Many people have posed the question so I did some research and made a phone call:The list price for a Hondamatic Transmission assembly is $920.62 . ServiceHonda can get them for $718.08 . The way I understand it is that if they have problems with any units under warranty, they will replace them with new , since they do not have rebuilts in the system. Then they will use the warranty core units that were defective to rebuild and have a supply of these rebuilts available to the public at a reduced price with the stipulation that they must have the core back. I think this is a good system and I know Honda uses this system for their automobile transmissions (automatic). They may also release hard parts (i.e. swash plate,angle drive motor,etc. if they see a need for them and feel that the repair can be made in the field (that is, by dealers) without compromising the repair quality. I know people have been speculating on the cost,with many non-Honda owners saying $2000-$2500. It's nice to know that it would only be a third of that, and probably only $300-$400 for the rebuilts when they are available. That is even if they have a demand for them. It could be that the Hondamatic will not only be remembered years from now as a groundbreaking change in ATV transmissions, but also as reliable as any design out there. Time will tell.

 

I was curious as well. I called four Honda dealerships out of the yellow pages. None of them could tell me the cost of replacing the unit. They all said that they haven't received any parts/replacement literature from Honda yet, and told me to check back in a month or two.

 

Shumdit: Nice work and thanks. I have been watching to see if anyone would come up with some info on the tranny prices. I seriously doubt there will be the demand for rebuilts though. If there is though then they will have them at even better prices so it doesn't really sound as if the Hondamatic was much of a chance on our parts to buy. Though like you said, other brands have been just waiting to stab it to us Rubicon owners with the Price thing on the tranny.

Later,
Scott

 

I was very excited when the Rubicon was on it's way. We actually drove 100 miles to look at one (I'm a diehard kodiak fan).If not for the drum brakes (which is why I sold my 95 Kodiak cause I love to play in the mud) I would have been thrilled to own this beast.I know the brakes are triple sealed and all that,but I stayed brand loyal and bought a 2000 Kodiak which has turned out to be great. I had a lot of reserve about autos cause I love shifting everything and had heard wild stories about other belt driven auto quads. I think that barring abuse/lack of maintenance or assembly error that this type of hydraulic tranny, which has been around for a VERY long time in all types of applications (We had this type of system on US Navy Minesweepers to change the pitch of the screw blades and these boats were 45 years old)should last as long or longer than any other part on this quad.Heck, when the bike is worn out the tranny will probably still be salvagable! I'm new to this forum but have been reading posts here for a while now and most all of the bashing I see here is sensless/childish/my quads better,faster/prettier etc..than yours.I ride with a lot of weekend warriors on all types of quads and our main theme is to enjoy the riding and each others company. Bashing is here to stay but hopefully the Richard Craniums who love to do it are moving on.

 

There will always be bashing, I was only trying to inform the Honda public about the Hondamatic situation. If I wanted to rub it in, I should have posted it in the Polaris forum, since some of them in particular seem to enjoy taking shots at Honda.

 

Thanks for the info, wondered just how many $$$$s those trannys would run, probably get one in the summer. Good work, better then your name would suggest.

98 450-s
14100 mi
stock
Blackwaters

00 Kodiak
stock

 

Hey guys~
Why buy a $900 transmission when you can get by just as well with a $30 belt??? I got 9 years from the belt on my first Polaris quad. Would you rather be out in the woods and have a tranny or belt break?

 

First of all we are not talking about a Polaris Transmission on this topic.
Secondly a $30 belt is fine unless it takes the buttons out with it and then you are not going to fix it on the trail.
Third and most importantly you probably have plenty of other things to worry about on your Polaris, so let's not even get into the whole my Polaris belt is superior to your -------- <-(fill in the blank) model transmission. As a fellow ATV rider I do not wish to get into the "mine is better than yours" confrontation. I only posted this info for the benefit of Honda enthusiasts. If I wanted to rub it in to the Polaris naysayers who say the Hondamatic would cost $2000-$2500 I would have posted it in that forum. That's my $.02

 

glad to see you picked up on that ROAR!