Snowtoys - My Eiger is bored over out of necessity, not for any desire to mod the engine.........Deep in the woods, sunk into a muck puddle, drove it out, field cleaned filter and box but some fine residue remained. Wasn't going to leave it in the woods so I limped it out. Scratched cylinder and resulting oil burning meant the .20 over was the fix. BTW, I can tell no difference with the extra 2cc's.

Jaybee

 

get a foremen

 

Well I am trying to narrow the list down. One of my requirements for the machine is maximum width of 45.5" and that might be pushing it. We have a walk way on a railroad bridge that I need to cross to get to one area I like to hunt late in the season. That eliminates polaris and what I have read about ACs makes me shy away from the due to reliability. For hunting we usually do one of the following sanarios, Throw the 4 wheeler in the boat and run 30-100 miles from starting point and then bang brush or find an old minimg trail to check pot holes and swamps in the desired area. Mostly though we run a 150 miles to an old mining area and run into the mountains abouve the tree line and scope for Moose and occasionally a Grizzley Bear. I don't mess with bears unless they mess with me. Its a mutual fear thing... neither one of us wants to be eaten.

 

I am by no means an ATV expert and do not have nearly the experience of most of the riders on this thread, but I would lean towards the Hondas if reliability is a concern, especially the Ranchers and Foremans. The Rancher has exceptional reliability. I owned a 2001 Rancher for 2 years and it was virtually bullet proof. I never had an issue with it. Unfortunately, I traded it in for a 2003 Kodiak 450 Auto. After 3 months of ownership and a $1,000 loss, the Kodiak sits at the dealership while I wait for my new Rancher AT. I am not trying to open the Honda vs. Yamaha debate so commonly seen on all ATV forums. I just never built any confidence in the Kodiak. I never had any mechanical issues with it. There were just many silly (IMO) design flaws.
Little stuff like the plastic pieces kept separating and kept having to be popped back together. The seat has to be removed to get to storage and everything would be wet in the storage if any water crossing were made. It was very tipsy due to being top-heavy. Sometimes it was very tricky to get 2wd/4wd to disengage. The rubber boots on the 2wd/4wd buttons dry rotted and was allowing water into the electronics. My dealer said it was not a warranty item because it is condidered a wear-item and would cost about $160.00 to replace. The boots are not replaceable and the entire assembly must be replaced. It sounded like hogwash to me so I contacted another dealer. He said the same thing.
I am really not trying to bash Yamaha here and I think that they make a fine product. I just have developed more trust in Honda and believe they stand behind their products better. Again, this is only IMHO. Ride 'em all and pick what you feel is best for you.

Sorry so wordy. I guess I'm just trying to convince myself that I am doing the right thing. ENIGMA206

 

snowtoys- Keep in mind that different atv companies measure ground clearance at different points. Some measure at the rear while some measure at the foot pegs. Take a tape measurer with you if you really want to know an accurate measurement.

 

The Kodiac 450 has the best 4x4 system of all of your choices because you can lock the front end like the Polaris machines. This is a big advantage off-road..

 

i like the kod450 also. but if you like the rancher go get a 03 in the next couple a months. the 04's are "new and improved" with all kinds of gadgetry. i bet you can get a 03 cheap and add a unlocker for $250. honda is about to ruin one the best utility quads ever.

 

go with the kodiak. i have a 02 400kodiak and ive never had any trouble on it, for the entire 3200miles i have on it. the power is great, and its started for me everday no matter wut the conditions were. the maintance has been extremely low, and its not tippy in the slightest bit, sadly enough, its more stable than any machine ive ever see

 

You should also consider the Kawasaki 360 Prairie...Great machine for all those needs.......

 

i have an 01 foreman es for slae or . rancher has 800 miles foreman has 1330 rancher is green foreman is yellow