BlueRapted
Ragley,La
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Joined: 12/14/2007
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Welcome nictim, I used to own a 2001 250ex. There is not one brand I like or think is better than all others,just certain models within different brands that I prefer. I currently own a 1986 trx250r and think it was the best sport quad of its time. I like the older models honda had produced like:atc250x,atc350x,atc big-red,trx250r,300 foremen,and the 400ex. None of the newer honda 4x4's impress me,they need to add diff lock,more power,and more ground clearance. I like to ride advanced trails and not get hi-centered or not have the power to spin my wheels and I want true 4wd when needed.And I get why honda doesn't change thier ways,its just like harley davidsons.If they are selling why change them?If honda would add more features like I stated,then I would definitaley be interested. Also I'm speaking of thier 4x4 models,seems the dirt bike,sport-quads,and on-road bikes are getting all the good attention. Just my 2cents.
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jhess
usa
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Joined: 11/30/2008
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...just like four wheel drive on a p/u truck,a locker is never thought about until you need it. I have used mine just about every hunting season. I would just as well buy a 2 wheel drive than a supposed 4 wheel drive without a locker on an ATV. The big thing about a locker is its off road capability when needed.I traverse clear cuts all the time,and its very hard going without a locker. You need a winch most of the time.
Willie
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plumbstraight
western Washington
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Joined: 03/01/2008
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I have an 05 rincon. One of the last before the disc brakes up front and carbureated. Would like fuel injection, but you know, this quad will pull my log arch/trailer loaded with wood or a good size log behind it and it has always taken me from point A to B without whining.
I did put 26in bighorns and a 4500lb venom on it which I haven't had to use yet.
I went with the rincon solely because it has the automotive type tranny. As I have spent some time in Ak and heard the stories of belt drives failing it scared me off. Being many miles out in nowhere with a failed belt just wouldn't cut it. Also saw many pushing harleys with broken belts, I have a shaftdrive boulevard, seems to also get me from point A to B in style at half the price.
Folks, I too do not want to bash anyone or any fun machine, they all have their strong points, just a matter of what we use them for. Personally, I am not going to take a 7000 dollar machine out and see how much mud it will go through and see if I need sonar to find my way through a pond. For me it is a tool to get the meat, and firewood in, or course going out to see the countryside is a plus without having to hump your A-- off packing a weekend of supplies up a mountain to that special fishing hole.
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jhess
usa
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Joined: 11/30/2008
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Plumb: I had a Rincon just like yours,except my tranny was the problem and why I sold it. I am by no means a proponent of belt drive(I had a BMW R1200C),but for what ever reason,mine didn't want to move very well in cold weather. Dealer said I wasn't waiting long enough for the oil to heat up.I did not like the fact that the engine oil also was the tranny oil.
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BlueRapted
Ragley,La
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Joined: 12/14/2007
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I understand what you are sayin plumbstraight, And for what you are using your rincon for, it will work great. It sounds like you are alot older than me, I know for me and alot of people in my age range use ours for more extreme riding and advance trails.We need lots of power,diff-lock,and lots of ground clearence.
And belts do break,but they are not too expensive and you can carry a spare.Unlike on the shaft drives,parts are expensive and your probably not gonna change it on the sid of the road like you could a belt.No one bike/brand is perfect,they all have their flaws.
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jhess
usa
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BlueRapted wrote:I understand what you are sayin plumbstraight, And for what you are using your rincon for, it will work great. It sounds like you are alot older than me, I know for me and alot of people in my age range use ours for more extreme riding and advance trails.We need lots of power,diff-lock,and lots of ground clearence.
And belts do break,but they are not too expensive and you can carry a spare.Unlike on the shaft drives,parts are expensive and your probably not gonna change it on the sid of the road like you could a belt.No one bike/brand is perfect,they all have their flaws. Blue: Your post is just about right!
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BlueRapted
Ragley,La
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Thanks, I am not always right and don't know everything,but I try to give an honest opinion when I can.
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likeorangebikes
In the hills
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Joined: 06/25/2009
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If you want a dead reliable , get you from point a to point b for 20 years with minimal work and downtime. The old Honda 300 4x4 would be hard to beat. That being said, I,m not a large Honda fan, based soley on the value per dollar any more. a Honda ATV is not a value compared to the other machines on the market.. At one time, you could weigh the dependability issue, stating, that over the long term, youd spend less money on upkeep and repairs, But thats not the case anymore. When other machines offer more features, better suspension, more power, etc... (all in a relevant term) Its discouraging to see the price so high on the Honda. On the other hand, They are selling thme at that price, in the face of competitors who offer more, so that says something in its self also.
