Wierd, my Rancher ony has about 10 miles on it, and I noticed right off the bat that it had a very strange hop in the rear... now I simply thought that this was mere tire "flat spots" due to beind trailered to me in the winter...but the "hop" is still there

Has anyone else had this issue with a new ATV? It' more like running over a garden hose, but hits on every rotation. Confused, need help.

 

that hop happend to my rancher to. it turned out the tire was not perfectly round. i solved this by ridding on the roads a little bit everyday, that wears the tire down round again.

 

I know a retired guy who is on his 3rd set of tires for his new rancher and there still out of round providing him with a ride "that's like riding a horse" to use his words. He said the feedback he got from the dealer was that honda went to one (count them 1) ply tires on the Rancher models on down in order to save money and his dealer has been overrun with complaints and returns due to this out of roundness. I saw him riding it yesterday with his cowboy hat on- guess he just decided to ride the range on his "rancher".

 

mine did that. I just but it in a heated garage for a day and worked perfect since

 

Making me nuts...I took it out for a couple hours today to see if I could get it to shape back to normal...no such luck.

Bummer is that the dealer told me all the recall parts came in, andf to bring the Rancher back in the shop..I don't have a truck or trailer, and the dealer is 30 miles away...darn the bad luck anyway. Oh well, I'll figure it out somehow...got to take it out in some good snow, and she didn't do too bad in the deep stuff, I almost got stuck, trying to turn around, that reverse just buries a 4x2.

Thanks for the replies, I am getting better understanding of what the issue is.

 

Dryfly,

Im just about to buy one and between the shift plate recall and this Ive got to say im a bit concerned.Should I take it for a ride on the road to test it?

 

I would not even let this be of concern for you. Little fixes like this happen when new models are developed. this little thing with my tires/rims, appreantly all I have to do is push the pressure up, then set is back on the tire settings to about 5 psi, and it should clear it up.

I went out to the garage and jacked up the Rancher, spun the wheels and noticed, yes, in fact it's just a flat spot on the tire, no big deal.

The recall work is minor, so I would not let that make the decision for you..but always go for a little ride and see which one feels right, depending on what you are going to ride... I took my 4x2 out in pretty deep snow, and it did just fine... the little flat spot in the tire would probably have already been remediated if I had a heated garage...or the weather was warmer.

Get what feels right and have a great time. I bought mine because I trust Honda and they have an excellent record for reliability..and before I get flamed, i am not looking for an argument, I am simply stating the reasons I purchased my Honda...and I do love that Rancher.

 

DryFly, Ranchers are shipped with the tires deflated, with bands around them. This is done to save space during shipping. It causes the tires to be out of round for a while. Increase your air pressure or put it in a heated garage. Mine did the same thing, but its fine now. Rancher tires are 2ply, by the way.