Foreman ES or Rubicon?

i love my rubicon and have not regreted getting it one moment

My brother-in-law has an 05 Rubicon and it smokes my 500 Foreman S. Top-end I can usually keep up but the Rubicon accelerates through the gears so much quicker. So far he's been very happy with it. However, shortly after purcasing it an angle sensor went bad. Honda took care of it obviously so the only downfall was being without it for a few days. I've heard of similar problems with quite a few Rubicons as well. I'm not sure how the ES would match up to the Rubicon as far as MPH goes. With the larger motor I'm sure the Rubicon would be slightly quicker. Tough decision, guess it depends on what you're looking for. There are some obvious differences such liquid cooled/air cooled, fully automatic, and price! Just my 2 cents...

It is all in how much you want to spend I think. I have rode with 350 Ranchers that will go anywhere with anything. My friend and I bought our atv's on the same day. I bought a new 2006 Foreman ES and my friend bought a new 2005 Rubicon. I paid less also! Both are great bikes. Mine is a 475 his is a 499. He does have a much quicker atv. But, the only difference in mine and his is the motor/tranny. The new 500 Foreman is built on the Rubicon frame. I would say, that if I did have the extra money, I would have went with the Ruby. But, I sure do like my ole Foreman. They are day-in day-out tanks.

yes you have Phil it has been in the shop ever seen you got it.

So I will still out run you it just takes a little longer to get goin

I wasn't sure on what to get either but went with the Rubicon and let me tell ya, I don't regret it one bit. I love the tranny, beats the piss out of the belt drives I've had. Very smooth, I would recommend the Rubicon!!

Thanks for the input! What do the rest of ya'll think? Any pro's or con's I need to know about??

I would say the Rubicon. Auto for the trails and ESP, with Low for the mud. I personally use ESP all the time, but my g/f likes D1.

Get a Foreman S 500(manual shifter)Stay away from the ES model.I had too many problems with the two I owned.I don't have any experience with the Rubi,but I would NEVER buy an ES model again.I don't like to bash the Honda's,but when your out on the trail 50 miles from home and your bike won't shift IT IS FRUSTRATING.

I am starting to wish I would have spent the extra money and gotten the Rubi and I own an es.

I just called 2 dealers and they told me that its probley a connection and when I hit 20 hours they will look it over really good before sending it back to me. I'm also going to get the extended warranty for $699.

QUOTE ("big_daddy_bigfoot":1zge1c96)

I'm also going to get the extended warranty for $699.

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Don't! The extended warranty doesn't cover anything. They try to say that everything breaks due to abuse. My brither had it and he cancelled it after the first time he tried to use it. They told him it would cover boots, but they sad that his boot seperated from abuse after he only rode it one time.

QUOTE ("big_daddy_bigfoot":1q3axdkb)

I just called 2 dealers and they told me that its probley a connection and when I hit 20 hours they will look it over really good before sending it back to me. I'm also going to get the extended warranty for $699.

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That price seems a bit high...

My 4 year extended warranty was, I believe around $450.00. In the neighorhood of that anyway. Much less than above. From above, you mean you can cancel warranty and get a refund?

Really? That little *******! He did say he might be able to go lower but had to talk to his boss.

QUOTE ("dastagg":uv81rdud)

My 4 year extended warranty was, I believe around $450.00. In the neighorhood of that anyway. Much less than above. From above, you mean you can cancel warranty and get a refund?

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I canceled mine last year on my 2003 & got back about $350.00. Give or
take a little.

Sorry, I looked my price up to be sure and found I paid $578 for the full 4 year warranty. This includes the original warranty plus the extended for a 4 year total. More than I remembered.

Thanks and good to know if they try to fudge out of warranty repairs, can cancel as I thought it was for full term without a return. Good to know.

Thanks,

i love my rubicon but it has alot of wires and that means problems but i am very happy with mine and thats the only honda i would get. the rubicon is a 499cc and the foreman is a 475cc not much difference but im sure you can tell the difference. the rubicon has low and that is great to have but the foreman does not so thats a decent set back if you want low. theres alot of up's and down's on both bikes. like other people said its down to if you want just a a little more power or not. i dont think you can go wrong with eather so i would get the one that you like the most.
-Aaron