The big bear may have a larger motor but let me tell you it is about the slowest thing on four wheels. The Rancher is far superior in power handling and overall refinement. Spend a few extra bucks and get the Honda.

 

The speed aspect is true, the Big Bear is geared more towards farming and utility work, they are a slower quad, but make up for it in power and torque. But if you are looking for a quad to zip down the trails, it is probably not for you. The Rancher does offer different shift options, such as electric shift, or manual autoclutch. Any way you look at it, you will be dropping some major cash.

There is no worse feeling than having buyers regrets after spending 5 really big ones. Decide what you can spend, then see which quads fit into your budget. Go to the dealers, ride the Rancher, Big Bear, Kodiak, Prairie, QuadRunner, whatever.
Also, get a Cycle Trader, or whatever used quad paper you have locally, and see what you could get. You'll be surprised how many people buy a 2000-2001 quad, decide it's not for them, and put it up for sale at an incredible discount. Like the saying goes, there's no replacement for displacement. You might be able to get into a bigger, previously enjoyed model that you thought you couldn't afford.

 

Are you saying the Honda cost more than the Yamaha even though it's a smaller machine? That sounds backwards to me I would think it was odd that the 350 was even the same price as the 400 let alone cost more.Is this true for the 4wd versions also?

 

Hum....... I don't see how anyone can say that Hondas are more expensive than Yamahas. Here is the sugg. retail prices of the quads. a Big Bear 4x4 $5,399. 4x2 $4,599. a Honda Rancher 4x4ES "electric shift with digital readout and floor boards" $5,399. and Rancher4x2 $4,599. the manual shift Hondas without floorboards are 4x4$5,199, and 4x2 $4,399. So, price shouldn't be a factor when considering the two. Basically, the Honda ES models have alot more to offer than the Big Bear. Yes the Big Bear maybe a 400cc as opposed to the 350cc of the Rancher but I feel the power difference is very little if any and the extras that the Rancher ES has to offer more than make up for the difference in engine size. The Rancher has already beat the Big Bear in a shootout, so obviously that should prove the engine size isn't a factor.

 

I've read my post over and over, where do you guys come up with the notion that I said Hondas are more expensive? All I said was, whatever you get, you will be spending some major cash.

 

Hey Quadfather,

Are these the threads you say you never see???
I copied a few so you could read them

if your bear breaks down and it turns out that the crankcase has suffered severe internal damage Yamaha should eat the cost.... i just got mine out of the shop recently because of this and Yamaha footed the bill.... I do have an extended warrenty but the shop said even if it isnt under
warrenty yamaha covers it....

(sound like this should be a recall)


I've had a 99 BigBear 4x4 for about a year now and really like it accept for the shifting. Up shifting out of reverse is a real pain. The new 2000 BigBear boasts "smooth shifting." Obviously Yamaha had a few complaints.


Has anyone else had trouble with the bears lower rear fender plstic cracking? Because I talked to yamaha about this and it seems to be a growing cocern.

The rear brakes r drums on tha 00 and they just filled up with mud and stopped working


Yes I have a 00 Bigbear that the tabs on the front fenders that the lower mud flaps bolt to are breaking. Most of my riding is on old logging roads with some low brush. They broke in less than 25 hours of riding.

 

That makes for good reading, I was going to type in all of the posts that refer to having trouble with the Rancher, but I didn't have time to type them all in. Of course there are going to be some posts regarding trouble with the Big Bear, but the Rancher has been out for one year, and there are tons of posts on their troubles. I suggest you do a search and read some of them. They are quite entertaining.