# Honda Rincon or Polaris Sportsman utv



## dvellone (Oct 5, 2009)

I'm thinking utility atv and trailer for firewood harvesting (as well as other hauling chores around the homestead)

I've used honda equipment quite a bit and love the reliability, but hate the pricey parts and somewhat difficult to work on engineering.

Right now I'm looking at a Rincon in Honda's line and Sportsman in Polaris' line.

Anybody have experience and opinions on these models?


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## Manatarms (Oct 5, 2009)

Both are great machines...the Honda is probably more reliable....however they tend to have less "features" compared to the sportsman.  Depending upon the model and year, the Sportman will usually have more power, better ground clearance, superior towing capacity, superior 4WD system (locking front diff).  If you're gonna be hauling logs out of nasty places, with off camber log crossings and lots of mud, I would think the locking diff on the sportsman would win.  Just my opinion though....and I have a sportsman so I guess I'm biased.

-Polaris has a CVT tranny on the Polaris (pro's..you can change the belt in the feild if it breaks, con's...it breaks)
-Honda has an enclosed, sealed gearbox (pro's...it should't break...cons..if it does it will cost you $$$$)
-Polaris is usually really heavy compared to other similar displacement machines....good for towing, plowing and pulling...bad for sporty joy rides.

If you're not seeing the need for locking front diff...then either will be great.  Ride them both and buy the one you like and can get serviced locally.

Are you looking into Power Steering models?

Hope that helps.

-mark


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## mike1234 (Oct 5, 2009)

I noticed you have a kubota tractor, so why are you not also looking at the kubota rtv?


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## pilot-werx (Oct 5, 2009)

My Sportsman has been a wonderful machine and is so comfy to ride....


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## dvellone (Oct 6, 2009)

mike1234 said:
			
		

> I noticed you have a kubota tractor, so why are you not also looking at the kubota rtv?



No, I don't have a kubota. I rent occasionally and have considered purchasing one, but the price is just too high and I have friends that haul out firewood with utv that swear by their effectiveness and maneuverability for this kind of chore. 

If I can accomplish my firewood harvesting and other hauling chores with a utv I can spend 10k less.

Forgot to mention, the two seater utv's don't seem to have the maneuverability in the woods that the one seat models have.


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## dvellone (Oct 6, 2009)

Manatarms said:
			
		

> Both are great machines...the Honda is probably more reliable....however they tend to have less "features" compared to the sportsman.  Depending upon the model and year, the Sportman will usually have more power, better ground clearance, superior towing capacity, superior 4WD system (locking front diff).  If you're gonna be hauling logs out of nasty places, with off camber log crossings and lots of mud, I would think the locking diff on the sportsman would win.  Just my opinion though....and I have a sportsman so I guess I'm biased.
> 
> -Polaris has a CVT tranny on the Polaris (pro's..you can change the belt in the feild if it breaks, con's...it breaks)
> -Honda has an enclosed, sealed gearbox (pro's...it should't break...cons..if it does it will cost you $$$$)
> ...



Those features are exactly what I'm after. My "joy riding" would consist of pulling a load of beech from my back 64 acres. I like the idea of being able to change out a belt efficiently rather than the frustration of the high dollar amount of honda parts. I have intimate experience with that situation. Honda's are great machines and offer low emission engines and high reliability, but the smart engineering does not come without a price: initial cost is at the upper end for most power equipment and honda really puts it to you for parts. 

I fortunately have both dealers nearby, so either way I go I'll have that benefit


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## Frostbit (Oct 6, 2009)

I have owned atvs since day one. I currently own 5. Three are Suzukis, one Yamaha, one Polaris. I have owned Hondas in the past. 

Two of the atvs I now have are the best I have ever had. The Yamaha 700 fuel injected Grizzly with power steering is wonderful. It will do most everything I want, and it handles very well. Lots of power, comfort, and the power steering has to be experienced to appreciate. Great atv.

