on sat 09/14/02 i looked at a 2003 rancher es. just want some feed back from owners.my wife has a recon es and i also have a warrior,but i want another for casual trail riding.

 

I have an 02 ES Rancher and am very pleased with it for what I bought it for. It is an easy quad to ride, is very user friendly, in a very good price range, and honda reliablity. I do not use it for any farm work or any labor whatsoever, but it is great for riding the GF on back for a leisure day in the trails and it wont get you covered in mud like my Zilla will.(Not that I would ever take it in the mud)

 

Have a 02 4x4 ES Rancher,great ATV.Fun to ride, sporty, climbs everything, goes everyhere, and it is a blast getting there. No troubles so far, only 500 miles.
Buy it you'll love it.

 

I was very satisfied with my 1998 Recon. I found a Rancher ES 2wd, a leftover 2000 model, and got it for a great price. I did the upgrade because I needed to tow a disc on my Deer lease property. I put a pair of dirt d 12 " wide tractor tread tires on it and I could not be happier. I do not want or need 4wd. The Rancher 2wd is very comfortable to ride all day long hunting or working on my lease. A guy who hunts with me has a Yam. 660 it is very tiring for him ro ride and steer. He could not get around as well as I could on my Rancher because his turning radius is so wide. The Ranccher has guts galore and is comfortable to ride. Go for it........

 

If I were you i'd wait until next summer for the new ranchers that have selectable 2wd/4wd and kind of look like a mix of a rincon and rubicon and a new 397cc engine..I think their automatic though [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-sad.gif[/img] and there is a rancher model that has a built in gps lol pretty cool

 

my rancher is like a tank. the only problem ive had was having to readjust both the rear and hand brake levers. the powerplant is more than enough to do just about anything. the full time 4wd has never left me stuck or stranded. its a blast to ride in the trails, its a little sporty, and rides like a cadillac. my favorite part of the quad is the push button shifting. all the control of a manual, with an idiot proof, digital readout transmission. absolutely no regrets.

also beats a foreman 450s and any polaris sp 500 or less up the local hill climb