Would sure appreciate your help....will be my first quad and will use primarly for hunting/fishing. Will be mainly on old forest roads, two tracks, etc., some mountain terrain...have narrowed it down to the Recon, the Rancher or the Yamaha Bruin. I am 6' and 210, not worried about top speed more interested in reliable, comfortable, and practical. Also trying to decide if 4x4 is a requirement...apparently can get much better deal on 2x4 models. Thoughts and opinions much appreciated....hope to buy this week.
gilman

 

Gilman, it's never easy deciding on what new toy to buy but I thought I'd share some thoughts. First of all, I personally think 4x4 is the way to go. I ride terrain similar to what you describe and the ability to switch from 2x4 to 4x4 is something I'd never give up. I could list a number of situations, mud, snow, etc where 4 wheel is a must but it's fun to kick into 2 wheel and spin the rear end when you want.

I'm 6' 4" and running about 230lbs and my 06 rancher 400 AT hauls me around just fine. I like the recon also but I ride some narrow creek beds and the rancher is more nimble for tight technical rides. Not familiar with the bruin.

Good luck!

 

The Recon is a fun ride, but to small for you. I like the Rancher because it is big enough to get the job done, but not the huge hulking beast that most utilities have become.

pm me at reconranger@adelphia.net

 

Oops! I screwed up. I was thinking rincon, instead of recon, when replying to gilman. Still new to the honda family line! reconranger is right gilman, the recon is too small for you but the rancher should fit just fine

 

The recon is not to small
I used mine to pull 5 deer out of the woods this year. The rancher is great too. The recon is much easier to manuever with.The recon has plenty of power for hauling corn pulling small trailers and riding wheelies. I prefer my rancher when I ride with my wife on the back. You can creep up the hills in 4x4 with it.

 

definitaly the rancher the bruin only has 3 gears high neutral and reverse no low wich low is a good thing to have hondas 1st gear is low enough to achieve rough terian any way the bruin is also a belt drive and that could get wet and slip and leave you stuck in the middle of no where the recon only come in 2 wheel drive yet light and easy to get out it will get stuck quicker and only one person can ride comftorably on it so rancher comes in 4 wheel drive and a 350cc and a 400cc and on the 400 you can make it a auto or manuel wich is a nice option to have and over all its bigger and will handel of road alot better i my self have a honda foreman 500 4x4 i love it really good off road

 

You might have to sit on an example of each, to decide whats too small and just right. The recon is a bit smaller than the ranger, powerwise too.
The bruin is an automatic only. Its got the yamaha ultramatic belt drive. The two hondas will be manual shifters...either with the foot or with the es buttons.
The low cost of 2wd, shows up on resale as well. Utilities that are 2wd dont hold much value, in the secondary market, everyone wants 4x4. If you just plan on owning 10 years, then resale doesnt mean much,
Will you be doing your riding alone or in a group? If youre alone alot...for sure get 4x4, but if youre mostly in a group, then just carry a tow strap, and when you get hung up or stuck, someone can just pull you out.
If you go 4x4, the front differential on the honda is torque sensing, and works much better than the speed sensing diff on the bruin.
Either of the 350s, will have enough power, to do and go where you want. I would say the honda might have a slight edge for dependability, over the bruin, and has greater name recogition for resale, but either would be a dependable choice, and should go many years trouble free.

 

My girlfriend has an 04 Bruin and after a year, it leaks oil past the valve stems. It runs good, my 05 Rancher will out pull it and out run it on top end. She likes the automatic belt drive where as I prefer to shift. The Rancher has a real low first gear and with the addition of a Warn 424, it takes on a sporty nature. The Rancher sits lower than the Bruin and as a result, the Bruin feels more apt to tip over at speed in a curve. Her camo finish on the Bruin is starting to come off in spots and the rear brake needs new shoes already. For some reason, the brake shoes won't stop the machine and every thing is clean and there is no wear. The front discs brakes will stop it tho.

Just looking at her Bruin and comparing it against my Rancher...the Yamaha looks to be built cheaper. For comparison, just compare the parking brake actuators on each machine. The Bruin is a formed piece of metal...the Rancher is a cast unit. Main thing is she loves it and she doesn't have to shift it.

Go with the Rancher.....it's a great machine.

 

I bought an 05 Recon and 05 Rancher (both 2wd) the same day for my girlfirend and myself. After 2 months of riding every weekend I have come to the conclusion that I wish I had bought 2 Recons. While I appreciate the extra 100cc in the Rancher, I will tell you that I believe the Recon is far and away more fun to ride. While only slighly smaller than the Rancher, if feels much narrower, giving a heightended level of confidence in tight spaces. I sweat everytime the trail goes between two trees on the Rancher. The Recon (and all Honda 250cc engines) are VERY cold natured, idle rough, and shut down often until warm, whereas the Rancher will fire without even pulling the choke. The manual shift on the Recon has what I consider to be too long of a throw, meaning its difficult to raise your foot high enough to shift through the gears. I loosened the shifter and rotated it a few splines to correct that. The Recon has no noticeable lack of power compared to the Rancher, but it does get MUCH BETTER fuel economy. After a complete tankful in my Rancher, she still has 1/3 left, and thats with a smaller tank to boot.

These are just a few of the pros/cons of each that I have noticed. Overall I am pleased, but still wish I had 2 Recons and the $650 difference in price back in my pocket.

 

fwiw, i am the new owner of a 2004 recon es. after a whopping two weeks of riding trails and woods road with an occasional stream crossing, i haven't had any problems with the 2wd (but i've ordered a black max rachet/winch to get me out of tough spots).

just a few observations: (1) i'm 6'1" and the machine is a tad small for me compared to a kodiak and sportsman (2) the recon's 6" of ground clearance caused me a bit of trouble crossing fallen trees and (3) learned the hard way the the electronic shifting doesn't work if your battery's shot.