I have a 2005 Polaris Sportsman 6x6. It is THE utility atv, bar none. I have put 2000 miles on mine, many trips to the wood lot, the only thing that has needed replacement is the rear drive chain. It still has the original belt on it. I am continually impressed with the machine. It will do things, haul things, that no other 4-wheeled atv can do. Period. It is tougher to steer, since it so long, but it rides very well with its long wheelbase, and I can put an unbelievable amount of stuff and weight in the rear box. Mine is a 500cc, rear chain driven. This year, 2009, Polaris revamped it to have an 800cc engine and full shaft drive with independent rear suspension. The price went up accordingly. The 800 shreds belts and burns fuel like its free. But, it too is incredible. Personally, with a two-speed transmission mine has, there is no shortage of power with the older 500.

I would suggest, if its a real utility, hard-working, do-all atv you want, look for a clean used, or new still at the dealer, pre-2009 Sportsman 6x6. 

I am going to look for another one. I like it that much. 

For what I do and for what I require in an all wheel drive atv, Honda does not make one. Simple as that.  The Yamaha Grizzly 700 FI EPS is directly comparable to the Honda Rincon, even price-wise. IMO, the Yamaha beats the Honda at everything. If you want a traditional 4 wheeled atv, good at everything, the Grizzly is it. 

The Polaris Sportsman 6x6 is in a league of its own.


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## Skier76 (Oct 6, 2009)

I agree; give the Grizz a look. My buddy had one with EPS and the thing rode like a dream. That EPS would come in really hand at low speeds when you're tugging logs. The Grizzly is a solid machine too..EFI and a CVT belt trans. 

The Rincon is a nice machine as well. The longitudinal engine is nice witha  low center of gravity.


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## WoodMann (Oct 6, 2009)

Good advise to check'em all out, especially with The Power steering and EFI offered by the Yamaha. Be advised, however- after a spin on the Brute Force you'll be hooked as you'd swear it's a sport quad.....................


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## firefighterjake (Oct 6, 2009)

First off, I don't think you can go wrong with either of the makes and models you mentioned . . . heck, I suspect most manufacturers out there (the big ones at least . . . not some unknown Chinese knock off brand) produce an ATV that will do what you want -- so quite honestly, you really can't make a bad choice.

Oftentimes the Honda price point is higher and typically Honda lags behind the other manufacturers with "newer" tech, preferring the time and tried methods (for better or worse -- i.e. I would love to have disc brakes instead of drum brakes on my 450 cc Honda Foreman.) However, Honda also has a well deserved reputation for near bullet-proof ATVs. I have worked (and played) on my Honda and it has yet to have any major problems other than the usual wear items and oil changes. Hondas do not have as much ground clearance as some other brands, but the trade off is a lower ride height . . . for me having a lower center of gravity is important . . . probably because I grew up used to riding Hondas to tell the truth. I will admit the Grizzly offers a similar ride height.

A few things I might suggest . . .

Do you really need the biggest ATV? While there is such a thing as going with too small of an ATV, I would suspect that you could accomplish what you want in a 500 cc ATV . . . and in the case of the Honda line-up this would perhaps be better as a Rubicon or Foreman would cost a little less and you would have a solid rear axle which I personally find useful for heavy towing, hauling, etc. (although the trade off is the ride is not as good for trail riding.) The Rincon could certainly work and would give you more power, but honestly I plow my driveway in the winter and haul a lot of wood with my "mere" 450 cc Foreman . . . about the only time I wish I had a bigger engine quite honestly is when I'm bombing down a dirt road and what I want is more speed since this machine is really set up more as a work machine. In my case, my Honda provides all the power I need to haul out wood stove-length in a trailer or I can haul it out tree length or haul out a twitch of 4 footers with no issues. If you're thinking about going with a Polaris the 500 cc Sportsman should provide all the power you need and more -- it's one of the most popular ATVs at my local dealer for a reason. I have a friend who hauls out several cords of wood each year with his 500 cc Sportsman for both his dad's camp and their sugar shack.

Tires . . . whatever you get, you will eventually want to get decent six-ply tires with a little more aggressive tread if you're using this more for work. I like Hondas, but the tires that they were putting on ATVs for stock tires were not that great -- I'm not sure if this is the cas with Polaris or not.

