IM PLANNING ON BUY A HONDA RANCHER 350 IM WONDERING HOW GOOD THEY ARE IN THE MUDD? ON THE ROAD? ON THE TRIAL? AND IN THE SNOW? HOW FAST DO THEY GO IN MPH? OVER ALL HOW GOOD ARE THEY HAS AN ATV? AND HOW RELIABLE IS IT?








I DONT KNOW WHY I ASKED HOW RELIABLE THEY ARE (ITS A HONDA)

 

First of all, please don't type in all capital letters. It is hard to read. I bought an 04 Rancher ES 4x4, and have been reasonably happy with it. If I were to do it over, I would research the other brands more. The angle sensor, which controls the ES motor, broke after 3 months. It was a warranty item, but was just easier to fix myself. $35 and 20 minutes labor. The Rancher is full time 4wd and has a poor turning radius. Very frustrating on tight trails. Also when it comes time to upgrade tires and wheels, they will have to be matched to deal with the 4wd. I don't ride on pavement if I can help it because of the 4wd. The top speed is around 50mph. I only have gotten stuck when it bottoms out. In mud, about half the time it will claw through. It does have nice traction, climbs hills and crosses logs without spinning. I haven't had it in deep snow, but the inch or two we get around here wasn't an issue. Our Recon would slip and spin, but the Rancher walked on through.
BTW, I paid $4087 total in Chattanooga, TN.

 

My Ranchers have been superb machines. Most utilities are huge, laughable, cumbersome tanks! The Rancher is in the just enough, but not to much spot. A friend who has two large utes, says that I make nasty, technical terrain look easy on the Rancher. It's not that it looks easy, it is easy! Handling is very good and the bike is very planted in off-cambers. The power is adequate if you put on an aftermarket muffler and air filter. A Warn 424 is a nice option also. I have ITP Holeshot ATR tires, which really improve handling and stability. Dead solid reliable in every way!

I personally have a foot that shifts just fine, so I absolutely avoid the ES option. There are a fair number of posts on the board, about problems with ES.

 

For not much more money you can upgrade to the Rancher 400AT model. You will still have 4wd, but also at the touch of a button can go to 2wd. You will have the option of automatic shifting verses the esp button shifting. The machines are almost the same weight and you will also have the benefit of the extra hp and the easier handling in 2wd mode. We love our Rancher 400AT.

 

the rancher is a great quad. we've had our '02 for about 3 years now and the only thing that went wrong with it was the cable for the reverse came off...i think a stick knocked it off though...we tightened it up and havent had a problem with it since. the top speed is about 50mph. with a good set of tires it would be really good in the mud, and on the trail its got enough power to do everything and rides real smooth. ive been in abut a foot and a 1/2 of snow...maybe 2 feet...as long as you take it easy and dont try to power through everything your first time through the trail it will do fine

 

Seen a 2001 Rancher on the weekend with 14,000 on it.I couldn't beleive it.The guy said he didn't baby it but did say that he did changed the oil every 1000 mi.Asked if he had any troubles with the ES or anything and the only trouble he said he had was just the maintance of the front brakes.Not bad after all that mileage.

Framer

 

did u buy it at southern Honda?

 

i have had zero problems with my rancher. it gets up to 50 mph and does very well in mud rocks and all other terrain. i replaced the stock tires after 3 years with dirtdevils and now it rides and handles better. the stock tires did a great job i thought in every condition so dont think you have too spend 300 dollars on new tires. i would buy a winch or the warn 424 disonnect if you plan on adding accessories.

 

Yes, Southern Honda. It was a 14 hr. round trip, but I saved almost $2500 on a Rancher and Recon.

 

I love my Rancher. It is the foot shift model. It does great in the mud, on rocks, and in the 6" or snow I've been fortunate enough to ride in. If you do much mud riding, plan on installing one of Highlifter's Leak Shields. The recoil starter is the Rancher's weak link. It does not seal out mud and water at all. The only thing keeping this from entering the inside of the motor is a rubber seal. The shield replaces the recoil starter, which you will no longer have use of but is a small price to pay for the extra insurance. With pipe, filter, and jetting you can run up to 26" tires reliably. Some run 27" Mudlite or Bi/Tri Claw Combos and report good results. I have two buddies with ES versions and they've had no problems. I have one buddy with the 400AT variant and he has also had no problems. If you are a serious mudder, the AT is known to be limited to only going up maybe one tire size(25s) due to the auto tranny taking away too much torque. This may also be able to be corrected with the before mentioned pipe, jetting, and filter mods but I can not say for sure since my buddy is still running stock tires.