this happen about 2 months ago,and i dont want to start a fued this is just what happen to me.

i bout my rancher bout 2 months ago at my honda/polaris dealer an they had an explorer 400
giveaway when u purchase a new quad,so it put me in for the drawing,well bout 2 weeks of owning my rancher (orange,ES,4x4) i got a letter in the mail that said i won the new explorer!!!!!
i was so happy cuz now i would have 2 brand new quads,so i was thinking on the way there i could do a quad test of my own between the 2,after i picked up the explorer i filled it up at the BP,along with 3 spare tanks of gas in the red tubs that strap on my racks.
the next day i would take my rancher to the roughest trail i could find on an all day ride
up lickfork across poplar gap in middlefork to the 2nd gas well then back to the ridge an head to the house,my rancher was great i went in a realy deep,deeper than i planed "mud pit"
i barely even had to rock it out,it never felt tippy on the trail and always seemed to have plenty of power for a 350,an man what a rock crawler,with that 1st gear bull dog style,an the top speed was like 56mph...

the next day i took the explorer on the exact same trail,its still fun cuz ur on a diff. quad
the explorer had a little softer ride,didnt feel the big bumps as hard,then we went down in
middlefork"creek" abotu a 40 mile strech of creek
well i noticed an big difference in on demand power,i wanted to hit the gas to pop up on a log,well i hit the gas an it took a sec to respond,an it didnt come up like i wanted,and it felt real tippy cuz of the softer ride,an the top speed i got to was bout 50-51mph and the rear disk got sand in them an scratched the disk up pretty bad,an the belt sliped only 1 time in a water hole.

overal rateings on my test
rancher ES 4x4 explorer 400
8 1/2 6

 

must be nice to win a quad. That stuff never happens to me. If you don't want it, give it to me! Sounds to me like something is wrong with the xplorer. My xplorer stock would bury the speedo a little past 60. I would guesstimate around 62-63mph. I'm not trying to bash the rancher here but they don't have enough ground clearance. I have seen about 10 different instances where the shifter wouldn't work. Once water or mudder gets on the buttons that's it. Then the little manual shifter don't work. In the mud they don't have the true 4wd of the polaris. It seems like the time when they get stuck is when they need that extra wheel to turn and the one in the air is spinning but not the one on the ground. Honda needs to update their brakes and move into the next century and use disc brakes. The drums don't stop you fast enough and a more to repair. The ranchers are extremely slow compared to the xplorers. There is no way it can hang with the xplorer in a drag race. I think that you should try checking the jet in the carb. Sounds like it has a dead spot. I know when my bike was stock i could pull the front end up easily in low. I've never seen a rancher pull a wheelie yet. Now i'm not trying to bash the hondas, but i just see some things that they need to improve. The honda motors are almost bulletproof. Polaris could learn a few things from them. There are many things about the xplorer that also need to be improved just like any other machine. That is why they make all the aftermarket goodies and get more money out of our pockets.

 

I agree with meangreenmachine, if the Rancher was faster than the Xplorer then there was something seriously wrong with the Xplorer.
And there's a guy around here with a totally stock Xplorer, and I've seen him wheely it.

Maybe that's why they were giving it away.

 

Not a chance in the world of me ever taking a Rancher over a 400cc Xplorer.I will out mud/perform it,and also whip one badly in a drag race.

Did you use LOW range range when doing under 20mph?Get the Xplorer looked at,something is wrong with it,
Bill

 

maybe thats why the explorer was free?

 

The only part of this story I believe, is that you bought a Rancher.

It's a good utilitarian quad. Everybody knows that. No need to embellish.

 

my rancher wheelies pretty easily. but thats not what the rancher or explorer were built for. nor were they built to drag race.

i've also never had a prob with ground clearance or the buttons not working. even after i flipped my in a mud hole....just whipped i off and off i went.

 

Cartman308,
Your Rancher will not wheely "pretty easily", and won't wheely at all with out launching it off of something. Unless you have a different definition of "wheely".

 

A 400 Xplorer would eat a Rancher so bad it is not even funny. A 400 Xplorer is one of the most powerful and fastest 4x4's ever built. 60 plus easily. A 400 Xplorer will beat my 500 Sportsman. And any other 4x4 utility out there in the speed department. Your story is hard to believe, not sure many Honda guys would even go along.

 

im sure the explorer is a bad A$$ 4x4 and all but the rancher can definatly wheelie better. and if it's a 2x4 like mine it could easly out wheelie the explorer. but you by a 4x4 to mud and work and a sport qaud to race.