Ground clearance . . . a lot gets made of this . . . truthfully, having an extra inch or so of ground clearance isn't usually that big of a deal . . . as you mentioned you can usually pick your way around stumps and about the only time I've got hung up on something was when I was lazy and left my snowplow mount on in the Spring which reduced my ground clearance by 2-2 1/2 inches . . . at which point it did make a difference when I was clambering through a very rocky trail. Normally, on rocky trails, the occasional blowdown, etc. crawling over the obstacle is not an issue.

Four Wheel drive . . . again . . . I don't view this as a serious issue . . . more of a marketing thing, akin to the ground clearance . . . are there times when you might need true all four wheel drive and higher ground clearance . . . sure . . . but 99% of the time this is a non-issue . . . I would suspect that for what you are looking to use this ATV for this would not be something that you must have. What is useful (and I think most of the manufacturers now offer this feature) is the ability to switch from 2WD to 4WD . . . it makes it easier to steer (or simply go with power steering for an even easier way).

Reliablity . . . at one time I would have said Hondas had this sewn up and in the bag . . . I am now convinced that most, if not all, of the manufacturers have come a long way in terms of reliablity. I still believe Hondas are near bullet-proof (and you pay for this well-deserved reputation, but the other manufacturers are very reliable as well.

Price . . . I haven't priced ATVs for awhile, but I know Hondas were more expensive and it seemed as though the dealers were not as inclined to work with the price.

Gearing . . . a negative some might say for the Polaris would be the possiblity of getting a belt wet . . . I think this is pretty much a non-issue though. I've seen it happen, but it's usually caused by someone driving through deep water . . . again something you would not be likely to do . . . and fixing it is relatively easy.

Finally, the reality is . . . as I said before . . . any ATV of a certain size should do what you want.


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## quads (Oct 6, 2009)

Excellent advice firefighterjake!  And as far as:


			
				firefighterjake said:
			
		

> Do you really need the biggest ATV?


I agree.  I used to have a 1998 Sportsman 500.  I bought it new, plowed a lot of snow with it and hauled a lot of firewood, not to mention riding.....  I traded it off a few years ago with over 10,000 miles on it.  

What I traded it in on is a Hawkeye 300cc.  I've got 3,000 miles on it now.  It was half the price of a new Sportsman, also 4wd and independent suspension.  I don't plow with the Hawkeye (a snow blower was actually cheaper than a new plow setup), but I do haul a lot of firewood with it.  It pulls loads of firewood just as good as the Sportsman did, and it has no low gear because of a different clutch design that doesn't need it.  The Sportsman might have been able to pull faster, but I wouldn't know.  Slow is all I go when hauling firewood.  Here's a picture from yesterday:


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## avocation (Oct 8, 2009)

I have 4 Sportsmans (3  800's and a new 850)  and a Yamaha 660 Grizzly that we use for work.   The Sportsmans have between 7000 to 15,000 miles  (except for the new one)  and the grizzly threw a rod at 13,000.  I replaced everything in the grizzly at least 3 times to get to that milage.
The sportsmans have required almost nothing ...1 belt,  a shock and front end work at 14,000 ( ball joints). Lots of tires and oil and filters.   I will use nothing but them.   The new 850 is everything they say it is and the power steering is the only way to go,  also handles much better than the 800,  does not lean in hard turns like the older ones.
That's my 2 cents


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## dvellone (Oct 11, 2009)

The replies regarding the sportsman has me inclined towards that model. The dealership is only about 5 minutes from my house which is certainly convenient especially given that nothing is close to my house. I was originally leaning towards honda, but as I said I've not been real pleased with honda customer service (if you could call their response "customer service" at all), and some parts are outrageously expensive. Glad to hear of the "workhorse" qualities of polaris and the serviceability of the belt. That's exactly what I'm looking for. Now...I've got to look for some money. Tax incentives for self-motivated firewood harvesters?


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## ken999 (Oct 11, 2009)

While not owning either, I've lots of family and friends that have ATV's. Hondas have been more reliable from what I've seen. Since the 80's there's been nearly 20 different Hondas in the family, from the ATC 90 right up through the Rincon. I've never even heard of a tranny problem with a Honda, whereas the CVT belts have given local owners fits.

