Which is the best In Mudding pulling and speed?

 

RUBY? lol can't ride this one hard.... Polcat

 

OK, so you come to a Polaris Forum and ask us to choose between a Polaris and a Honda? Hmmm, wonder what the preference will be. My pick? The Sportsman... Of course. However, here is a link to a review by Dirt Wheels Magazine that compares the Sportsman, Rubicon, Magnum, and QuadMaster;

http://www.polarisindustries.com/pro...SPORTSMAN500HO

Click on "Automatic 500cc 4x4 Shootout."

Oh, and not to ruin the surprise, but the HO topped in every catagory . I guess when an objective, reputable magazine does a shootout, you can hardly say the Polaris won just because you asked the Polaris owners. Put that in a Honda pipe and smoke it !!! All joking and sarcasm aside, they are both great machines, but if you test ride them both you will soon be a permanent resident of the Polaris Forum! Good luck!

 

I HAVE 2000 SPORTSMAN AND MY SISTER BOUGHT A RUBY. MY NON HO IS FASTER AND CAN GO THROUGH MORE MUD. RUBY FRONT DIFF ISNT LOCKED LIKE SPORTSMAN

 

The rubicon is a joke compared to the sportsman 500 HO.
Polaris has really out done themselves making the 500 HO, The rubicon is mearly a feble attempt by honda to make a quad of the 500 HO's stature.

2000 SCRAMBLER 400 2X4

SCRAMDADDY400

 

The Rubicon is close when compared to the SP500. The Rubicon has the same speed as the Sp500, the HO is faster. I wonder if Honda put in high performance parts in the Rubicon how much faster & power it would have.

Since you posted here in the Polaris forum, you will get many more favorable posts for the HO.

It seems Honda & Polaris are always battling it out, with the rest Yamaha, Suzuki, & Arctic Cat just sitting on the sidelines watching.

 

Just my 2 cents.

While out riding this past weekend in an extremely remote area came upon a Ruby stuck in the middle of the trail, the guy told me he had been stuck for over an hour and by the looks of the guy sweating in 20 degree weather I believe it. I Pulled him out then drove through the same spot he was stuck in. Don't get me wrong the Ruby is a good bike, but it just does not have the suspension or ground clearance that the Sportsman has and when your hung up nothing else really matters does it?

Mud4Me

 

The SP500 is a great machine and I agree it's a better mudder, better puller, and the H.O. version probably has better speed. My Ruby is faster then a 2000 SP500 though. If this is what you need a quad for then the obvious choice is Polaris. I am conviced, however, that the Honda is put together better. Everyone who rides it after the SP comments on how it just seems to exude quality. This is very subjective, but it's important to me when you spend near 7 G's on a toy.

I'm thinking about getting another quad and I had nearly talked myself into getting one with a belt drive tranny when we went riding this weekend. My brother-in-law (SP500) and I (Ruby) rode out to a pretty remote gravel pit to ride around in the snow. There were some pretty big puddles on one end, but we couldn't see them because they had iced over and snowed on top. I was following him and he broke through first and sank up to the tops of the tires. He couldn't move to well because of the ice and within a matter of seconds his belt was slipping and he was done. I was in just as deep, but I was able manuver and get out and pull him out. If he had been out riding by himself he would've been screwed. There was nothing to hook a winch on and he would've had to hike back a few miles with soaked boots in 15 degree weather. Not a good situation. Now I'm not bashing any brand or quad, and I've already conceded the strengths of the SP. I'm just detailing why I will never purchase a belt driven quad.

 

I don't believe for a second that water to the top of the tires would make the belt slip. Been in water way deeper than that and never had the belt slip on my SP, I have had mine in rack deep water with my girlfriend on back and it never skipped a beat.

 

My only promblem with the Rubicon has nothing to do with the machine it's self.I don't know about the States but the Rubicon is priced up out of the Range of all the other 500s made,why?
The Honda Dealer said when the Rubicon comes in they will be asking $10,000 Canadian for them! A AC 500 and Suzuki 500 are at $8000,the 2000 SP is at $8200 with a winch,the SP H.O is $8500 and even the once most expensive Traxster is $8600 now.
They are asking to much for a machine that does not do anything better than any other quad and in some causes does thing even worse.

Come on Honda! get up and smell the coffee.