I was hoping that the Foreman would be a little faster. I understand that the gearing is lower with the Foreman. I have had my Recon as high as 47 mph a couple times. I was hoping that the Foreman 450 would be faster than my Recon. I'm trying to justify spending the money on a Foreman. I'd gain 4x4 and pulling power.

 

We own a 02 Rancher 4X4 ES and I have ridden my sister's 2001 450 ES. I do feel the Rancher is higher on the fun factor than the Foreman. The Foreman does have more power but the Rancher is quicker and more fun to play on. I don't think the Foreman will ever wear out and will definitely out work the Rancher. I think it will be a long time before the Rancher is worn out also. My daughter has a Recon ES with a pipe on it and I think it is almost as fast as the Rancher on flat ground. I was surprised the first time I rode it, but it does not have the power the Rancher has.

I don't think I answered any questions but hope it helps.

 

Where are you planning to buy the ATV? Abernathy Honda has the Foreman ES for $5,099 out the door.

 

so would you guys say that the foreman is about as fast as a recon? my friend that i will be riding with has a recon and i think it is fast enough for me ,ill be using it for trail riding and plowing snow,i do like the rancher alot but they dont offer the 2,4x4 option unless you buy an unlocker add on which brings you close the the foreman price,i also think the foreman will plow better ,what do you think of all this

 

The Foreman will plow much better than the Rancher.

 

Your options for the config you want would be:

Foreman 450 ES
which comes with
TraxLock (Honda's Switchable 4x4 to 4x2)
MSRP - $6399

or

Rancher 350 ES 4x4
with the
"Warn 424 Select"
MSRP $5599
Warn 424 Select- Roughly $300
Total $5899

or

The new
Rancher 400 AT
with
Traxlock (Honda's Switchable 4x4 to 4x2)
MSRP $5999




Personally I would go for the Rancher 400 AT, More power than the 350 Rancher and only about $100 more. You Don't have to put in the "Warn 424 Select", and The TraxLock is on the Digital read out.(Just seems cooler). Hondamatic transmission, so you can still shift similar to the ES. Doesn't ride like a truck or a mini-tank [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img] like the Foreman 450

 

True the Foreman would Plow better, but not as good for play. The Rancher AT 400 can still get the job done.

 

does the rancher at plow good?

 

I know if the speedometers on the 450 formemans are accurate they'll hit a top speed of 52mph and my 350rancher is the same exact speed. I don't have a gps on my rancher but at top speed they can't pass me and I can't pass them. My brother, my cousin, and my two best friends all have foremans and all of them go 52mph according to their speedometers. My brother said he hit 53mph one day. My rancher doesn't have near the low end of the foremans. I don't know about the new 400 ranchers though if they weight the same as my rancher then I would bet they are faster than a foreman. Oh all the foremans my friends have are the manual shift s models.

 

The new rancher 400 has 2 wheel drive and 4 wheel drive.