I need a ATV for work on the farm and occasionally trail riding and dune trips. I thought I might get the Rancher ES 4x4, but now I'm looking at a Foreman 500 S 4x4. I'm 6'4 and the Rancher may be a little too small for me. For a little more money I can get a foot-shift Foreman that would have Traxlox and a bigger engine. Was wondering what people thought of ES vs foot-shift. From what I've read it sounds like you get more response with a foot-shift, although I'm sure the ES is really nice to have. I've never run ES so I just wanted to get some opinions. Thanks.

 

why not look at the rubicon it has auto for taking it easy and for the wife and kids.
and it has a munual shift with your thumb for when your working it and for serious trail and mud riding.
plus it has a low gear for real hard work.
and you can have it in manual or auto in hi or low.
i would go with the rubicon its honda best quad.
IMO.

 

The trannys are the same, so response will be the same. The difference is the foot shift vs electric motor shifting. And actually the es will shift quicker than the s. There are a couple of differences, that might help you decide. On the s, if you hold the foot shift up or down, its in neutral, so if you want to blip the throttle and match rpm for downshifting, you can on an s,... the es doesnt allow this.
If you wanted to add a switch, for starting the motor in gear, its no problem on a s, but I still havent figured out how to do it on an es, ( and still be able to shift once it starts). Its possible to bump start an s , but the es wont allow that either, ( and still be able to shift once it starts).
To 90% of the people who ride the hondas, those are non-issues, but then there are the other 10% who like to blip the rpms and downshift.
As far as reliability goes...its a tossup, they both are strong and reliable, Id drive my es anywhere, and not worry about a breakdown.
Doodle, welcome to the forums.

 

I had my 00 Rancher ES stole last year. I bought a 03 Rancher S.. I took it trail rideing with the boys last week. I sure miss the ES. I like the shifting better and you can look and see what gear your in.
You got the money go for the ES

 

ride size on a rancher then a forman is nothing big, the machine does not feel bigger at all, they are only 1 or 2 inches wider too, unless you want the power of the forman, the rancher is fine, also wearing big boots is a pain with the s model since there is not much room to shift it , i feel es is better in all catergory's, es also comes with full floor boards, and makes riding with a passenger 10 times easier

 

FatDaddy where was your rancher when it got stolen?Was it just sitting outside or was it in like a shed or something? Im Sorry For Your Loss!![img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-sad.gif[/img]

 

If you're looking at mostly work and a little bit of trail riding I'd stick with the manual shift S. I've had no problems at all with mine, as opposed to others who've posted about problems with ES. If you're going to be doing a fair bit of trail riding on smooth trails where you're up and down shifting a lot, then the ES is probably a better choice. As you can tell it's a tossup between convenience and simplicity. The only thing that controls the manual shifting is your left foot, while the ES uses several different sensors that tell the computer whether it should allow you to up or down shift or not.
As far as I'm concerned, mud and water added to electronic sensors equals problems, sooner or later.
I don't do a heck of a lot of shifting most days, which involves use in everything from open fields towing a trailer, to rough logging roads pulling out fence posts. Occasionally I do some trail riding, and on those days, I'd like to have the ES version, or God forbid and don't tell anyone I said so, give me something with two pulleys and a belt. Did I really say that? One consideration before you go hog-wild with the Rubicon or the Rincon is that even as good as most Hondas are, they are expensive to fix when they do break, and the more complicated they are, the more you end up paying. I'm sure you get the picture.

Just saw this after I posted... http://forums.atvconnection.com/mess...did/440008.cfm

 

I was locked up in my shed out back. My problem was I had the hasp lock screwed into the wood..
crowbar took care of that. They pryed the hasp lock and all off... I do live in the country on 4 acers.
not to many neighbors around here.
I have now rigged it up better but I now keep my 03 in the garage.

Doddle Im 6'5 was 310lbs (now 250lbs) I never had a problem with size on my Rancher and it was 4x2.
Rancher will do you fine size wise.

 

I preferred a foot shifter because I grew up on bikes. However, riding in winter often with Sorel boots is one of a few reasons that kept me from buying the foot shifter (05 Foreman or Vinson Manual). Not a lot of room. Not having full floorboards on the Foreman stinks too.

Now that I've driven ESP for a couple hundred miles its starting to grow on me (I use the Rubicon auto feature often now that I believe the computer shifts more accurately than any human). I do find myself instinctively pushing the floorboad with my left toe while in ESP trying to downshift from time to time, forgetting the shifter is at the tip of my thumb, but I'm getting better.

I'd still go for the 500 over the Rancher. You drive a twin, you must like power. You will regret not getting the more powerful of the two.

Don't the 05s have start-in-gear on all Foremans? I did read they start while in reverse