BUT.. While I had bad mouthed the Rincon pretty much since its introduction, It wasnt until a year ago that I really got some serious seat time on one, I came away impressed. for its INTENDED purpose (minus rock crawling, heavy hauling and thick mud)I think its a home run. Its got good power, handles like a dream, and the suspension is among the best in class. Its definitley one of those, "ride all day" quads.
Yamaha , suzuki and kawasaki have all been pretty even over the past several years. Sure there will be some of you who will swear a Yamaha will outlast the suzuki, vice versa, and so on.. Of course then there will be the folks who swear that every Kawasaki they have ever seen go into the woods has come out on its own power and everything that followed it had to be towed. Thats all Bull****, and any of us that has been riding for more than 10 years knows it. Any machine, can and will break at any given time.
Man, these ATVS have come so far in terms of performance, comfort and reliability in the past 10 years, hell in the last 4 years, that its hard to pick a losing manufacturer, or a winning manufacturer.
IT seems the general Sentiment among this board ( or most others for that matter)is that the sole ownership of last place in reliability ratings is polaris. I have owned several Polaris ATVS since 1996, Starting with a 2-stroke 300 xplorer. I will say that Quality was******back then. Was it reliable? Yes Extremely so, after 3 years of mud and water up to the racks, pulling trucks, and hay wagons, and rock crawling, I replaced 2 belts. On the other hand, all the other******was loose, tie-rod ends would loosen after onlly 2 weeks, steering bushings (yes busings, not bearing!)would never tighten, and swingarm bearing, Well, what bearings. So,o I feel that quality was severly lacking, but it never left me stranded. Over the years I have had nothing but good luck from polaris, which leads me to my next comment, which we aalready know. Reliability is based on a persons perception of quality.
Based on my experience, Polaris would run near the top, while based on cc,s or others it may run near the bottom.
We also tend to form opinions based on the favorite manufacturer. FOr example, If I dont like Yamaha, and see a Grizz with a broken belt, Then its unreliable. On the other hand, If I Love yamaha, and My grizz just broke a belt, then its just a maintenance issue that doesnt effect reliability. Those who tend to blindly follow a single manufacturer, are often blind to its shortcomings, and deaf to a competitors praises. Its hard to break away from that cycle when you have been on a single manufacturer for life. You dont really want to test the waters with another machine. Then again, if YOUR happy and content with what you ride, then your already on the best machine for you, then these reliabiliy questionairres dont really mean S*** then do they?
An old new member.
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jhess
usa
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Joined: 11/30/2008
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likeorangebikes wrote:If you want a dead reliable , get you from point a to point b for 20 years with minimal work and downtime. The old Honda 300 4x4 would be hard to beat. That being said, I,m not a large Honda fan, based soley on the value per dollar any more. a Honda ATV is not a value compared to the other machines on the market.. At one time, you could weigh the dependability issue, stating, that over the long term, youd spend less money on upkeep and repairs, But thats not the case anymore. When other machines offer more features, better suspension, more power, etc... (all in a relevant term) Its discouraging to see the price so high on the Honda. On the other hand, They are selling thme at that price, in the face of competitors who offer more, so that says something in its self also.
BUT.. While I had bad mouthed the Rincon pretty much since its introduction, It wasnt until a year ago that I really got some serious seat time on one, I came away impressed. for its INTENDED purpose (minus rock crawling, heavy hauling and thick mud)I think its a home run. Its got good power, handles like a dream, and the suspension is among the best in class. Its definitley one of those, "ride all day" quads.
Yamaha , suzuki and kawasaki have all been pretty even over the past several years. Sure there will be some of you who will swear a Yamaha will outlast the suzuki, vice versa, and so on.. Of course then there will be the folks who swear that every Kawasaki they have ever seen go into the woods has come out on its own power and everything that followed it had to be towed. Thats all Bull****, and any of us that has been riding for more than 10 years knows it. Any machine, can and will break at any given time.
Man, these ATVS have come so far in terms of performance, comfort and reliability in the past 10 years, hell in the last 4 years, that its hard to pick a losing manufacturer, or a winning manufacturer.
