Go get a honda and ride it..it will be fine the tranny will be fine the power is fine.. You don't need to listen to these people who are obviously jealous of the Honda reliability..

Hondas arent the fastest best ridding or advanced machines out there..but they are the MOST reliable don't let anyone tell you different.

 

I'll tell him different. The worse quad I have ever owned was a 2007 Honda Rubicon. Most uncomfortable ride and in three months twice it had to have a sensor replaced that told it when to shift (my friend had the same issue with his 07). Oh yeah, not to mention the fact that the camo started peeling. I lost $3000 on trading that after three months but I hated that machine. No...not reliable.

Buck

 

It's a thick subject, because there's so much variety.

First basic choice in a utility: live axle or independent rear suspension? Live axle is less expensive to buy, less to go wrong, IRS rides smoother and you get a lot better ground clearance.

A lot of this is defined by where you're going and what you're doing. On a flat farm and fields, SRA is fine. My farm is rough as a cob, and I kept getting my old Big Bear stuck, so I replaced it with an Arctic Cat 500 with IRS and 12" ground clearance, haven't stuck it yet. I've had that Cat since 2002, only problem has been rear wheel bearings going out after seven years. As many trailer loads of firewood as I hauled with that quad, I'm surprised the bearings lasted that long.

Next question is: what size engine? Frankly, anything over 500cc's is probably overkill for farm work. My Cat 500 has towed trailer loads of firewood, probably 500-700 pounds, over some pretty rough trails. A trailer over 1000 pounds is trouble, no quad has brakes good enough to stop it.

Finally, transmission. With rare exception, utility quads have belt drives. A manual trans is better for towing trailers, won't wear out, but the only manual trans utility quads made today are the 400 and 500cc models from Suzuki and Arctic cat.

In addition to my Cat 500, I just added a Cat 400 TRV, which has a longer wheelbase and a seat and footpegs for a 2nd rider. Take the rear seat off, and a rack goes on the back. I like the longer wheelbase, seems to tow better, handle better going up hills. They make a chain saw mount that goes onto the rack, handy to have.

Also, get the electric winch. I use mine to stretch fence wire tight.

 

Your right Hondas are really bad...reliability is at the bottom of the list on Hondas..This thread is officially going to the special OLYMPICS..

 

honda's are not reliable at all. my friends honda rincon tranny went out 3 times and he finally traded it in for a king quad 400. he likes it alot.he trail rides and hunts with it.the 2011 kq400's have efi and a new dash.if i were you id look into that or a king quad 500 or even a grizzly 550.kawaskia's are good to.say with the japp brands.

 

It has been my experience that Honda's were at one time very reliable but more recent models simply aren't living up to the reputation they built on their older machines. To be honest the newer machines I know of in use in my general neighborhood are anything but reliable. I'd even go as far as to call them trouble prone. Not hardcore riders either just farmers who use them for chores and hunting. Most of the guys are replacing old late 80s and early 90s fourtrax and foreman machines expecting their legendary reliability and they end up being really disappointed with the new models.

In my neck of the woods back in the day everyone rode Honda. You either had a fourtrax or a foreman. You never saw another brand unless it was a sport quad like a banshee. Honda simply dominated the utility market. Now Hondas are disappearing except for the older models. Heck, sometimes you can sell a nice example of a 300 4x4 fourtrax for as much or more than you bought it for back in the early 90s. The new models are getting rare around here. What I find is that guys will get a new one, either have trouble with it or compare it to what the neighbor is riding and then trade it in on something else. It's usually a Yamaha or Polaris or sometimes a Can-Am.

 

I would not say that ,it more about gearing. my belt 500 in low range can pull much harder than my 450 foreman did and my friends 500 Foreman 5 speed, the Foremans had low 1st grears but still not greared as low a atv with a low range sub tranny.

 

On the low range issue I've towed another X2 down a mountain, over rocks and downed trees, through mud, etc. The guy had seen a moose and instead of watching the trail he watched the moose. Piece of wood got up underneath and ripped his throttle cable out. It was about 4-5 miles from where he parked. No problem. I've also towed an industrial sized wood chipper when our trucks (my 4x4 GMC with rear locker) couldn't get up a small hill with wet grass. Hooked it onto the X2 and it pulled it right up the hill. I also pull a trailer that is 4x4 and 3 feet deep full of wet firewood from freshly cut trees. Up and down 30 degree plus slopes. Never hesitates.

 

Honda Rubicon puts out 32.5 Hp,comparable to others in the 500 class.