Okay, I know how everyone here feels about their brands, but I just need to ask...

Has anyone else in here ridden BOTH an 800EFI and a Rincon? If so, so you notice a big difference in handling and ride quality? It's not that I don't like the 800. Actually, I love it, but I can't get over how much better the Rincon suspension feels in almost any situation. Don't get me wrong, I'm not writing this to knock the 800, just in a quest to make it better. Every time I hit the gas, the back end sags and the front of the machine rises. It not only looks bad, it feels wrong. I don't like the marshmallow feel to it. It makes it feel sloppy and tipsy front to back, and I noticed this same effect on all of the videos of the same machine. Also, I should note that just changing the springs won't have the effect I'm looking for. It's more a feel of shocks than springs, although I am not opposed to changing both if it will cure this sagging *** on throttle effect.

Now, what can I do to this machine to make it ride more, if not exactly, like the Rincon? I want to rid myself of the mushy, springy suspension. Oh, yeah, the rears are cranked all the way up, and even though it's firmer, it still does it.

I know that I already posted a "suspension upgrade" topic not long ago, but I think this one is more direct about how I feel toward the ride quality and what I'm looking for, and it's important for me to get it right the first time. It's really bothering me BECAUSE this is such a great machine.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

One of the best features of the Sportsmans has always been the plush ride, I'm wondering why you bought a Sportsman if you didn't want that type of ride quality. You can contact the shock companies like Elka or Works to firm up both ends....

 

sounds to me you would prefer pinto over a cadilac. if you like a rough ride sell your 800. my 700 does the same thing and i love it. it lets you feel the power. and i bet you can ride over rough terrain wide open on your 800 where you couldnt with the rincon.

 

Try taking woops and old railroad beds at 40mph on the rincon and you will see why everyone likes the ride of the SP"s better. The sportsmans take the woops like they are cracks in the street. The rincon takes woops like they are woops!

 

its not a car man, the suspention doing that is obviously a sign of power, and the 800 has plenty of it, if your suspention didnt do that, a wheelie wouldent be possible, and weres the fun with no wheelies?

 

I'll respond to this by first saying that the Honda is renowned for it's superb ride. Anything you read on these machines is indicative of this, and if even ONE of you ACTUALLY rode one, you would know this already. You can lie to yourself and say otherwise all you want, but facts are facts.

I am completely let down by the closed mindedness of some of the people on this site. It has me questioning whether I want to come back here and ask honest questions. You compare the ride of the Rincon to that of a Pinto??? WTF? I specifically asked for the opinions of those that actually rode a Rincon. Plain and simple, the Rincon rides better, is more stable, and JUST PLAIN HANDLES BETTER. Now you can either accept that or lie to yourself and those Polaris fans with no sense of reality, but please, if you're going to try and lie to me, might I remind you that I HAVE THEM BOTH!!

You know, everyone here uses their machines differently, and moreover, we all have different tastes. I'm sick of having to say "now, I love the Polaris" and "don't get me wrong" before I ask an honest question that might throw into question the quality of any aspect of a given machine. Why the f*%k do you think I traded the 700 on the $8000+ 800?? Because I didn't like the machine?

If there is actually anyone out there that really rode a Rincon (or even read anything about it in any magazine or review) and would like to provide me with the assistance I come here for, well, let's just say that your comments are more than welcome among this "mine is better then yours" bulls@#t. My gratitude for that as well.

 

Have you actually ridden a Rincon? Do you really believe that everyone prefers the ride of the Sportsman over the Rincon? I realize the Sportsman is head and shoulders above the Rincon in gnarly off-road terrain, but come on. Nothing beats the suspension and handling of the Rincon. I have driven many different Polaris bikes, and I can ride much faster on my Rincon in all situations. The Sportsmans are more at home in slow riding situations whereas the Rincon likes to be driven fast.

Now when it comes to mud and really rough terrain, the Sportsman walks away easily. Not even close.

 

Well said ATVtech. At least there's someone out there with some honesty. Any ideas on how to duplicate that ride on the SP are appreciated.

 

Well said. I hope you don't leave the forum, as you are one of the few who give honest, unbiased reviews.

I haven't personally ridden a SP800 other than in the parking lot, but I have talked to a few who have ridden both. Here is the deal. The Rincon's suspension is just better overall. It is exceptionally well tuned and is very stable. Remember that the Rincon was purpose built by Honda to be a trail bike, and this is where they concentrated their efforts. They wanted people to ride this machine and feel comfortable doing it. The engineering on the Rincon suspension is very impressive. With the aluminum A-arms and knuckles, the unsprung weight is very low. The angle of the shocks also plays a big part in how the suspension works.

The Polaris is very comfortable to ride, but lacks the overall "feel" of the Rincon. It seems Polaris concentrated their efforts on making the SP800 the ultimate off-road machine while supplying a plush ride at slow speeds. At higher speeds, the Sportsman really shows its weaknesses and the machine simply is not designed to ride or handle as well as the Rincon. That's just the way it is.

Maybe a set of aftermarket shocks is the answer. But while the Rincon can never be modified to equal the Sportsman in the off-road department, the Sportsman can never equal the Rincon in the ride & handling department, no matter what you do to it.

 

my only complaint about my 800 is the front suspention, dives to much in turns and everything, but I think im going to get a new set of struts for it to take care of the problem, and as soon as theres rear shocks, those too.