Originally posted by: HighRider
Depends on what you want.

You mentioned "sport", so that leaves out the Honda Foreman 450 -- it's a super-durable work truck, go anywhere, do anything, rides like a ... truck.

My wife and I gave the Big Bear a hard look when we were buying (about a year ago0, and looked at, researched, and pondered exactly the three machines you are considering. Since our riding is lots of relatively high-speed (18-25 mph, &lt;g&gt[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img] hardpack, plenty of steep trails with lots of loose sand & rocks, light slick-loose-mud, and slick-rock stream crossings, we wanted comfort, speed capability, and traction. For my machine we wanted to be able to haul <u>everything</u> we wanted for weekend camping trips 'waaaaaay out there (up to 75 mi. into the mountains, on USFS roads & trails, back out on Sunday); the remote location of our rides meant we also wanted rock-solid reliability. Gumbo mud is not a North Idaho problem (or at least not like my native South Louisiana!).

I got the Foreman. Rides like a truck. Rides like a truck. Rides like a truck. Never gets stuck, pulls stumps, buildings, hills you wouldn't walk up. Pulls my Otter Express trailer with much camping gear. Doesn't even work hard doing any of that.
Oh -- did I mention it Rides like a truck ??

It was a close call between the Rancher and the Big Bear. 'Round here, arguably the most ATV'd state in the lower 48, Hondas and Yamahas are generally considered the two most reliable brands. Others have more "features", more speed, more latest-this and latest-that --- and those features are all totally cool, and are things I'd want on my Hondas, but not at the price of what I'd have to give up: simplicity, reliability, work-til-they-drop.

Rode the Rancher & Big Bear. For us: Rancher.
The little (not really) sucker is a sports car. Maybe not a Porsche, but a solid-axle sports car like maybe a Morgan, or (ohyez) an AC Cobra...
I've driven a lot of wonderful-handling vehicles in my time, including motorcycles and quite a range of sports cars, and the stock 350ES Rancher with stock tires is simply one of the best-handling machines I've ever driven.

You don't need a 424-select unlocker to power slide that little jewel: just pick the right gear, throw it into a corner, and 4-wheel-drift your way through it. Somehow, among all that "tradition" and "outdated design" Honda got it right on the Rancher. It's hard to high-center, "sticks" in climbing situations, and runs like a bat out of hell everywhere else. I dunno -- balance, center of gravity, rider position -- they just got it right.

The Yamaha was nice. I liked it. If I were into slower, technically tough stuff, mud bogs, tree climbs, whatever, I'd probably have bought a couple of Big Bears.

Many times, particularly on shorter ride-days where we aren't going to far and don't carry much gear, I wish we'd gotten <u>two</u> Ranchers and left my Foreman (the one that Rides like a truck) with the dealer. (But when you need a truck, you need a truck, as I often do in the hinterlands.) My wife is a pretty good rider, and on that Rancher she can simply ride off and leave me and my Rides-like-a-truck-Foreman in any contest more difficult than a straight drag race. (Hey, that Truck has low-end torque to die for!!) And the Rancher is simply FUN.

I dunno where Honda got its name, but that Rancher isn't patterened on somebody's 12 yr. old Farmall -- it's more of a wild mustang, last seen in that cloud of dust over the fourth ridge ahead of . . . anybody's Big Bear, and my Super-Truck Foreman.

Like I said -- depends on what kid of riding you're doing.
But if you'll be doing more "riding and looking" than you will be contesting with your buddies over who can get the worst stuck and still make it out, well, don't let that "little" 329 cc Rancher fool you into thinking it's too small, too dainty.

Plus there's a ton of aftermarket stuff out there for Ranchers, from drivetrain & suspension stuff, to boxes and gun racks and whatever.