I have my first quad choice narrowed down to a Rancher AT and a Rubicon. It will be used for light-moderate yard use, hunting(loading up with decoys and dog), pulling an icefishing house onto the lake etc. Does the Rancher fit my needs or would the 500cc of the Rubicon come in handy? I know the differences between the two quads and I have ridden each. I am mainly interested in if the 400cc will be eneogh. Thanks in advance.

 

I hear the AT is a great machine and should be fine for just about anything.

 

As long as your not doing alot of heavy duty pulling or working, if you are I would go with the Rubicon, other wise the 400at would be fine for what your talking about.One thing for sure you will love the hondamatic tranny.

 

There is not replacement for displacement.



I just sold a 400 Kodiak, and bought a Vinson 500. Big difference in power between these two machines.

 

Hey Quad father,how do you like the V-force. How is the handling and power compared to your old 400ex? I here the V-force is an awsome ride.

 

I haven't had tha chance to do any real trail riding with it. My neighbor has a big oval in his backyard. The V Force has amazing power. The power of it makes it feel like it is a lot lighter than it really is. The ergonomics are perfect on it. I have some clutch mods and dual HMFs on the way. Powerwise, the EX can't compare to the V. Handling is a different story. I had Elkas on the EX, along with wider a arms, and a +1 1/4 swingarm. Riding the EX was like riding a cloud on rails. I am currently shopping for some new shocks for the V, so I hope I can get the handling at least in the same ballpark as the EX.

 

What about the 450ES Foreman? The Rancher and Rubicon are so totally different I can see why you are having a hard time deciding. The Rubicon is made more for pure riding, rock crawling, etc. where the Rancher is much more work / farm oriented. I chose the Foreman 450ES since I thought it was a nice balance between the two. So far, I really love it. It works very hard, yet can be a nice machine to play ride when the wife wants to play on it. I looked at the Rancher, Rubicon, Rincon, and Foreman (ES & S), and honestly the cost did not matter to me. I chose the Foreman 450ES based on its overall usefulness, and its ability to do many things well rather than only a few things extremely well. I thought the Rubicon was pretty tough, but too complex with all the low / high / auto / etc. The Foreman has a super low 1st gear, and a very nice set of gear ratios which work so well I cannot see needing the complexity of all the hi / low ranges and all the BS that goes with. The Foreman works well for me, and I am very happy with it. Just thought I would share since it sounds like you are going through what I went through. Good luck!!