If I were buying an ATV, it'd be a Honda. If I were to be buying a side by side UTV.....


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## mike1234 (Oct 11, 2009)

dvellone said:
			
		

> If I can accomplish my firewood harvesting and other hauling chores with a utv I can spend 10k less.
> 
> Forgot to mention, the two seater utv's don't seem to have the maneuverability in the woods that the one seat models have.



You can get a side by side for under 10K.  They probably aren't quite as maneuverable as single seaters, but they are really handy at hauling firewood.  Look at the ones that will fit in the bed of a pickup truck, they are basically the same size as an ATV, but have hauling beds!

Mine was right at 8K, it is not the toy that some are, not as fast, and not all the bells and whistles, but it will flat out haul firewood, break trails, go anywhere, and I can take my wife with me, or a firewood cutting friend if she won't go.


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## dvellone (Oct 11, 2009)

mike1234 said:
			
		

> dvellone said:
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I think I'm misstating... I've mistakenly said utv thinking that it refers to the utility model atv. I am looking to purchase an atv, utility grade. 

I have considered a utv but ruled that out because, as you mentioned, they don't seem to have the same maneuverability. I used the john deere model a few years back and it was pretty much a trail only use.


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## dvellone (Oct 11, 2009)

ken999 said:
			
		

> While not owning either, I've lots of family and friends that have ATV's. Hondas have been more reliable from what I've seen. Since the 80's there's been nearly 20 different Hondas in the family, from the ATC 90 right up through the Rincon. I've never even heard of a tranny problem with a Honda, whereas the CVT belts have given local owners fits.
> 
> If I were buying an ATV, it'd be a Honda. If I were to be buying a side by side UTV.....



I agree on honda reliability. In particular their engines start and run with an incredible reliability. It's hard to not just choose honda right off the bat knowing that you'll  purchase a well-made and very high quality product. But having said that, I have to also say that they are not always as user-friendly in terms of doing your own mechanical work, and some of their parts are often unrealistically high. My experience is that you pay for the best, so to speak, but then if something breaks down you pay all over again. I've had my local honda repair shop tell me not to purchase replacement breakers for my generator from honda because of their exorbitant cost, but rather to just purchase any replacement that fits. I was able to buy ten from grainger for what honda wanted for one replacement. It's difficult for me not to just choose honda, but if I can change out a belt in the field quickly and cheaply I'd prefer that.


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## Billster (Oct 11, 2009)

dvellone said:
			
		

> I'm thinking utility atv and trailer for firewood harvesting (as well as other hauling chores around the homestead)
> 
> I've used honda equipment quite a bit and love the reliability, but hate the pricey parts and somewhat difficult to work on engineering.
> 
> ...



If you want a great Honda, Then look at a Honda Rubicon.

I have owned several Honda ATVs, and then I bought a new Honda Rubicon... I really like it, because it has a _"low gear._

I have some very steep hills around here, and I can put it in 4-wheel drive and low gear, and it won't go over 3mph no matter how steep the hill is.. Even when I have my wife on the back, and I have also hauled some very large deer on it out of the mountains.

I have never had a problem with mine.... The only thing I have ever done to mine is add accessories.. I put "ITP-mud lite tires" on it, a winch, snow-blade, bumpers, hand-guards, gun racks, back storage bag and built a extension rack for the front rack to haul backpacks, because when I have rifles on the front rack I didn't have room for backpacks...That's the reason for the extension rack.

I have done a lot work with mine in places where I can't get my tractors, and I have also pulled out larger ATVs from deep mud holes.  

But the low gear is the reason I bought the Rubicon.


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## firefighterjake (Oct 13, 2009)

dvellone said:
			
		

> ken999 said:
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Bear in mind that there is a difference between a Honda generator and a Honda ATV . . . same parent company, different division. That said, I still stand by my advice previously . . . I think either brand would be good, but if you elect to go with a Honda I would look at the Rubicon or Foreman as these are built more for work. Also, in regards to the Polaris . . . I don't think I've ever heard of anyone having to change out a belt . . . just had to remove the water from the belt casing and get it dried -- an easy 10-15 minute fix.


