I am looking to buy either a 2000 Kodiak, or Rancher. The honda dealer told me in a head to head shootout that the Rancher beat the Kodiak. Is this true and could someone send me the article or atleast tell me about it. Also is the front diff. work as well as claimed, if it does i believe the over priced rancher might be the better deal for me than the Kodiak. (most dealers will sale a Kodiak for 5850with a winch & the Honda dealers want 5900 for the Rancher and a winch on the manual shift model) Thanks for any info.

 

Iv'e never seen a artical on that one but their was a artical on the rancher, 325polaris, 400 big bear. The rancher bet them but it was a close one
they said. Now I bought a brand new rancher two and it is worth the money, most defintly worth the money. As far as I seen the new torque sencing front end works great for the rancher. My friend has a new rancher and he said it's just as goed as a differental lock system. Now honda may not hav all the chassis as the kodiak but honda is much more with going for because of their realibilty and durability.

 

I belong to the Idaho ATV assn and on the last 5 rides a Kodiak has had a rollover. 5 different riders, 5 different places. 2 were on roads with slight ruts. One was on a sharp turn. One hit a large rock in the trail and the last hit a pine tree root stinking out in the trail. Just my observations. We have also had several Grizzlies tip over. I think that with the Mono shock and the narrow wheelbase these are contributing factors.

 

lovinhonda. I agree they are more dependable. Since i have owned only honda in my liftime(includes a 84trx250,88trx300,and a 98CBR600) i know of hondas quality. The thing is dislike is the fact i am paying more for a 350stock rancher when i can get a Kodiak with a 2000lbs War. winch and rack extensions for 5850. If i was to by the es rancher is costs 5500 plus 500for the winch, which puts me at 6000,(maybe a 100 lower)for a rancher. So if i didn't believe in honda i would have already bought the Kodiak, trust me. Thing only hang up is the reliablity of the belt drives. In alaska they suck. We are in water and mud 90% of the time. The belt drive on the kodiak is all that is stopping be from buying it. And the fact stands that yamaha's (this is the truth) are not as reliable(but are probably the second best). This ranges from motorcycles to atv's in my opinion. What are your thoughts?

 

The Kodiak & Rancher didn't have a shoot out. The Rancher beat both the Big Bear & Wolverine(?) Yamahas. The Kodiak beat the HOnda 450.

Both are really good quads. The Yamaha is a little narrower, so it could be tippy in the while cornering or doing off camber stuff. The Kodiak MSRP is $700 more than the Rancher ($6099 vs $5399). You get a bigger engine a 401cc vs 329cc. I haven't any problems with there not being enough power to keep up. I way over 200 & can run with the other Hondas in our club (400 & 450).

Have you ridden them both? I have close to 40 hours & over 300 miles in the 2 months, and not ONE problem!

If you do a lot of mud & water riding, a belt drive quad will eventually get wet & slip.

The Kodiak was my second choice also.

Good luck, really test drive them & then buy the one that has the features you like best & fits you the best..

 

Hey I just gave advice. If you want the kodiac go for it. Be happy for what you like because I sure wouldn't get an atv that i wouldn't be satisfied
with.

 

You can get a bike with a liguid cooled 401cc 4 valved motor,selectable 4wd,disks brakes and a winch fo $50 less than a air cooled 329cc 2valve,full time 4wd ,drum brakes and no winch and still need advice on which one to buy?

 

Get a new HOnda dealer you are getting ripped off at the price you quoted.

If both quads were the same exact price, the Yamaha might be the way to go however at $700 more than the Rancher thats a different story.

The Rancher is the best mid size quad out there.

The Kodiak is the best in its class.

Later

 

i just bought a new rancher 4x4 (not es) and only paid 5100 out the door. these prices seem crazy to me. here at our dealership in lexington, you can buy a foreman es for 5900 out the door. as far as the winch is concerned why give a dealer 500 for a winch that only cost 298. i would buy it and install it myself. i would shop around. good luck

 

there was a rancher vs. kodiak shootout i few months ago. it was either in dumnbwheels or atvaction. the kodiak was the winner but the rag admitted that the kodiak belongs in a different class than the rancher. the rag was also suprised at how well the two quads matched up (seeing that the rancher was outclassed).

the price you quoted is quite high for the rancher. i bought mine from an expensive dealer and paid only 5399......shop around. ride both they are great quads. the only things i don't like about the kodiak is the belt drive and the conventional limited slip front diff.

kodiak pluses.....
...401cc==better power
...disc brakes----there is debate as to whether or not discs are better than drums. i tend to think this is a none issue but others hinge thier purchaes on this.

kodiak minuses
...cvt tranny==another personal thing. i don't like them...others do.
...not as dependable as other brand===the yamaha forum has had several posts about problems with the kodiak.
...traditional limited slip front diff.
rancher pluses
...honda reliability
...peppy engine for it's size
...engine braking without a fancy clutch setup (manula gearbox)
...best mid-sized quad (according to all avt rags and most on this site)
...ap-sure trac differential
rancher minuses
...drum breaks (see above)
...not a true 350 (but you'll never notice it)
...sometime it will tend to push in high speed turns (this is a trade off for the ap-differential. if i need to further explain this ask me or do a search of the forum for the answer)

basically the desicion is yours. you won't be unhappy with either quad as long as you do your part mantainance wise. i'm tryin to give an unbiased opinion but i plain don't like the cvt trannys. i prefer to shift my gears.
sorry for the long post.
hope this helps
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