Rkelman,

A rider from "Hellville"! Cool.

I would like to vigorously dispute your Honda vs Polaris stand but I won't since I need some information from you.

I will say this. Being both a Polaris Sportsman and Honda Four Trax owner I can say they have both been extremely reliable and fun machines. They both get stuck, they both need maintenance, they both have good and bad points. Yes the Rubicon has Honda's good track record behind it. It will likely be an excellent machine. But, we will have to wait and see to be sure.

There is talk of a trail on the old rail bed north of Belleville. Are you familiar with this trail? Where does it run to? Is there a recommended spot to park the trailers? Any inf would be appreciated.

Thanks,

DJ

 

If you are purchasing in 3 weeks you have only one choice that is the Polaris.

If you can wait, when the Rubicon come outs you might get lucky & get to test drive it. Many of the Honda dealers have already pre-sold their initial allocation. You might have to wait several months for the dealers to get their next allocation of Rubicons.

In the meantime, check out the Grizzly, & the Traxter.

 

Well, the polaris has been out for a while and if taken care of will never let you down, since most of the bugs have been worked out of it.
However, the Rublicon may have honda name but it is still unproven in the dirt, the honda just too the beat of the other other quad and put it in with a new tranny,,,Will it work...only time will tell.

 

Greetings,

At the risk of being incendiary, I wanted to share the following experience.

I have visited a large dealership in central Maryland that carries every common brand of ATV (plus snow mobiles and PWCs). While discussing my buying interests, I mentioned the verbal beating Polaris takes in the forum, adding that it made me gun-shy about getting one. Now remember, the dealer carries Polaris, Honda, and all the others – and he said: “I could fill my lot with Polaris trade-ins if I would take them.”

Just reporting the facts of the conversation – no hate crimes please.

 

Dr Rod,you better hide before the proud Polaris owners show up.

 

DrRod,

I am surprised you haven't been flamed yet for the Polaris comment.

The Rubicon will be a great bike if the tranny delivers what is promises.

 

I had a similar experience (as Drrod). I didn't know much about ATVs (still don't know a whole lot) and last March I wandered into a dealership that sold Polaris, Honda, Suzuki, and Yamaha. When he (owner/salesman) found out where I lived (extremily remote area in southern Utah), he didn't feel comfortable selling me a Polaris. He said that I would have to bring it in for maintainance too often. Just sharing the experience--he could be full of it (?)

 

More "I heard, he said, she said" from non-Polaris owners. Come on guys. If you personally do your research and test drive and don't like the product, don't buy it! If you own it and don't like it, sell it. If you've had a bad experience, like Sledder, tell us but then back off and respect the fact that the rest of us are extremely happy with our machines. Every brand has lemons. We could pick a Honda, Yamaha or other owner who has had bad experiences like Sledder but they don't try to shove it down our throats at every mention of their brand name. There are one hell of a lot of happy Polaris owners out there, myself included.

If the dealers have so many people who want to return them, how come I couldn't find a used Sportsman here if my life depended on it. I spent 6 months trying to find a machine before I ended up buying a new one. Here in Ottawa the pecking order is Polaris, Honda, Yamaha, then others. The Sportsman, Scrambler and Magnum rule. This is coming from someone who owns Polaris and Honda. I won't be slamming the other brands that I don't ride with "he said, she said, my brothers uncles dad said" stuff.

In our group we ride Polaris (mostly), Honda, and Yamaha. They all get stuck, they all need maintenance, they all break when abused. But, we all have fun with them.

DJ

 

For what its worth, the one machine mentioned that dealers will not trade (or will screw you on trade in) on is the polaris around here. About the only dealers that take in used Polaris's are the Polaris dealers. The Honda and Yamaha dealers won't touch them. Thats the dealer, not me remember. Also, the classified ads are full of Polaris's and sport quads. Rarely do you find a Honda 300 4x4 or a Grizzly in there and when you do, they normally are asking an arm and a leg for it.

 

The ride my friend... I rode a Honda 350 auto-shift (es) over the week-end and the ride was noticably inferior to my Polaris'. To each his own. As for me I prefer the super plush ride of my Polaris' and the amazing power that never drops. Hit the throttle and go. No lag during shifting and super performance. I have tried all brands of quads personally and prefer Polaris. It's a personal decision.

Do you guys want to know why there are a lot of Polaris' for sale...the owners sold them to get more recent and bigger cc models. I know because I and many others I know did it.

I am going to get killed for this one but it's a proven marketing/sales fact. Most people who purchase a Honda utility quad use it for occasional work/riding. Thay are not usually power/speed/performance enthousiasts. This is the general criteria of buyers. They enjoy the low-maintenance type quad. Take it out of the garage and ride. Polaris caters to a more precise clientel. This is fact. Ask any/most Polaris riders here. Polaris is fast and strong and yet most of us Polaris riders want even more performance: Bigger tires, clutch kits, mods, ect... Proven fact: Polaris riders search for the fastest and/or biggest and/or strongest and/or best performance quad available.

Shun me if you will but it is only the truth. So Honda riders do not be offended...your pride has not been attacked.
Two quads...two types of riders...