[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-confused.gif[/img] My son is in the market for a Honda 500 Rubicon. We found a 2001 Rubicon that has been garage kept and has <100 hrs and <600 miles on it. It appears to be in excellent condition. I have 2 questions for those out there who may know. Has there been any major improvements/changes to the Rubicon since 2001? If so, when did they occur and what are they? Secondly, what is a fair price for this quad?
Thanks alot!!!

 

I am not up on price informaion but the '05s have disc brakes up front and a 2wd/4wd switch. They also supposedly fixed some hiccups they had with electronic shifting and related electrical items.

Sound to me like the MIQ (machine in question) is a catch (depending on price, of course) and that with a Warn 424 conversion and new seals in the fron drums now and again you will have a great bike!

 

The only thing the 05 has thats different is the styling, disc brakes and 4x4 selectability. If that 01 already has a warn 424 installed there's your 4x4 selectability. I was on ebay the other day and I think I saw a few 01 being sold so you can look there to see what they're selling for. It will all come down to $$$. You pay around $7,000 for an 05.

 

the 05s have larger fuel tanks, more storage, and the suspension is rivised also.

 

The 05' with its slectable 4 wheel drive you should see, lighter steering effort and possably improved fun factor being able to go to 2wd and slide the rearend around and play around alittle more with the 05 if you are into that sort of thing.

As far as a fair price for the 2001 I would say aroud 3000.00 to 3400.00 depending on condition.

 

$3500 vs $6500.

We have an 01 Rubicon. With the engine braking I hardly ever use the brakes. I pulled the brake drums and inspected the brakes and the look like only about 10% is gone, and that is with 5000 miles on them. Disc brakes to me is not an issue. Our average speed is 8 1/2 mph and we always have two riders. I actually like it being in 4-wd all the time. Trax-Lok is not an issue to us. We like the looks of our Rubicon over the 2005 Rubicon. We carry a Tamarack trunk so the extra storage is not an issue to us. The 05 Rubicon's gas tank holds .6 gallons more gas, I would love our tank to be bigger. The 2005 Rubicon has brake lights, big issue seeing how all our friend are always behind us. Not all our friends ride Hondas.

In 5000 more miles, we will our another brand new Honda Rubicon. A Red one. We would love to buy a 2005 Rubicon.

 

You shoudl have no problem getting an '05 for somewhere in the mid six thousand neighborhood. If I were not going through water and mud so much, the dosc brakes would not be such a big concern. Thawing out one drum with a portable torch is better than thowing out three when it's time to get back to camp after sitting in a tree stand all day and you are cold, tired, thirsty, etcetera.

As for the styling, I actually like the older style better.

If the machine is in the shape you say and the price is right then it sounds like a catch. Another thing to consider is that new is new and new is nice. Unless you really need everything that the Rubicon offers, a new smaller machine (maybe like a Rancher) could be something to consider when price is the topic.