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Posted by: 2manytoys
Zorro,
No the rincon does not have low range but with the 3speed tranny 1`st gear is pretty low to tow and pull. The Rincon is not made to be a workhorse. It is made to be a sport utility. Light, agile and very easy to manuver. Its handling is awsome. Much better than most utes out there.
Captain,
Not sure why everyone is so hell bent about having EBS. Not saying you dont know how to ride but who needs ebs? I have been riding for over 20yrs. I did not have ebs growing up. I do however hate the 1 brake lever on my Sp600. It sucks. I like the brakes on my rinny. If you have front and rear brakes then there is no need for ebs.
Posted by: CaptainQuint
With the skittering chattering locking up out of control mess that Polaris engine braking is on steep decents I don't know why anyone would want one on steep hills. A good way to dump the ATV and get yourself killed. Now if it was flat ground it would be a fine choice.
They really need to do something about that. Their latest effort by the reports I'm getting isn't cutting it by the way.
Posted by: CaptainQuint
The annoyance and limitation of the Polaris EBS is a known issue. I know the first time I experienced it I was test riding a new sportsman my friend had brought over. I about dumped the thing when it started skittering and clanking around and it started sliding around the hill I was negotiating. It about scared me to death. For one I about dumped the thing and another I thought I had broken my friend's new ATV. I rode over and told him and I was shocked when he told me that was how it was suppose to act. I tried it on several more hills and a steep gravel trails and it just would pull that same stunt and I just couldn't get use to the way it acted. If the hill had traction it didn't seem to be as much of a problem but loose material like gravel and loose dirt and stuff it was really tricky. It was great for everything else though. It rode great and handled pretty good except for the EBS issue. The power was decent too. The 4x4 system was a bit odd but worked ok as far as I could tell in most cases. The singe brake lever, an unfortunate ?feature? shared with can-am, is indeed annoying and combined with EBS was definitely a handful on steep hills. I've read where people are actually disabling EBS somehow it is disliked so much. The new 4 wheel EBS that Polaris just introduced isn't that good either from what I've read and heard from people personally.
I've always found it a shame that Polaris has a really good machine that is essentially crippled by a couple of defects that they just wont seem to address. Much like the way Honda is crippled by the fact they won't put a low range or a locker in their ATVs. (much to the annoyance of one of their dealers as I was reminded yet again this week)
Posted by: zorro700
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Originally posted by: kickass210
I think u should get something with gears try honda rincons.
Are you serious? No low range? Please I can't believe some of these people.
Sportsman or AC.
Posted by: zorro700
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Originally posted by: CaptainQuint
With the skittering chattering locking up out of control mess that Polaris engine braking is on steep decents I don't know why anyone would want one on steep hills. A good way to dump the ATV and get yourself killed. Now if it was flat ground it would be a fine choice.
They really need to do something about that. Their latest effort by the reports I'm getting isn't cutting it by the way.
Or you could learn how to ride. I never had any problems decending hills.
Posted by: 4wheelerfred
good luck with the kawi!
but you cant beet a polaris for work. im surprized nobody mentioned it.....
The sportsmans are the best because they weight so much. the sportsman 400 is rated to pull as much as your brute force. now thats a workhorse.
Posted by: Steveo10
Congratz! The Brute has tons of power and should be ready for any of the task you have for it
Posted by: JDQuadRider
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Originally posted by: kickass210
I think u should get something with gears try honda rincons.
Bad choice for work. The Rincon is probably one of the worst big bore quads you can buy if your intent is to use it primarily for work. No low range. 'Nuff said.
Posted by: JDQuadRider
I had a 1996 Polaris Magnum 4x4 and it DID NOT like descending slippery hills at all. That thing had absolutely no engine braking and you only had 1 brake lever to operate. If you wanted to control the back brake only, you had to use the foot brake although it was pretty much worthless with stock tires. You usually had to cross your fingers and hope for the best when descending steep, slick hills. I'm not sure how the engine braking is on the new Polaris' but I do enjoy it a lot on both my Grizzly and Rubicon. Engine braking to 4 wheels during steep descents does help a lot. The individual brake levers help here too.
Posted by: JDQuadRider
You're right. Nobody NEEDS EBS but it is very nice to have. Especially 4-wheel EBS. It's handy for descending steep, slippery surfaces.
Nobody NEEDS 700cc's, 12" ground clearance either but sometimes, it's nice!
Posted by: JDQuadRider
I seriously hope you're kidding when you refer to your friend's Foreman as a $8000 Foreman. I've seen those things for $5500.
All that aside, the only Honda automatic with low range is the Rubicon. It does extremely well going downhill.
Posted by: squeege
I would think that you would want 4x4 and gears or a belt that must have a low range...., big bear 400 manual, kodiak 400 auto or 450 auto, suzuki eager 400 manual , are good quads.
