i just received my Maiers from cabelas. i thought it was pretty quick. The Maier package was maked as trx350 rancher, so i assume that they are now producing them for the rancher. I immediatly went to put them on.

the intallation was pretty straight forward. I not very pleased with the actuall "fit" of them. They seem to be molded a bit wrong for the rancher. If i start to have prblems gettin to the reverse button then i will just trim off dome of the guard. no problem there...

The problem i have is that once i installed the left hanguard the brake handle will not full spring back. They brakes are not dragging, i checked that. I tried cutting off some of the dust sheild and that didn't work. Then i wd-40'ed them and that didn't work. any ideas on why this is happening?

I'm a little dissapointed in them but i'm sure that'll change on my first trek out witout my glove again

 

Hey man glad you got them on. Sounds like something might still be up. I will E-mail Maier again and ask them about the guards for a Rancher and see what they say this time. I will let you know what I find out.

 

please do. It turned my stomach when i took my knife out and cut the dust cover on the levers, and then it still didn't work properly....

 

Cartman...you are one brave fellow to put a scalpel to your new quad. I had the same problem. Try this. Take the hand guard off. Then roll the dust cover down towards the ground. This way when you reinstall the guard the dust cover won't be inside the guard. Tell me how it comes out.

 

cartman308,

I did the same thing. After installing my hand guards (from Maier), I had the problem with the brake level not fully extending. So, I cut the dust shield hoping that it would remedy the problem. However, as you explained, it did not. I do not really have a problem getting to the reverse button, but I do not like the way the right hand guard fits over the master cylinder. All-in-all I was pleased with the hand guards, beside the brake lever problem. They help on thick trails and look decent (after you take off the Maier sticker).

 

i don't think that maier put much effort into mokding these guards. I expected a better fit than this, but they will serve the purpose

l8r
cart

 

Well I e-mailed Maier two days ago and have not received a reply yet. I guess they must be got too much to do to take time and answer their e-mail. Anyway has anyone contacted Cabelas and complained about your Rancher handguards? If so what did they say? If Maier e-mail`s me I will tell you what they said. Thank`s

 

just e-mailed Maier. here's what i said...


I am writing to express my intense dissatisfaction for one of your products. I recently purchased a set of your hand guards form Cabela's. I purchased the hand guards that were for the 2000 Honda Rancher. I received them four days after ordering and am very unhappy with them.

I decided to buy Maier products after much research. I asked friends and Internet acquaintances about which product to buy. Virtually all told me to buy Maier because of their quality and ease of use. After installing these hand guards I am questioning your quality. I have several problems with these hand guards. First, I do not like the way that it fits around the master cylinder on the right handle bar. The fit just doesn't look clean. Instead of being "molded" perfectly around the master cylinder it touches on the top of the right side of it and is about a quarter-inch above the left, top of it. It looks very bad. The second problem I have has to do with the left hand guard. Once the guard was installed and all bolts were tightened the right handbrake would not "spring back" after it were squeezed. It does appear that the brake is disengaging BUT the handle does not return to the fully forward position. I attempted to solve this problem by trimming the dust cover off of the brake cables on the right handlebars. This DID NOT solve the problem and further upset me. Another problem that I saw was that the guards appear to be too small to provide adequate protection. I rotated my controls up a bit and it still appears that the guards will not protect the top of my hands effectively.

I fell that the hand guards for the Honda Rancher are POORLY engineered! I have also heard from an acquaintance that Maier does not make hand guards for the Rancher. He was told that the guards for the Honda 300 were being slightly modified so they would "fit" the Rancher. Whatever the case is I will never recommend Maier products if this situation is not resolved. I believe that the guards for the Rancher need to be reengineered. I have also heard from other Rancher owners that have had the same problems. This situation needs to be addressed.

A response will be greatly appreciated and I feel deserved!
________________

waiting for a responce......

 

Cartman308,

Went into a Honda dealer yesterday and they said the same thing about Maier handguards. Never have fit well on any ATV's. Guys suggested getting Moose Handguards. I just may do that if Cabela's takes mine back or unless I hear of a resolution to your post. If I get them, I will post my results.

 

Well , Maier MFG INC e-mailed me back. This is what Jeff Lewis said, we have the handguards and the part # is 59462. I asked them about the quality and fit as well as the problems people had and as I thought no reply given.
Why would anyone want to get a product that has problems and them finds out that the manufacture just hopes it will go away. Maybe if all of us stop doing bussiness with them they might take notice of their problems. I have heard from some Honda Dealers that some of Maier`s products fit bad. I do not think I will buy a Maier Handguard.