io rolled my rancher es in a mudhole. had to wipe the mud off of the es pod....the shifting never enver hestitated.....if you have problems with your es then get it checked out by the dealer...

 

I took my rancher up a hill today and allmost rolled the front over the back because it was so steep, but all I had to do was throw that bit** in 3rd and lean forward and the 4x4 just hauled a** up the hill, it was incredable, I thought I would have to winch up it... I bought the winch and havent even had to use it once yet!
Incredibly built.. Typical Honda.

sorry for spelling mistakes! :_)

 

Went with manual shift Rancher 4x4. Like the ES better but just know that somewhere down the road, the ES would have left me in a bad situation. I put the ES model floorboards on my machine and it looks great. Either way you go will be a good decision - just depends on your personal preference of reliability vs convenience.

 

i own i rancher 4x4 es and it is the nicest machines i have ever owned. i am thinking about buying another one.

 

Except for the childish name calling of other machines by TexasWarrior, I agree with him. I think the ES is the better choice. I love the instrument pod. It is very useful. Up here in Canada it comes on the S model too. That would make it a harder decision, but since it is only available on the ES in the US, go for the ES! As for the sportsman 335 - I rode it and didn't like the power to weight and it is not sized like a mid-size machine like the ES is. The SP335 is sized like a big bore.

SP500 in NS
2000 Polaris Sportsman 500

 

I only have 30 miles on my new 00 Rancher 4x2 ES so far, but I love it. I was able to go anywhere the 300 4x4 and Scrambler 500 went, and WAY faster than the 300.

We rode through a newly dug pond, about 3 ft deep in spots, and due to my own inexperience, did drown my machine out. Kinda freaked me out when the front end floated up, and I let off to put it back down. Big mistake. But after pulling the spark plug, evacuating the cylinder and draining the breather box, was back at it in about 5 minutes.
Everything got VERY wet, and no problem at all.

And I read in another thread that the Rancher ES won't do wheelies. I weigh almost 300 pounds, and I can tell you, that if your Rancher won't stand up in the first two gears, then you're not using the whole throttle.

I did try the Polaris 335, because it was in my price range. I was impressed with some of the features, but just didn't have the ***** of the Honda.

This is my first ATV, so I have little to judge against, but am very happy so far.

 

indydave

CHANGE YOUR OIL SEVERAL TIMES!!!!!! UNITL THE OIL COMES OUT WITH NO "MILKY" BUBBLES IN IT....IF YOU DON'T YOUR GONNA LEAVE WATTER IN THE MOTOR AND BLOW IT UP!!!!!

P.S. the 4x4 will wheelie pretty easily ounce you get the timing down

 

Get the Rancher ES. The shifting and the full floorboards are more than worth the 200.00 extra. Oh by the way, GREGSIMS would buy recycled aluminum cans if it said POLARIS on it. Go with the Rancher, it's for real!!!!

 

No water in the oil, checked first thing. It was actually only in the water for about 30 seconds after stall. I got off and let it float up. Walked it right over to the bank.

Dave