My buddy is getting a new ride. I am trying to talk him into a polaris but is being swayed into a honda by another friend. what are the obvious differences between the 2? Is a honda belt driven like a polaris? The prices seem to be very close, depending on what dealer you go to..

Thanks,

flip

 

The Honda is as far as I know A Hondamatic using a torque converter and trans like a car or truck. VERY expensive when things go wrong. A have a buddy with a Rubicon using a similar trans and the dealer told him if anything ever goes wrong with it, it would be more cost efficiant to trade the bike in then fix it. A belt for a Polaris is around $60 compared to a $3000 dollar trans repair. I rode on the back of a Rincon for a few hours and my back was pretty sore by the end of it. I can ride my Polaris for 8 hours straight without a problem. And then the 3wd Honda front end makes me want to stay away as well. We do a lot of off-camber riding and I like having both front wheels turning instead of the one in the air spinning like crazy and the one on the ground not doing anything. But this in only my oppinion. Others will chime in as well.

 

I considered the Rincon when I wanted to get something bigger than my 500. Objectively, the 4WD system on the Honda is only 3WD like Scrammy said, any Honda guy who has knowledge of their 4WD system will admit that. Whether or not that will be an issue for your friend will depend on what type of riding he does. Also, the Rincon not only has a hydraulic transmission (like a car), but 1st gear is not low enough a ratio for some conditions, there's been a lot written on that. The Polaris has a low range that IS very low, I use it all the time for snowplowing and other utility work.

Personally, the biggest difference for me between the two was the engine, Polaris 700 and 800 are twin cylinder and Honda is a single. As far as any Honda I've owned in my life, they've ALL been super dependable. Tough choice.