the advantage. Other that that, I don't see it myself. Lay down the crackpipe son, that stuff seems to have made you null and void!

 

Tim~
I don't want to start any arguement, I just want to share my opinion. How do you figure $1000 for the dealer to replace a belt? That would mean almost 20 hours in labor costs and you said it could be done by yourself in about 20 minutes. I don't understand.?. One more thing...not just for you, but about the whole belt controversy...I just checked the belt on my 1996 Scrambler for the first time since it was new. There wasn't even 1/32" wear on that belt! I would think that machine would wear a belt even faster than a utility machine. It doesn't have the option of low range so no matter the situation, it has to start in high range. I agree with that whenever you have a doubt, use low range. Belts don't wear anymore like they did in the snowmobiles of the 70's. Technology has came a long ways and will just keep improving...except for those dang diesels! lol

 

Hey Jester read this, now you see why everybody knows you are full of it

Read this:

The ATV pulls at the St. Lawrence Co. Fairgrounds in Gouverneur, NY are
held on the sand covered horse racing track. The grandstands provide excellent
viewing opportunities for the public. This is an all day event, starting at
10:00AM and running until after 4:00 PM. A large turnout of individuals as well
as area dealers bring their ATVs to compete. Some came prepared with extra sets
of high traction tires ready to take on all comers.






The 100 ft. sand track was prepped after each run with a roller donated by
the St. Lawrence Co. Highway Dept. and was York raked and rolled before each
class. The pulling sled, as the day progressed, was adjusted from 1000lbs up to
1545lbs for the unlimited class. Equipped with a three speed transmission and
an adjustable tongue, it could be quickly adjusted to overcome any
ATV/high-traction tire combination to keep the action close.






As the day progressed, it became obvious that if you didn't own a Polaris,
chances are you simply wouldn't stand a chance. Out of 11 classes, Polaris
machines won 9, with Yamaha winning one and Arctic Cat one. You could make a
case that it was the Polaris's snowmobile belt drive that allowed the motor to
stay at its torque peak that allowed them to win. However that idea was
dispelled by the poor performance shown by the Yamaha Grizzleys in attendence
with the same type of drive. In 2WD, the Polaris's would out pull others
because of the outstanding OE tires. In 4WD it was not only the tires but the
"On-Demand"b" front drive system. Again I base this on the less than stellar
performance delivered by Grizzley's with aftermarket tires. They simply can't
get the power to the ground as efficiently as a Polaris does.





Honda Rancher

I was eager to see the new Honda Rancher 350 perform, to see if Honda's
new front differential would be as good as the Polaris. However, the only run
the Rancher made all day was poor due to what sounded like a too tall gear
selection. The Honda 450ES, while it had the power, just doesn't have the OEM
tires for pulling. Arctic Cat 500's with hi-traction Blackwaters should get the
job done, but they didn't. The Yamaha Wolverines didn't fare well either, poor
OE tires, tall gearing and light weight don't make for a long pull.






Kodiak with Ag tire kit

One enterprising dealer, Nesco from Gouvernor, NY, tried ITP AG tires on a
400 Kodiak in the 301-400cc 4x4 open class. The tall narrow profile and
aggressive tread didn't seem to be an advantage on the sand track. One
inovative technique was the side-to-side wiggle that netted a rider several
more inches and the win! Two things amazed me, one, the ability of a Banshee,
basically a racing/dune quad, to provide such spectacular, crowd pleasing pulls
in 2WD 301-400cc stock class, and 2WD 301-400cc open class. The second was the
Polaris 400 Explorers which took three classes, 2WD 301-400cc stock class, 4WD
301-400cc stock class and 4WD 301-400cc open class.







There was amusement provided by a rider who shall remain nameless.
Entering the 2WD 301-400cc stock class with a clapped out Warrior that smoked
worse than a Banshee, outweighing the Warrior by 50lbs didn't help and using
premium Carlisle Trail Pro Sam's Club specials (Possibly the worst tire ever
built) this hardy soul twice attempted to pull the weight sled. Both times
netted less than 1 ft!







Not having a Polaris or even a new ATV may have been a deterrent to some
but not to Roger Blackburn. He picked up trophies for 2nd place in both 2WD
under 300cc stock class and 4WD under 300cc open class. Roger rides a 1993
Suzuki 280cc King Quad.
These ATV pulls are a regular event at the fair and according to fair
officials, the track will be scraped down to the clay base for next years pull.
So all bets are off as to what will work best next year.




Class
Trophy Winner
Machine

2WD Under 300cc
Nesco Yamaha
Arctic Cat 250

2WD 301-400cc
Don Dobbs
Polaris Xplorer 400

2WD 401-500cc
Harvey Kerr
Polaris 500 Sportsman

4WD Under 300cc
Fun Unlimited
Polaris 300 Xplorer

4WD 301-400cc
Joe LaBarge
Polaris 400 Xplorer

4WD 401-500cc
Marty Countryman
Polaris 500 Sportsman

4WD 501-600cc
Marty Countryman
Polaris 500 Sportsman





Open Class:



2WD 300-400cc
Nesco Yamaha
Yamaha Banshee

2WD 500-600cc
Harvy Kerr
Polaris 500 Sportsman

4WD 300-400cc
Don Dobbs
Polaris 400 Xplorer

4WD 500-600cc
Fun Unlimited
Polaris 500 Sportsman

Contact anyone of these guys with there rubber band bikes...hehehe what a maroon.