Hi, new to the forum and looking for advice or experiences on which one of these to buy. I am buying a new wheeler basically for pulling a disc for my deer food plots and dragging in firewood to the huntin shack.(and of course hauling out big bucks) This is gonna be nothing but a workhorse.I was dead set on the rancher until I read about the new 500 foreman.Now I'm thinking the 500 would take the workout that it will get better than the rancher.Don't care about the price difference, just want the one that will do the best job.I hava polaris now and spend more time fixing it than working it;[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-disgusted.gif[/img]Please help me out!Enjoy the forum and know there are people out there that will help me.thanx[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

 

If you are only concerned with usage as a workhorse as you say, I would suggest a 04 Foreman over the 05 model. Its more of a jeep than the other atv's. The new 500 is leaning more toward the all around usage of an atv which is also wonderful for a atv. I have a 04 Foreman, my best friend has a new Rubicon 500AT. We like them both very much. I just have purchased a Rancher 400AT on Valentines Day for my girlfriend and its top shelf material. Both myself and my friend with the Rubicon agree, we would both probably been extremely satisfied if we had purchased the Rancher 400AT over the ones we have. It has on demand four wheel, two wheel drive at the touch of a button, automatic or electric manual shift at the touch of a button, great power and instrumentation and it handles so much easier than the Foreman and Rubicon. Not but maybe 50lbs difference in weight but it feels more like 150 when riding in the rough..They are all great machines, but you asked, so this is just my opinion. Good luck on whichever you decide on. Ride safe!

 

If price is not an issue, go with the Foreman 500. It is a major workhorse. I've owned 2 Ranchers and they were both great machines. Never had an issue with either. I bought the first Foreman 500 the dealer received back in November. I use it mainly for hunting and light trail riding. I also use it quite a bit around the house pulling its own trailer for yard work. The only two drawbacks of this machine is the inability to turn off the handlebar headlight and the size of the machine. The headlight deal can be resolved now with an available switch kit from Honda. Its really only a problem if you put something on the front rack. The other issue, size, could be an issue for you if you have to manuever in tight quarters. The Foreman 500 is huge. I also own an 04.5 Polaris 500 HO (unfortunately). The Foreman is a couple inches taller than the HO when they sit side-by-side on the trailer. The HO itself is a pretty big machine.

Not to upset the Polaris folks, but I agree with the repairing problems. I bought the HO back in May of last year. It stranded me two times out of three trips. I'm sure this isn't common for all Polaris', but I just don't want to deal with something I can't trust. I travel long distances to other states for hunting and don't want to get somewhere to be stranded while ruining the trip. Make no mistake though, the Foreman can't touch the Polaris ride quality. My riding buddy has my HO right now. He is a huge Polaris fan and is trying out my HO for his daughter. He has a Polaris 700 that he has to carry anti-freeze/water mixture when we ride because it disappears from the radiator. Its been back to the dealer 4 or 5 times for this problem and they can't find where its going. It never leaves spots while sitting which would make me think its going out the exhaust, but the dealer swears it passes pressure checks. I just hope he decides to buy the HO. I've got too many toys as it is.

Good luck!