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## quads (Oct 13, 2009)

firefighterjake said:
			
		

> Also, in regards to the Polaris . . . I don't think I've ever heard of anyone having to change out a belt . . . just had to remove the water from the belt casing and get it dried -- an easy 10-15 minute fix.


I've seen some of the first EBS machines blow a belt, the late 1998/1999 Sportsman 500.  The ones after 1999 never had a problem.  My early 1998 Sportsman 500 (no EBS) went 10,000 miles on the original belt, the belt outlived the clutch.  My Hawkeye 300 has a lifetime guarantee on the belt, has 3,000 miles on it now and I have never had the cover off.


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## Frostbit (Oct 15, 2009)

Believing the CVT transmission, which I want to point out that EVERY atv manufacturer uses EXCEPT Honda, is in any way less capable than a conventional shift transmission OR Honda's hydraulic transmission is living in the dark ages. 

The current-day CVT, or belt driven, transmission is utterly reliable. Its very easy to work on and maintain. 

Think about it. Polaris, Yamaha, Kawasaki, Suzuki, Bombardier all use the CVT design. There must be good reason. 

If you peruse any of the ATV forums, many Honda owners ask why Honda continues to make only shift/gear/hydraulic transmissions. 

IMO, Honda has always been one to bring their own designs and beliefs to the ATV market, many of which makes you scratch your head. Up until just a few years ago, they insisted on using drum brakes, while everyone else had long had discs. Same goes for the front differential lock. Honda has been and continues to be behind the eight ball with their ATV development. Reliable? As the proverbial rock.  Honda certainly has the ability to be the ATV leader, but they have sat back for years pushing old technology, or quirky features (hydrostatic transmissions), thinking it is what the masses want. It isn't. And that is why atv folks have shifted to other brands. 

Nothing wrong with a Honda if this stuff does not matter to you. It does to me. I have owned Hondas in the past, but right now they do not make what I want. It really baffles me, as in their auto and motorcycle lines this is not the case.  Personally, I believe they need a new Think Tank at the Honda ATV division, and they have needed it for years.


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## ken999 (Oct 16, 2009)

There is NOTHING 'quirky' about a Honda tranny.

They ARE more reliable and 'heavy duty' when compared to CVT. CVT is fine for snowmobiles, but requires airflow to cool. Not a good scenario in an eclosed CVT application like ATV's. Yes, they work, but I feel Honda's are stronger in that department. Ever see a CVT in a bulldozer?

I'll also submit that just because the 'masses' want something doesn't make 'something' the best.


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## Frostbit (Oct 16, 2009)

ken999 said:
			
		

> There is NOTHING 'quirky' about a Honda tranny.
> 
> They ARE more reliable and 'heavy duty' when compared to CVT. CVT is fine for snowmobiles, but requires airflow to cool. Not a good scenario in an eclosed CVT application like ATV's. Yes, they work, but I feel Honda's are stronger in that department. Ever see a CVT in a bulldozer?
> 
> I'll also submit that just because the 'masses' want something doesn't make 'something' the best.



I humbly disagree with you 100%. 

As for the "masses" wanting something, don't you think the manufacturer should listen to their customers? Polaris always had the belt drive transmission, from day one. Yamaha, Suzuki, and Kawasaki (and Honda) had the traditional "you shift" with an automatic clutch. Since everybody wanted belt drive, those manufacturers listened to their customer base and provided what they wanted.


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## quads (Oct 16, 2009)

ken999 said:
			
		

> CVT is fine for snowmobiles, but requires airflow to cool. Not a good scenario in an eclosed CVT application like ATV's.


Not arguing with you one way or the other, just making a correction, the CVT transmission is fan-cooled.  There are fan blades on the back of the inside flange of the drive clutch, which draw the cool air into the housing from up by the engine air filter through a snorkel.  Then the air is discharged back out through another snorkel over the engine/under the gas tank.  The CVT is not completely enclosed, which is why it is possible to get the belt wet in extreme underwater conditions.


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