if u take a honda in water to the racks it will stall without a snorke due to the fact the air intake is on the side

 

One snorkel is usually easier to rig..

 

I spent a few months debating Yamaha 450 Kodiak or Honda 400 Rancher AT.

I now own a Honda 400 Rancher AT and Honda 500 Rubicon, I like to enjoy riding them, not working on them.

We went to Wolf pen Gap for labor Day weekend, very happy with both. Wife loves the 400 AT, she rode it with

my 9 yrs old son.

Good Luck!

 

Brandyjack, what were the deciding factors of the honda over the yamaha? When you were choosing was the 05 kodiak with IRS part of the equation?

 

Honda Reliability! From all reviews I read, 400 AT has ample power to handle any situation.
The '05 Kodiak were not available then.

Good Luck!

 

Lightman there is not an issue with the Kodiak as far as reliability goes.I had a 2000 and put over 2500 miles on it and did nothing more than normal maintenance.We rented a 400 rancher a while back while at Hatfield/mcCoy and while smooth ( this was a BRAND new one..2 miles) I would suggest the Kodiak.There are 5 in our group that have them and they are never working on them.Since they are so close in price the issue of the Kodiak having the low range,frt locker and a park position (which is nice after you have it) you get more for the money.IMO Yamaha has the best belt system going.Unlike my Prairie it never needs adjusted because Yamaha uses an internal clutch and they always have tension on their belt.The engine braking is every bit as good as the Honda.
You know if you ask a loaded question in this forum like which one is best un biased answers are going to be hard to come by.They are both good machines.It just comes down to which features are more important.I will say IRS will be an option my next bike has.I almost got the Rincon but took the Prairie.My dealer sells both.Unlike alot of guys on here I do not have blind faith to anything...having had a Suzuki,Yamaha,Kaw and almost buying a Honda settles that debate.
I do know having ridden my buddies Grizz for a day that the IRS is much easier on your body and from what the reports say Yamaha addressed the tippy feeling the Grizz has and mounted the shocks differently than from the Grizz. Go ride them and decide......don't sweat the which is more reliable debate.
02 650 camo

 

Kodiak1, thanks for the great reply. And don't worry, I'm definitely sifting through the 'my brand is better' replies [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

I never questioned the kodiak's reliabilty or considered that a factor. Sorry to rain on the 'honda is reliable' parade, but I've seen them broken down on the trail just as often as other brands. While they may be well suited for trail riding, put them in extreme conditions and they break like any other brand.

I guess I like just about everything about the kodiak better than the rancher, aside from having belt drive and being 40lbs heavier... I'm questioning what is the point of getting a 450 k odiak that weighs 595lbs when a prairie 650 is only like 605?? My whole original intent was to find a smaller/capable machine for a girlfriend to ride..... am I losing that path?

 

Oh I don't think you are losing the path.All the Jap makers agreed to not make 4 wheelers that weighed more than 600lbs.Of course Polaris and AC do not abide as you can tell by how porky their stuff is.I went with the 650 because most of my group of buddies were moving up to Grizzlies and other big bores so needless to say I had to have one[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]
There is one other option to consider.....the Eiger.That is a nice midsize quad that has as much if not more power than the Kodiak and definitely the Rancher.It is just a simpler machine.Air cooled,manual 4x4 switch.That is a lighter machine and it handles great.It's like my Prairie in the fact it feels glued to the ground.The new ones look better too.Our Eiger guys loves his,in fact he was the one that rented the Rancher and decided he did not want one mainly based on power.
Hope this does not confuse you more.......don't sweat the belt thing either.Until I had my Kodiak I was very anti-belt also......but now it's not even an issue if they are belt drive or not.I just hope that new KQ 700 I want holds up well........this is if it's ok with the Mrs LOL
Where do you ride?.I know from being in the Sarasota area it's pretty flat
02 650 camo

 

Here is another thing to think about in your decision. I have a Rancher ES not AT and one riding buddy has an older Kodiak. Most of our riding terrain does not require the low range setting. Because of the Kodiak's gearing choices, he tends to do a lot more shifting than I do. He will complain to me about all the shifting he is doing. It must be because the Kodiak's gearing range is narrower than mine. He also makes comments that very tight turns require him to back up when I can make them on my Rancher (in my opinion the Rancher isn't all that great on tight turns either).

If this machine you are talking about is for novice riders, the AT machine may be the simplest choice. If the rider is experienced and you are riding more challenging terrain that requires a lot of skill, I would stay away from the AT because I prefer choosing my own gear. If you are riding where you need lots of power, the I would lean toward either the Kodiak because of the low range or the Rancher ES or manual since the AT tranny is bound to use a lot of power.

 

JCD, some good points. However, I'm looking at brand new models, the 400AT and 05 Kodiak w/IRS. I was quoted $5500 for the kodiak plus tax, which is just a few hundred more than the rancher. Both have fully auto transmissions, so I'm not sure what you meant when you said stop to shift, unless you meant from low to high gear... I have that same issue on my prairie, you stay in low gear up to about 30, but if you're going to go faster than that, you stop and shift to high...a slight pain sometimes but not a huge deal. I'm sure any inexperienced rider can handle the concept of stopping to shift if they are going to go above 30...if they can't they certainly aren't getting on one of my machines!

Also the kodiak has a sizeably shorter turning radius than the rancher.