Severaly of you posted over the last few weeks that you bought the AT. You should have had some time to put some miles on by now. Have we gotten an update from you yet??? Tell us about it!

I am particularly interested in comparisons with the bikes directly below and above it in the Honda lineup--Rancher 350 and Rubicon.

 

I've had mine for about a month now and I couldn't be any happier. ATV's I've owned up to this point have been a '98 Suzuki LT500, 2000 Honda Rancher 350 Manual 4x4, 2003 Yamaha Kodiak 450 Auto and now the 2004 Honda 400 AT.
The AT is by far the best I've had. But, its like anything else. All of the others have features I wish the AT had and the AT has features I wish the others had. That tranny is the cat's meow!
So far the top speed is 56 mph on speedo and GPS (handheld). My buddy on his Polaris 700 was reading the same just before blowing my doors off. The mid-range power is great. It has good acceleration, but that 20 to 40 mph stretch is great. I went muddin' with the 700 Polaris guy and I went everywhere he went. Never got stuck. And NO, I'm not trying to compare to the 700 Mud Monster. I just think the AT did very well considering what I was following.
The 1st gear in ESP doesn't sound as low as my 350 Rancher, but it seems to perform as well. It sounds different all together anyway. I had it buried to the racks yesterday and it came right out without hesitation.
The new plastic is great. It is very flexible and can be replaced in small sections if broken instead of replacing a big section of plastic.
The only real complaint I have about the AT is Honda seems to have cut some corners on painting the racks. The wrinkle finish paint on the Kodiak 450 was great with full coverage and tough-as-nails finish. The AT has a lot of paint voids around the welds and there are spots of rust already forming in these spots. Other than that, I think it has been money well worth wasting.

 

Bought my wife one last week and we spent all weekend riding. The AT performed like a champ and she was able to get it up to 51mph loaded down with gear and for short perioids of time. She is a novice rider and took to it like a duck to water (makes me so proud). Mind you it's still in it's break in so I imagine 56 isn't out of the question. The trans worked fine (as it does on my Rincon) and it seemed to keep up with me pretty well for a 400. I did notice that it was a little difficult to get up my steep ramp onto the trailer (about 50 degrees) but that was with me on it, or I could just be spoiled with my Rincon. The wife (considerably smaller) seemed to have no problem getting up on the trailer. So far, so good, I give it a thumbs up!

 

I am interested in the AT now as well. I rode a 2002 Rubicon all day on Saturday and I was impressed. I have a sport bike so it was a big change from what I'm used to. The first 30 mins or so I was not very impressed with it. As soon as I switched it over to ESP mode and really got used to the handling then I found it worked amazing! The transmission blows the belt drives out of the water and it is buttery smooth! There is a gear for anything you get into and low is nice but not really needed.

There are a couple things I'm not too keen on though. The one thing that would make the rubicon is a 4X2 shift capability. It is a nice ride but it can get bit boring. My other buddy has the warn kit on his and it is a totally different drving experience. The other thing that bothered me is it has the turning radius of a semi hahaha. My Little sport quad is so tiny compared to it!

I think the AT is the best on the market and I think Honda really did their homework on it. Anyone that tries to tell me a belt drive is as good can stick it!

The guy I borrowed the Rubicon from drove my $500 Suzuki/Honda hybrid all day and didn't want to give it back. If I was going to buy a new bike I would have a tough decision between a sport bike and the Utilities. They both have their advantages and there is nothing like jumping and banging wheelies off of everything you see.

 

How much did you pay for your rancher at?

 

I got mine for $6100 out the door.

 

Just ignore this

 

Enigma206,

I see that you have both the Kodiak 450 and the Rancher AT. I am in the process of buying medium size 4X4 with an automatic tranny. I am looking at 3 models. The new Bruin 350, Rancher 400 AT and Kodiak 450. At this time I am leaning towards the new Bruin because it is $1,200 cheaper.
We mainly ride in the desert and mountain fire roads so handling, fuel milage and reliability is a must not speed and no mudding!!!!

I would appreciate your opinion.

Thanks,

Marco Polo

Rubicon 500
Recon 250
Breeze 125 (soon to be replaced with new 4X4)
XR50

 

Hey Marco,
Looks like you have 2 Hondas already. How have they been treating you? If good, why wouldn't you just go out and buy the AT? Just curious to see if anything else but the cost is driving your decision...

 

I went riding with my friend today and he's got a sports bike and I've got a utility. We had to go through the bush (we were looking for a trail that we could make for the winter time with our sleds). I'm telling you guys, this guy outperforms me everywhere we go. Going up a hill, across a field, everywhere. He's got a '99 Yamaha Warrior and I've got an '86 Honda 250fourtrax. Anyways, I finally outdid him[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img] I drove through the bush like it was nothing. We got stuck a few times (him a lot more than me) and I just pushed right through everything. He had a hard time keeping up to me and I was only in 2nd gear.

Anyways...when we were in my field he flew by me haha