Does anyone know what the service manual recommends for tier alignment on a 4x4 Rancher? Is there supposed to be a slight toe-out or should they be aligned perfectly true?

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I don't have you're answer of what the manual says, however, I think it would be your personal preference. Toe-in=aggressive response; Toe-out=wider, softer turning; Exactly true=a mid-point of the two different styles.

Keep in mind, I have a 2X4 not a 4X4. There may be a different rule with 4X4's considering the front wheels are doing the pulling too.

 

Search this forum (Honda) there was a discussion on toe in or toe out for the Rancher not to long ago. My Rancher is true or neutral position. I was told to never go toe in on a 4x4.

 

I just talked to the local Honda dealer and he said that the Rancher's toe-out should be 18 mm and the Foreman should be set at 20 - 50 mm. According to him, Honda stated that setting the alignment to neutral (or less than the recommeded) numbers would lead to excessive oversteer. This info pertains to 4x4's only.

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Where or how do you measure to see how much toe out you have?

 

What is you setup for the tires on your Recon?
I am refering to the toe-in toe-out post.

 

The benefit of using the string method oppose to the measuring tape or straight edge method is that you also align your handle bars at the same time. This method will not work on machines that have a wider wheel base at the rear due to offset rims or wider then stock tires. Check your manufacturers specifications before making any adjustments.

To check your front wheel alignment, wrap a piece of string all the way around the your machine, at the center of tire height. Next, sit on the machine and put the handle bars as straight as possible. Now measure from the string to the side of the front tire at the rear edge. On Honda 4x4's you should have approx 1/8" space between the string and the rear of both, left and right front tires which is the "toed-out" condition recommended by Honda. If your machine has a "on-center" condition the string will touch the front and rear sides of both front tires. If you have a "toed-in" condition the string contacts the front and rear of both front tires, but if you stand at the front of the machine and look down the string you will see that the rear of the front tires actually pushes the string out. (Honda 4x2's and other manufacturers may be different so check your specs)

To adjust, loosen all four locknuts on the steering rods (both sides) and adjust toe-in or toe-out until you achieve the 1/8" dimension or whatever the spec is for the machine being adjusted. Tightened everything back up, recheck the measurement and that the handle bars are still in the centered position, then if it's all OK take it for a test ride. The machine should track perfectly with the handle bars centered.

Have fun and play safe. Jeff

 

That is a great trick. I'll try it on my own machine.
Does anybody know what a 250x should be? toe-in, toe-out or center?

 

Snowshark ... see bigred450's response for procedure. The question for me is whether to use Honda's recommendation (7/8" to 2" toe out on the Foreman and 3/4" on the Rancher) or go closer to neutral on them both.

BigRed450, you have a Foreman and appear to have gone to a setting close to neutral. Do you find your quad unstable?

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I am going to try the string thing this weekend. I believe my tires on the Rancher are in the neutral position or very close to it.