by the way, I just wanted to say thanks Farmr for the great piece you wrote. Very well done!

 

Great information !! Thank you for your insight and answering all the Q's! This is an amazing forum to work with, read and learn from. I guess I truly can't lose on either of these machines. I think I need to go back to the dealer and see if I can go off road abit, instead of just in the parking lot, to test them out alittle more, find out which one is going to be right for me. I very much appreciate your time and all the information you folks are putting out here for me and other rookies like me in the same boat. Have a great weekend and I'll go out next week and test them out again, kick some tires and get on with the work and play.

I had a couple more questions on Montana Jack's site, are their setup's pretty good to work from? Seems on their website they have a nice setup for the front and back with the winch hook up and accessory add on's.
What's your take on them or other sites I should be looking at? I thought I would set this up with the Warn 2500? Between that and the Lewis winch I have now, it should cover everything I will need for now. Thanks again for your help!!

Tutall

 

Northstar -The new hondas have new differentials which does make them steer much easier and they do provide more traction than the old design.As far as exceeding the limits for racks and towing my point is that honda is very conservative on their ratings-much moreso than many other manufacturers.As for the military using polaris do you really believe they would use a product made by a non american owned company?It would not sit well with some people.As far as tires I have yet to see any 4x4 quad that comes with proper 6 ply tires from the factory.The rawhides may be better than others but they are far from having the traction or durability of a good aftermarket 6 ply such as the mudbug or mudrunner.

 

The Rubicon is an excellent machine. The SPortsman is an excellent machine. I wouldn't be afraid to own either one. I think the Rubicon is the more maintanence-free design, but some of the most trouble-free machines I have seen were post '01 Polaris's (or is that Polari).
The military has been known to use stuff made by non-American owned companies quite a bit. The Baretta pistol is the first that comes to mind. Last time I checked, they were an overseas (Italian) company that had a plant in the US. I think Honda is the same way. Again, not dissing Honda, just trying to state what I know.
I think that the military uses Polaris machines because they were the biggest & the baddest available at the time they were ordering them (they have a souped-up version of the 700 twin) from a company that could meet their order. Sorry, but if you think a Rubicon can haul/tow the same load over the same terrain at the same speed as what a Polaris twin can, you are sadly mistaken. The Rubicon is a GREAT machine, with probably the best-performing (in my opinion at least) transmission out there, but it is a smaller class of machine than the 600. The Rubicon & the 500 Sportsman, are very evenly matched. If the price was the same, it would probably boil down to if I preferred the tranny of the Rubicon, or the IRS of the Sportsman. When comparing it to the 600 for performance/ability, it just isn't in the same league. Now, if you don't need the extra power the 600 provides, the Rubicon may be a better choice for you.
As for the Polaris 4wd, it is true, there are some that don't work right, usually due to improper maintanence. Take proper care of it, and you should be OK. I have 7500+ miles on my Xplorer, and have never been even close to being shown up in mud/snow by any straight-axle non-Polaris machine out there. The Bomb Quest & Kawi 650 are the only 2 that have a 4wd system that stock has comparable capabilities as the Sportsman, in my opinion. If you are not into deep mud, rock hopping, that may not be important to you. I am just mentioning it, in case it is.

Farmr

 

Farmer123-You do make a good point in that the rubicon should not be comparted to the 600.It should be compared to the sportsman 500 to make for a more fair comparison.The rincon should be compared with the 600 or 700 as the displacement is matched more evenly.In the big bore shootout done in one of the latest magazines the rincon finished higher than the sportsman 700 and was said to possess the best handling of any quad in the competition.But in this situation where the main priority is a working quad I would choose the rubicon over the rincon as it has low range and is built to be a workhorse while the rincon is geared more toward high speed handling.The biggest flaw in the 600 and 700 sportsman is that neither has a backup pull start in case the battery or starter fails.Because of this and the fact that either the 500sportsman or rubicon would have enough power I would choose one of these instead of a 600 or larger machine. That should add a little more fuel to the fire.

 

Stubblejumper, I agree. The Sportsman twins are in a bigger displacement class than the Rubicon. The Rincon would be more with their size. However, Tutall asked specifically between the 600 & Rubicon. It is kind of like asking which is a better truck, a half ton or 3/4 ton. Of course the 3/4 ton will outclass it when it comes to work. The decision is whether or not one needs that much machine. One thing Tutall is doing that I think is right, is checking out the bigger machines. Can't count the number of times I have seen someone on a 350 or 400, and then wish they had gotten a bigger machine. You really take a hit if you trade a machine in that is only a year old or so. Better to get the bigger one right away. On the other hand, there are plenty of people who are happy with a 350 class machine, so that may be a factor as well.
The lack of recoil starter is a big issue for some, a non-issue for others. If I didn't have a recoil backup starter, you can be darn sure I would have some mini jumper cables whenever I ventured away from civilization. Kind of like a Jeep, they have no 'backup' starter, either, but who goes out into the wilderness without booster cables.

 

All hail Farmr123! I carry a little set of jumper cables, haven't had to use them yet. I don't like the fact that I don't have the recoil backup, but it doesn't bother me that much. Now that you have pointed out that Jeeps don't have a backup starter, I feel even better about it!

 

Tutall,
Farmer has covered everything, but I'll add my two bits. I work my Sportsman 500 hard plowing, towing, and in the mud and muskeg without problems. In low range the Polaris is a tank. A tank with the ride of a Cadillac - maybe a Sedan D'Ville.
I ride Hondas (450 Foreman S) at work and they're good machines meant to be abused by everyone and looked after by no one. I put in over 50 miles of rough bush on the Honda yesterday and was reminded just how much better my Polaris is. The Honda's 3 wheel drive and low clearance left me winching, while the minimal suspension left me hurting.
Rubicons were a bit of a sales disapointment for Honda because they didn't have anything over the competition except a higher price. Of the few Rubicons in my area, I know two had major transmission problems at very low milage. Not typical Honda reliability. Maybe that's why they have a new automatic transmission system for the Rincon and are dropping the Rubicon.
I have a Honda car, mower, and generator and love their products. Polaris just makes a better quad.

 

1Bullmoose-Honda is dropping the rubicon?If you are right and can tell us when this is going to happen you certainly will have established some great credibility since no one else seems to be aware of this newsflash .On the other hand if you are wrong your opinions and future newsflashes will be given the same credibility as this news about honda dropping the rubicon.In that case people may change the last part of your name when referring to your posts.

 

stubblejumper,
whether honda keeps the ruby or not is really not the point.
1bullmoose has real world experience daily on both machines.
that is more than most can say..

I've owned hondas and polaris(no other brands to date).
I never had the honda in the shop for anything, and my 01
500 h.o. has never been in the shop for anything( except
regular yearly maintenance).. reliability is not an issue on
any of the newer machines... personal preference and
what' you'll be doing with the machines matters in your
choice...
I personally have never ridden or owned a honda that
was as comfortable as a polaris for all day work or fun
on the machine(better suspension, seat, floorboards).,
not to mention I feel polaris has the strongest frame
and skid plates in the industry.

My honda was a better trail rider, but couldn't touch
the polaris for all day comfort .. for my style of driving,
the polaris is the better choice..
If I was going to use my atv mostly for farm work(as the original question stated),
the choice is easy.. Polaris all the way...