By all means, I think we can all agree that it's a good idea for anyone to research what they are thinking of buying before making the plunge.

If someone is thinking about a Rincon (or any quad), my suggestion would be to try to get some seat time. With the Rincon I think it's important that it be more than a brief ride, as it takes a little time to get used to the machine and how it reacts and handles.

No one said the Rincon was perfect, and I think the EFI, improved transmission/engine braking, and apparently slight tweak to spring rates may make the new ones really nice. If it had a low range and locker, and a bit more power, it would be pretty close to perfect for my riding style and use, but your taste may vary.

 

Reconranger needs to change his screen name to "CHICKEN LITTLE" because it always the same thing. The big heavy ute, will kill you over & over. Almost like "The Sky is Falling" The Sky is Falling".

 

There are noobie riders in here all the time. I think they deserve somethng besides the white washed brand loyalty BS that some of you insist on feeding them!

In general, I don't have much criticism for Honda, except for the lack of EBS on this machine, and also the fact that there are a very large number of posts on problems with the ES shifting system on the manual clutch machines.

And as far as not "liking" huge heavy utes, I just think it's not the type of machine that the average recreational trail rider wants to be on. Yet, noobie riders get talked into buying one by some salesman (or some of you here in the forum!), then grandma gets into a nasty situation out there somewhere and rolls the thing and kills herself..........

I do have some "pholosophical" differences with pure ute riders because I live in So. Calif., which is sport quad country. Traditionally out here, one's first choice would usually be a sport quad, and you would only have a ute as a second machine for some specialized purpose like farming, hunting, mountain riding, etc. Yet, there seems to be a recent trend among "senior citizens" to buy a huge heavy ute, that they just aren't able to safely handle (believe me, I see this out on the trail all the time!). Grandma would be better off on a light nimble little Honda 250EX, rather than a 700+ pound Polaris.

 

i live in the mountains where the sport atvs are virtually non existant on the trails. some of the kids bring them up to the mountains and find they cannot get much past the trailhead, so they spend the day zipping up and down the access road and spinning donuts in the campgrounds.
i have a small 4x4 and a big one. the big one will go farther on the hardcore trails. both will leave the sport atv at the trail head and not see it until we get back there.

so your "average" is far from our "average".

so if you wanna pretend we are all not bright enough to buy an atv, fine. but you will not make it where we go every weekend.

monty

 

I was in the Oregon woods a few weeks ago, and I paid particular attention to what folks were riding. I was rather surprised to find that by far, the most common machine was the Honda Rancher (besides all the sport quads from Calif. that were at the dunes!). In my mind, this represents a very sensible choice in terms of size/weight/handling for the "average" trail rider of average riding ability, virtually anywhere in the country.

Actually, price was probably more of a factor in their purchase than any in-depth analysis about the handling of the various machines, but at least in the end that works out to everyone's advantage. But in another way, it also demonstrates that the general riding public is pretty much immune to the macho "got to have a huge heavy big bore" mentality.

There are certainly places where I ride like the Sierra (snow, big rocks on unmaintained trails, lots of streams to cross) where if I rode there exclusively, I wouldn't have much use for a sport quad either. Everything IS relative.

 

reconranger,

This isn't meant to be snarky or start a flame war or anything, but I was wondering how much (how many miles) have you ridden a Rincon?

 

Grandma is not going to ride anything with a clutch. She's also not going to ride something where her feet could possibly slip off the pegs and go under the back wheel. Wake up Peter Pan!

 

reconranger,

I'm impatiently waiting to see the answer to the post asking how many miles you have been on a Rincon - since you "seem" to know so much about them.
I don't own one so I'm not being brand loyal. I do happen to have a big, fat and lazy Rubicon - which actually does have nice engine braking that I like - but have also been on a Rincon and I can say it's anything but made for Grandma.

What really seems apparent is your utter lack of understanding about anything that doesn't fit your idea of what people should be riding. The difference I see between you and most everyone else in this thread is that we ute riders understand where your sport bike may have it's place, so no need to bash it. But, I beg you to try and keep up in the places I ride with your little sport bike. I know and have seen many, many people on sports who are not old, not out of shape, good riders who get stuck or slip and slide up a steep wet hill, bog down in water etc., etc. to only have one of the utilities pull them out, push them up or through. I won't even get into how well your sport bike does in the snow around here.... If we ride with a sport bike... make sure somebody has a tow rope is the call out. These guys all - ALL have now gotten utilities either in addition to or replacing their sports. They all thought the sport would be more fun and faster, but after realizing that they can only ride it a few months out of the year to avoid fall and spring mud or winter snow, they decided to change. Simply put - where we ride, the sports just don't stand a chance and can't make it through.

To address another point, I have also been around many different sizes of utilities and can easliy say that... surprise here... the bigger bikes can get through more difficult terrain. Get stuck in a deep mud hole or try to lift your quad out of a deep snow bank and you will quickly see why many people look to a bigger machine to get them through. Again, pretty simple logic here. A sport bike may work well where you ride, but it's not always the right choice for everyone everywhere. And, I have yet to meet the "perfect" bike - If that were the case we would all own one.

And lastly, if you are such a sport bike fanatic, what the heck are you doing in the Utilities Forum anyway????

 

Around here where I live a sport bike is useless. 90% of the quads around here are big, old heavy utes and the other 10% are sport quads sitting in the back of the truck or in the garage because they cant play like we can. Utes can do everything a sport can do but a sport cant do everything a ute can do. You dont have to be old and out of shape to have a utility. And the rincon is the lightest ute of them all. I guess if you are old and out of shape you should own a Polaris because of the weight. And you say utes are dangerouse? Not sure why you think that. I have been riding for almost 20yrs and never had a problem controlling a ute. And you really need to get off the EBS crap. YOU DONT NEED EBS!!!!!!! If you think you really need EBS then you should not ride at all. Thats what brakes are for. You dont see sport quads with ebs. Damn I think all sport quads should have EBS. They are crap if they dont have EBS. The manufacturer should be ashaimed of them selves and should not even build some crap sport bike without ebs. I think everyone should be on a utility quad. Sport bikes are for guys that cant handle a big old heavy utility quad.. I am not brand loyal. I have a Polaris, Honda and many other quads in my garage. What might not be right for you may be right for alot of others. I dont read about riders that own a Rincon and complain about them day in and day out. The rincon is a very rounded quad for guys that like to play in the mud, ride like a sport quad, cruise the trails and just have fun. You cant do that with alot of the utes out there because they are too heavy and bulky. I wanted opinions from people that have had a rincon or have experience with them. You obviously do not.

 

Im a ute man myself, but the utes doing everything a sport can do i dont think is true. But they cant do everything we can either. Example: A sport takes a 9 ft jump over a whoop, and lands on the other side, and proceeds. Ute takes a 9ft jump, lands on the otherside, explodes into pieces of frame, tires, and human body parts, and comes to a rest on its side. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]