I love the es. It allows thier to be full footwells, which keep you a lot dryer and cleaner while riding. I have an 01 with many many hours on it. It is a workhorse for our ranch during the week, and a play toy on the weekends. It currently has a set of 26" itp mudlites on c-series wheels and the tranny has held up great. Never a problem at all. My friend has an 02 recon es with no problems, and my cousins in tennessee have two 2003 rancher es 4wd and have ridden them to death without a problem. I do understand that there have been problems with them, but none of them have been widespread, just individual, isolated occurrences.

id go with the es, easier to keep your feet dry and shift in a mudhole[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]. JMHO

 

if no one has noticed, shifting on a utility quad is much more stressfull than on a sport. mabye not by the biggest difference in the world but when i rode one for the first time i guess it wasnt adjusted right and i had an awfull lot of trouble shifting. i had to put my whole leg into it. and i have noticed on my freinds 250x is smooth as butter compared to a utility, or at least that one. so i think i chose right with the es.