2strokesrule- In a dirt road drag they are even off the line, then when he shifts from 3rd into forth i pull away and never look back. But up a hill they are pretty equal, like if i am going 30mph and we both hammer it up a long hill they are closer, but i still get the edge. Top speeds on mine is ~57.5 (it goes past the last number) and his goes 50mph. As for handling i like the more stable ride in the corners that his bike has, the kodiak is a fair bit narrower. But now i think i'll pull away from him even more because my choke was stuck on a little (wouldn't idle when got warm)

Overall they are very even.

 

no, you cant take the rancher out of 4wd, but you dont really ever need to. the new ranchers up on the honda website offer selectable 4wd. however, unless you see a great desire somewhere to take it out of 4wd, you could probably save a lot of money buying a left over when the new ones come out.