Posted by: squeege
O' Yeah! don't forget acrtic cat 400 manual or auto
Posted by: squeege
The outty's are nice but not many dealers here......as far as suzuki ....the eaiger is prolly more reliable than the vinson
Posted by: v2rider
For a pure work horse, i would look at AC, or Suzuki Eiger. They are both tough built atvs, and if money isnt an issue, look at the 650H1 Arctic Cat, it has a massive amount of low end pulling power
Posted by: v2rider
To be honest, for alot of Heavy pulling, i wouldnt get a 400cc anything. I would not go lower than a 500
Posted by: vinny04
I have to chime in here about the ebs. Sometimes when I go down really steep hills I put it in Low 4x4 and ease off on the gas the engine brake slows the bike to a snails pace, sometimes I have to use the throttle to get it moving. I rarely use the brakes thats why I'm replaceing them this weekend with over 4500km on the stock pads. I took my fathers kodiak 450 down some of the same hills trying out the ebs and on that bike isn't as strong as on my vinson as it will roll faster but its better than none at all.
Posted by: SBuckJ
Where you from in central PA? (I'm from there) I would recommend a Suzuki Vinson or a Honda Foreman. Both good and powerful enough ATV's.
Buck
Posted by: SafetySean
Vinny04...I checked out your pics in the Suzuki folder. Nice...I liked the scenery and ain't riding in the slush a pain. Anyway where do you live? Some of those pics did look quite familiar but then again a lot of NL looks like that. I may be wrong but it kind of looks like the Trinity Bay area to me. Let me know.
Posted by: bombrider04
any of the utes are a good choice I would have to say but I would go with outty,king quad,kodiak,grizzly and ac but as was mentioned ac and bomb are going to be harder to find atleast in my area they are...I was also going to mention a rhino from yamaha since you can do pretty much anything with them.
Posted by: TLC
Read this http://www.powersportsnetwork.com/enthusiasts/review_list_vehicle.asp?veh=22087
Thats the way I would go, it has low range and is a straight axle which is better for "bull work" than a independent rear suspension.
Posted by: TLC
I have been down some steep hills and I do not know what you guys are talking about. My dads 97 SP500 has no EBS and I just put it in low and it rides the engine compression down hills and if thats not enough I guess thats what the brakes are for. My SP500 with EBS is usually enough just to let it free wheel down a hill ,put it in low range and I wounder if I'm going to get to the bottom sometime today. If all that is not enough you just feather the brakes.
Low range it a must on atvs.
Honda does Have a very low 1st gear but many times you need a little more speed yet still need low range and thats why a low 1st gear is no substitute for a low range tranny. Many times low range 2nd or third gear is the compo you need in many situations. Even my old 86 250 moto4 2wd and 89 350 Big Bear 4x4 had a sub transmission yet my friends $8000 05 Foreman 500 does not have one?
Posted by: TLC
Thats in Canada and Im talking Canadian money. I'm sure a 500 forman is 8 billion Rubies in Russia. I sold my 2000 450 FormanES for $5000 just this spring. The cheapest 4x4 ATV sold in Canada is a 350 Briun and it still goes for $6200+15% tax.
Posted by: kickass210
I think u should get something with gears try honda rincons.
Posted by: wille
congrats on the new bike..........good to hear you went with a 650 for the work you want to do.
Let us know how it performs as a workhorse.
Posted by: BBR650
400 outty has low range, its auto.
Posted by: Dave43
The problem with the Sportsman downhill/EBS problem isn't really an EBS problem. The EBS works great. The problem is that there is no way to keep the front wheels locked while going downhill. The reason the've never done anything about this is that they would have to abandon thier 4x4 on demand system. It is a mechanical lock that is only "enabled" electrically. If there is no forward load on the front wheels they will unlock.
I am a former Sportsman owner, and will more than likely be again, but have to agree that that was my only complaint. It got to the point where I would take it out of gear and just use the brakes on steep downhills.
The Polaris systems work great. EBS is good, and the 4x4 system is great. It is true that the rear wheels have to spin before the fronts lock, but it is so fast you never notice it. THe only time I ever wished that there was a manual lock on the front wheels was trying to crawl over an obstacle. Would be handy for that. I will be looking for a new top of the line quad in the next couple of years, and Sportsman will definately be at the top of my list, but I will look at others with a manual front lock for these reasons.
Dave
Posted by: Sandmark
This will be my first ATV purchase and I would like to get some opinions from experienced ATV owners. Here's what I need it for: pulling trees, large rocks, hauling wood piles, snow plow. We're going to work it hard and have rocky, sloped land in central PA. This is not a recreational ATV and will only be used as a workhorse. No water on the property. Any thoughts on what to look for? We looked at a 2004 Polaris Sportsman 400 yesterday.
Thanks.
Mark
Posted by: Sandmark
Thanks everyone. I'm going to an ATV show now and will look at the suggestions that were made.
Mark
Posted by: Sandmark
I bought one at the show. It's a 2006 (new leftover stock) Kawasaki 650 4x4 Brute Force with the $69 winch promotion. I'm adding a plow and the double winch system and looking for a dump bed for it too. I don't have the OTD price yet but for the ATV and Winch it's $5600. This should work well for everything that I need it to do.
Mark
Posted by: Sandmark
Thanks! We actually almost bought a Polaris 400 2004 sportsman. The only thing that kept us away is that our house is built on a mountain side and all of our acreage is sloped in various degrees. The Polaris has a gravity fed fuel system and sputters on slopes. The Kawasaki is carbed too but has an electronic fuel pump to maintain fuel pressure. It should be home this week and I'll start working it soon. I'll keep you posted on the performance. There were so many good choices out there and we just had to pick one.
Mark
