I bought a 2003 Suzuki Eiger last year and recently picked up a 2000 Rancher at an auto auction (I am a car dealer). I fixed the rancher up a little. It is a 350 standard shift 4x4 full time. I put 25 in Vampires on the stock wheels. I have 26 inch ITP 589's with aluminum rims on my eiger. I went riding this past weekend with my buddy and both machines are great The eiger is a little quicker/faster. I had the eiger up to 56mph and the rancher got up to about 52. My friend weighs 240 lbs and i weigh 193. The eiger feels a ltttle more solid and the seat is definetly more comfortable. Overall both did the same in the mud, speed was very close, but ride goes to the eiger. I like the option of shifting in and out of 4x4 unlike the rancher unless you spend a couple hundred bucks to put the 424 on it. If i could make a recommendation to anyone wanting to buy one of these quads i would say for the money, ride quality, performance that the eiger is the way to go! Both are good but the eiger gives you alittle more bang for your buck!

 

The rancher is smaller, lighter, 450 dollars cheaper, and has 50 fewer cc's than the eiger. While the rancher is a good machine, direct comparison to an eiger is not going to be entirely equal. A comparison to a rancher at 400 would be a better matchup.

My friend has an eiger, and its a great machine. But I liked the rancher better for what it was, small and nimble. If I could have gotten a 400cc ES rancher, I probably would have it right now instead of my big bore.