IT seems the general Sentiment among this board ( or most others for that matter)is that the sole ownership of last place in reliability ratings is polaris. I have owned several Polaris ATVS since 1996, Starting with a 2-stroke 300 xplorer. I will say that Quality was******back then. Was it reliable? Yes Extremely so, after 3 years of mud and water up to the racks, pulling trucks, and hay wagons, and rock crawling, I replaced 2 belts. On the other hand, all the other******was loose, tie-rod ends would loosen after onlly 2 weeks, steering bushings (yes busings, not bearing!)would never tighten, and swingarm bearing, Well, what bearings. So,o I feel that quality was severly lacking, but it never left me stranded. Over the years I have had nothing but good luck from polaris, which leads me to my next comment, which we aalready know. Reliability is based on a persons perception of quality.
Based on my experience, Polaris would run near the top, while based on cc,s or others it may run near the bottom.
We also tend to form opinions based on the favorite manufacturer. FOr example, If I dont like Yamaha, and see a Grizz with a broken belt, Then its unreliable. On the other hand, If I Love yamaha, and My grizz just broke a belt, then its just a maintenance issue that doesnt effect reliability. Those who tend to blindly follow a single manufacturer, are often blind to its shortcomings, and deaf to a competitors praises. Its hard to break away from that cycle when you have been on a single manufacturer for life. You dont really want to test the waters with another machine. Then again, if YOUR happy and content with what you ride, then your already on the best machine for you, then these reliabiliy questionairres dont really mean S*** then do they? Huh!???
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cchagros
New Hampshire
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Joined: 02/23/2005
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jhess wrote:likeorangebikes wrote:If you want a dead reliable , get you from point a to point b for 20 years with minimal work and downtime. The old Honda 300 4x4 would be hard to beat. That being said, I,m not a large Honda fan, based soley on the value per dollar any more. a Honda ATV is not a value compared to the other machines on the market.. At one time, you could weigh the dependability issue, stating, that over the long term, youd spend less money on upkeep and repairs, But thats not the case anymore. When other machines offer more features, better suspension, more power, etc... (all in a relevant term) Its discouraging to see the price so high on the Honda. On the other hand, They are selling thme at that price, in the face of competitors who offer more, so that says something in its self also.
BUT.. While I had bad mouthed the Rincon pretty much since its introduction, It wasnt until a year ago that I really got some serious seat time on one, I came away impressed. for its INTENDED purpose (minus rock crawling, heavy hauling and thick mud)I think its a home run. Its got good power, handles like a dream, and the suspension is among the best in class. Its definitley one of those, "ride all day" quads.
Yamaha , suzuki and kawasaki have all been pretty even over the past several years. Sure there will be some of you who will swear a Yamaha will outlast the suzuki, vice versa, and so on.. Of course then there will be the folks who swear that every Kawasaki they have ever seen go into the woods has come out on its own power and everything that followed it had to be towed. Thats all Bull****, and any of us that has been riding for more than 10 years knows it. Any machine, can and will break at any given time.
Man, these ATVS have come so far in terms of performance, comfort and reliability in the past 10 years, hell in the last 4 years, that its hard to pick a losing manufacturer, or a winning manufacturer.
IT seems the general Sentiment among this board ( or most others for that matter)is that the sole ownership of last place in reliability ratings is polaris. I have owned several Polaris ATVS since 1996, Starting with a 2-stroke 300 xplorer. I will say that Quality was******back then. Was it reliable? Yes Extremely so, after 3 years of mud and water up to the racks, pulling trucks, and hay wagons, and rock crawling, I replaced 2 belts. On the other hand, all the other******was loose, tie-rod ends would loosen after onlly 2 weeks, steering bushings (yes busings, not bearing!)would never tighten, and swingarm bearing, Well, what bearings. So,o I feel that quality was severly lacking, but it never left me stranded. Over the years I have had nothing but good luck from polaris, which leads me to my next comment, which we aalready know. Reliability is based on a persons perception of quality.
Based on my experience, Polaris would run near the top, while based on cc,s or others it may run near the bottom.
We also tend to form opinions based on the favorite manufacturer. FOr example, If I dont like Yamaha, and see a Grizz with a broken belt, Then its unreliable. On the other hand, If I Love yamaha, and My grizz just broke a belt, then its just a maintenance issue that doesnt effect reliability. Those who tend to blindly follow a single manufacturer, are often blind to its shortcomings, and deaf to a competitors praises. Its hard to break away from that cycle when you have been on a single manufacturer for life. You dont really want to test the waters with another machine. Then again, if YOUR happy and content with what you ride, then your already on the best machine for you, then these reliabiliy questionairres dont really mean S*** then do they? Huh!???
Command of the english language confuse you jhess?
2010 Honda Rincon, Red, Bone Stock
2005 Suzuki King Quad, Yellow, Mudlite XTRs
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