GIVE SOMEONE GIVE ME THE UPS AND DOWNS ON THE RANCHER 420.. I HAVE A RECON NOW AND WANT TO UPGRADE.. SO IF PEOPLE COULD LET ME KNOW THAT WOULD BE KICK ***...

THANKS,
BOR

 

I like this class (~400 cc), because the machines aren't the tall tippy huge ungainly long travel suspension monsters that the big bores have mostly become, yet they are big enough and powerful enough to get the job done. I know IRS is "trendy", but the Ranchers SRA gives the machine a solid, stable, plated feel in nasty terrain. Doesn't ever feel top heavy, mushy, or dive on the downhill side in off-camber situations.

The fuel injected water cooled engine has plenty of power and lots of snap right off the bottom....I have to hold back or I will just spin the tires. Suspension is good for everything except bashing huge whoops. Ground clearance is adequate for everything except mud. I can take mine rock crawling and it does just fine.

On the downside, I think the machine is to heavy. Honda obviously wanted to keep the price down, so they didn't splurge on a lot of expensive light alloy parts. Even a set of sturdy alloy rims (like are found on the bigger Hondas) would make a big difference. Serious riders will want some aftermarket skid plates.

Mine did not respond well to a set of oversize tires on rims with a lot of offset (Holeshot ATR's). It ruined the quick agile handling the machine had with the stock tires. Turned it into a slug (and there are plenty of slugs on the market if that is what you want!). The steering felt like it had lockers...all the time. If you feel like you need monster tires to wallow in the mud, or just feed your ego, then get a bigger machine that can handle them.

I rode a particularly narrow, very technical woods trail last weekend. There isn't another machine on the planet I would have rather been on! Had I been on anything bigger, I would have never made it. Had I been on anything less stable (like some IRS mush box), I would have tumbled the quad down the side of a cliff a dozen different times!

 

pretty much everything reconranger said positive and negative. I do wish there was a little more ground clearance so you can get out of mud easier. Aftermarket tires 24" or 25" should alleviate that. The winch is a must if your doing alot of trail/mud riding. I just wish there was maybe a speedometer or gear indicator on the foot shift models and push button 4 wheel drive instead of the shift lever.

 

Note that the Rancher, along with the Recon and 400EX are not listed as 08 models on the Honda web site. Historically, this means there will be updates to these models! Maybe push button selectable 2wd/4wd for the Rancher? How about a 4wd Recon? Maybe fuel injection for the EX?

 

a 4x4 recon would be bad ***

 

I bought my Rancher TRX420FM back in April mainly to work on our property. After all, it's a utility machine called the Rancher isn't it?

Positive: I've been impressed with what this little 4wd mountain goat can do given it's size and just 26 HP. In the process of winching logs and towing loads of firewood I've found that I couldn't do without the 4wd, and I really like the 2wd-4wd select lever. There is no way I'd want to have some fickle electric button for this.

Negative: A bigger more powerful machine could obviously do more of the above. I'm only saying I've taken the Rancher to it's brute strength limit, and I have to accept what it is.

Positive: As hard as I've worked this machine, I have not noticed any indication that I've overstressed it or even come close breaking it by shear overburden. It's very forgiving and I can tell when it's doing fine and I can even feel when it's near it's prudent limit.

Positive: I did enough research before I bought the Rancher to know it was also supposed to be good on trails. Though I've only done a couple hundred miles of trail riding so far, it has surpassed my expectations. In fact I think it excels more as a trail rider than a work machine.

Negative: There is important early maintenance needed, such as early oil changes and initial 20 hour valve adjustment which will cost about $200 at the dealer if you don't have the time or inclination to do it yourself. I've done mine, just because we live way out and I'm a fair mechanic. A lack of maintenance is probably the best way to ruin this machine given enough miles. Of course this isn't abnormal, just a fact of life with any machinery; bikes, quads, cars trucks, boats.

Positive: It's easy to remedy the lack of an electronic display with a portable GPS unit that will provide far more information than you get with the more expensive ES model anyway. I've enjoyed adding my own accessories to suit my needs, and have illustrated the process in my photos.

Positive: I wouldn't consider getting rid of my Rancher for anything.

 

Early oil change and valve adjustment??? That is something you should do on every new machine....not just the Rancher, and not just Hondas. Most people rarely change their oil, much less ever get the valves adjusted. It's a tribute to all quads and motorcycle engines that they hold up so well.....

I too would not necessarily welcome pushbutton 2wd/4wd selection....but I can't think of anything else they could do to it. Maybe bump up the displacement????

Lots of ES shifting problem posts on the board lately. Let that be a lesson to those of you thinking of purchasing an ES!

 

My point in saying the early maintenance is a negative is really about the initial 20 hour service required to keep the warranty valid, which costs about $200 at most dealers to my knowledge. You can keep the warranty valid by doing it yourself, but this includes adjusting the valves which is just involved enough to cause some people to either put if off or pay the dealer to do it. Of course changing oil a couple of times early is good for any engine, but I confess ignorance if this need for early valve adjustment is common on many other ATVs.

 

I saw this thread and had to sign up to give my input. I bought an 07 Rancher 420 ES in June, after researching for a few months, for 4 reasons: Hunting, Plowing the driveway, pulling/moving stumps and logs around the yard, and trail riding.

After 12.6 hours and about 100 miles on trails, I can honestly say the machine is excellent. I've ridden other, bigger machines on trails when hunting, and they are clunky compared to the rancher. My wife and I take turns driving, and now that she's learning how much fun the technical stuff is to drive (and becoming more confident at it), I imagine I'm going to lose driving time on trails.

I'm getting ready to drag my first stumps from the back yard to the front, wanted to make sure the rancher was well broken in before working it that hard. I expect it to do fine with this. Afte the stump we'll take on the dead aspen tree in the front yard.

No snow yet, so I can't say anything about plowing, except that I got a manual raise cycle country plow. I'm actually looking forward to snow accumulations now.

Hunting starts in October, and it should be a great tool to help get to animals, and hopefully bring them out.

I don't have any complaints so far. Clearance, as others mentioned, is a concern, but I knew that when I bought a solid axle vehicle. I just try to be a good judge of which rocks can be straddled, and which have to be avoided.

Actually, I do have a complaint. My wife needs to get her own ATV now, I don't want to have to share.

 

No negatives so far. I have the ES and love it. Absolutely no problems (knock on wood) so far. The FI takes all the trial & error work out of jetting. It's worked flawlessly from 1000 feet up to 7000 feet.

The tires seem to be holding up OK. Steering is fairly easy. Suspension seems plush (soft). Seat is comfortable on long rides. I'm 6'5" and the ergos fit me pretty well.

Although this is my first ATV, it isn't the 1st time I've ridden them. I'm an ex-dirt bike rider and I'm really impressed with the power of the motor. For being heavy as it is (plus me and luggage), it's still pretty darn zippy. It's no Porsche, but it's by no means a Gremlin either. A majority of my riding is desert/rocky trails here in & around Las Vegas. Since I ride where it's so hot, an engine/coolant/oil temp guage would be a very nice feature. I hate only having an idiot light.

Lights are good and with hundreds of watts to spare, adding extra lights for night riding is a non-issue.

I give the Rancher a big thumbs up!