On Sunday I will be taking a Yamaha Big Bear 400 back to the dealer to switch it out for a Honda ATV. The Big Bear essentially refuses to shift out of reverse (actually cannot do it with foot... have to reach down and reef on it with my hand!)

The dealer is being cool about it so far and is willing to do a switch. I already own a 2000 Honda Rancher two wheel drive with electric shift. It has been very dependable with minor shifting problems.. usually out of reverse.

Anyway, I think I will stick with Honda this time. Any advice on the newer Honda ATVs? I am open to any of them including the Rancher.

I see the new ones have fuel injection and are water cooled. Is this good or bad? Also, my primary concern is ease of shifting. My wife and daughter ride them occasionally and want it simple without have to rock it alot and rev it to shift. A little is ok.

My main riding is utility type... hauling firewood out of the woods and short trips to plant trees and up and down the hill and through tight woods around our house on acreage. Sometimes do a little playing but not hardcore at all. My main purpose is simple dependable, easy to start, and easy to shift.

Open to any of the Hondas... any suggestions for simplicity and ease of use?

Thanks!

 

420 rancher!!!

 

If you like the old Rancher 350, you will absolutely love the 420!!! If the ladies insist, get the ES again......

 

Swapped my Yamaha Bruin for the 420 Rancher last summer, I love it and even though I weigh in at 295lbs it's got power to spare in all kinds of riding conditions. Great machine at a great price.

 

My brother has a 2004 Honda TRX350FM Rancher Fulltime 4x4 and it has been a geat machine , but it's a carb not EFI like the 420 and the only trouble he's had with the 04' 350 Rancher was the rear hand brake cable kept coming loose from the clamp end in back ; he used a plastic tie to hold it in place while waiting for his first serving !

And the faulty tie rod's Honda had recalled for the 04' and 05' year model , and he waited almot 2 years before taking it in for the recall because the Local Honda Dealership told him he would have to drop it off ; and it would take 3 to 4 week's before they could get to it !

But when he finally took it in for the recall they checked them first , and the machanic said his were good but he replaced them with the new one's anyway at no charge ; and he put a new hand brake cable on it also while my brother waited !

This Dealership found some of the 2000' through 2006' year model's with the defected tie rod's , and they were replacing them also even though the other year model's weren't on the recall list from Honda !

On the ES model's they did have some proplem's with the angle sencor , but they may have those bug's fixed ; but if it were me i would get the manual with the semi auto clutch and as for the liquid cooled engine ( to me it's just more part's to replace on down the road ) the EFI would be a big + for me but it's your money and if the ladies don't feel comfortable with the manual shift then go with the ES !........

 

You can't go wrong with either the Rancher ES or the Foreman ES. I went in to buy a Rancher ES and the dealer talked me into the Foreman. He said it was the most dependable unit he sold. That is what I bought. I can't find too much fault with it except it is at the dealer right now waiting on a new CPU. I have had 5 new Honda's over the years and this is the first time one has had to go back for warranty work.

 

Seeing your application is mostly work, the Foreman might be a good choice. One mechanic in here who works in a farming community, said the Foreman is their best seller. Folks started out with the old 300, graduated to the Foreman 400/450 and Rancher, now on to the Foreman 500....all air/oil cooled Hondas!

 

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>graduated to the Foreman 400/450 and Rancher, now on to the Foreman 500..</end quote></div>

Anyone expecting a big improvement going from a Foreman 450 to a Foreman 500 will have a big disappointment. The 500 Foreman has 26hp the lowest in the 500 class by a wide margin.

I had the 450 Foreman and ride a 500 Foreman many times and except for the nicer looking plastics and lights your feel like your on the same old ATV.

 

I would recommend the Rubicon since your wife and daughter are going to be using it. It has the option to put it in automatic so they wouldn't have to worry about shifting.

I have over 5000 miles and haven't had to much trouble with it. Just normal stuff like the starter, and front wheel bearings. We live on a dairy farm and we are constantly using it for work and hasn't let us down. It is a great machine.

 

geolguy My first atv was a 1986 Honda TRX350FM Foreman 4x4 with a 2500lb Super Winch mounted to a solid 3/4" iron plate under the front rack , i rolled it off a cliff in the dark while trying to turn it around ; i was thrown off the quad and was rolling down this cliff in the dark !

While i was rolling down in front of the Foreman trying to hold my knee's together to keep them from banging them on the ground , i could hear this heavy Foreman rolling sideways down the cliff banging behind me ; it rolled at least 10 time's and i thought God let that quad stop before i do !

Just as i stopped rolling i heard the Foreman bang 2 or 3 more time's and it stopped , i looked up back up the cliff and saw that the quad had landed again't a tree with the seat wedged again't it ; i had to climb clawing my way back up this cliff to get to the Foreman !

This cliff was so steep i didn't dare try to get on it to ride back up this steep ciff , i could smell the strong odor gas and hear the sound the engine make's when it's cooling down after a hard ride ; i turned the switch off because i thought it was going catch fire !

I sat their in total darkness trying to think off what i was going to do and i could hear animal's walking around me and see eye's glowing in the dark , and then i really did get scared and if not for that reason i would never gotten the Foreman back on all four wheel's the way the seat was wedged again't this tree ; But using all 150 + lbs. of me i managed to get it back on all four !

I'm a bilateral amputee with both leg's off just below the knee's and i made the mistake of getting off the main trail just before sundown , and when i came to where there was nothing but huge boulder's ; and it was after i turned around to go back down the trail it had gotten dark !

And on the way back down the trail i lost the one i came up , and all of a sudden i hit my brake's and it was like hit the gas instead ; thank God for tree's i rammed the front rack into the closest one i saw !

Now there were Black Bears in these wood's i was in and i could hear something big walking all around me in the dark it could've been Deer but there were Black Bear in these same wood's , and i was really starting to freak out ; then all of a sudden i remembered my winch !

If it hadn't been for my winch i would never have gotten up this cliff at least till the next morning , i had to crawl and claw my way up this cliff hooking the winch cable from one tree and sliding back down to the quad while holding onto the cable then winching it up the cliff then letting out just enough cable to rest the rear rack again't another tree !

I had to do this at least 10 time's till i came to solid rock to where i could safely get back on the the Foreman and ride till i came to a wide well maintained trail , i didn't even take time to look for damage's to the foreman untill the next day ; and when i started checking it out the only thing that was damaged was a gun rack that was mounted to the handle bar's at the headlight !

Now that's what i call " Honda Tuff " this was one of the first of the Foreman's with the heavy solid front Diff straight axle and the fuel tank mounted under the seat , with dual mounted shock's on the straight swingarm straight shaft driven rearend ; now that quad was built like a tank and built to last a lifetime if they were regularly maintained i kept this one for over 14 yrs. before selling it to my youngest brother in Nov. 2005 !.........