lets see if this dog will hunt.
i have ridden a 300 for about 5 years and recently purchased a rancher. i still can't get the funny smile off my face after the first ride. one word.....power! after being used to the typical downshifting on an uphill grade, with the rancher i was climbing one gear higher then upshifting. kudos to the old 300 it was king in its day but it is like apples and oranges when compared to the rancher. i traded my stock rancher wheels in for a set of stock 450 wheels and got another inch of ground clearance. the shocks are a little stiff but some have said they will loosen up with miles ridden. i'm keeping my 300 for backup but the rancher is hard to beat.

 

I have the 4x4 and my friend has a 4x4 300 fourtrax. We went riding together and he had a hard time trying to keep up on the trails. I weigh around 275 and he is around 130. My new Honda Rancher will pull up the hills like nothing with me on it. This thing has a lot more power than the old 300 fourtrax. I think Honda has got on to something here. Maybe this is why Rancher is going to replace the old fourtrax.

 

I traded in my Fourtrax 300 4x4 on a new Rancher 4x4 and really noticed a big difference in power and turning radius,it looks like Honda has done it again.I also tested the Rancher 2x4 and it was more fun than the 4x4 Rancher.

 

Did anybody get a chance to test out the new front differential yet?