I think the rancher would be more than capable. However, the atv will be used to tow heavy loads every day, up and down steep hills. I think the disc brakes and overall build of the foreman might be a little more up to the task. The engine compression braking on both is excellent, but sometimes we stop on a hill to unload and this is where the 300 tends to "roam" down the hill, even with the brakes adjusted and fully applied. I also like the switchable 4x4 on the foreman for work on flatland. If I buy a 424, I might as well add $300 to cost of the rancher, plus my time to install it. Still leaning towards foreman........

 

I recently purchased a Yellow Honda 500 Foreman manual shift 4x4 to replace my former machine (NOT a Honda) which kept breaking down. Many questions have been posed about the Foreman and I will attempt to answer most of them in this review.
First – with tax, title, etc I paid $6100 out the door here in W.V., yes it can be found for a bit less but until I take all the time to drive 100’s of miles and fill the tank of the truck several times I figure it was not worth it. I also like the idea of buying local to help make sure I have a dealer in the years to come.
As for the machine, it was delivered in excellent condition and I only noticed one flaw. The headlight cover seems to be loosely attached and vibrated a tiny bit, but once you are riding it is totally unnoticeable and not an issue. I agree with other reviewers that Honda should have placed a headlight shut-off switch for the handlebar light on the bike as a standard feature and not as an option. But at approximately $15.00 I guess I will be forking up for that real soon. The only other “strange” thing I noticed was that if the operator wants to check the oil (and you always should), you need to unsnap and remove a small black panel on the left side of the machine so that you may access the engine oil dip stick. This is inconvenient and sort of silly to place a item that should be monitored before every ride behind a plastic panel. On my personal machine I have removed the panel and placed it in the garage for safe keeping. The funny thing is no one has noticed it is “missing” and it does not truly affect the ascetics of the machine. I say lose the silly trim Honda, let’s keep this simple. If I wanted complex I sure would not have bought a manual shift, solid rear axle (SRA) machine!
Upon firing the Honda up I noticed it starts quickly and only appears to be a tad bit cold blooded. I allowed the machine to idle for about 5 minutes then kicked a leg over it and planned to hit the trail. I met with an interesting surprise; I could not shift it into first gear with my foot! I ended up having to reach down and pull the shifter up with my hand to get it to engage its first forward gear. I quickly ran the machine through the gears while sitting still then went back to neutral. From this time on the machine shifted perfectly (by foot) and never stuck again. I was told the Honda tranny is a little stiff at first and this seemed to be true!
After a stiff start I headed out on the Hatfield and McCoy Waterways trail to do some real test. The first thing I noted was fist gear is LOW. I mean real low!! If you want to pull a plow for a food plot, tow a LARGE load, then this is the gear for you. If you want to do a normal trail ride, skip first and just start in 2nd. I ended up riding the entire day and think I only kicked it down to first gear one time and that was for a massively steep downhill that had a 90 degree bend in the middle of it. This was the only time I even shifted to first; most of the testing was done in 2nd and 3rd. The machine performed extremely well in numerous rough and rocky climbs. It performed so well I very rarely even shifted the machine into four wheel drive. Most of the day’s adventure was easily conducted in 2 wheel drive with the factory tires. Speaking of factory tires, they are not the best tires I have ever ridden on. They tend to allow the machine to have a little roll in sharp downhill corners and a small amount of plowing. All for all, as factory tires go they are not too bad, I personally will replace them with a 6 ply rated tire that better suits my needs.
The ride itself is impressive for a SRA machine. It is not as soft and plush as an independent rear suspension systems but it is a LOT better than the machines of the past. It gets a little bumpy on the real rocky sections but nothing that will cause most people any problems. The suspension seems to be able to carry a load fairly well and really keeps the machine planted to the ground. I can not get over how stable the machine feels. I made a few errors through out the day and picked a bad line here and there and the machine recovered without a hiccup. A few times I side hilled some rutted out sections of trail that should have pushed the machines ability to stay on four wheels but it felt like it was glued to the ground!
The question I hear over and over is can a sub 500cc machine “do the job.” One word – YES! The motor is excellent, from the smooth idle all the way to the redline. It pulls strong but does not produce a “hang on to the bars for dear life” rush of power. It has more than enough power for normal trail riding and with the super low first gear it should perform with the best of them in the work world. This motor is smooth and has plenty of beans to get you where you want to go. No, you are not going to outrun a Brute Force 750, Sportsman 800, or even a Prairie 700, but then again this is not what the machine is designed for.
You will catch the faster bike soon enough if you play it smart. Why you ask? Because of the excellent fuel mileage! I was highly impressed with how far this thing will go on a tiny bit of fuel! After three hours of riding, up and down hills, rocky terrain, mud and some higher speed runs I only used about 1 gallon of fuel! I thought the fuel gauge was broke until I looked in the tank and the gas was really still in there. I am not one of these people that are “worried” about fuel economy on an ATV but I have to say I was pleasantly surprised knowing I won’t always need to haul extra fuel with me when I go out riding!
I would highly recommend the Honda Foreman 500 to anyone looking for a comfortable and fun trail and work quad. There are many choices out there but if this Honda holds up like the past Foreman’s I doubt I could have picked a better quad for my intended purposes.
Ride safe!

 

Thanks for the great info Code54! What do you prefer for work or fun, the Rhino or the Foreman? I think I will be purchasing a foreman tommorrow. Thanks to everyone for the great info!

 

Both are great for work and play. Seems my Dad likes the Rhino and somehow came up with this idea of why he should "store it" for me. Funny thing is when I call the house my mom always says "I would get your dad but he is out on the Rhino..." Go figure. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]
The ATV is nice for TIGHT areas due to the smaller size, where as the Rhino is great for hauling due to the bed and dump features. Last weekend at home we dug a ditch, cut some trees, and hauled a ton of leaves with the Rhino and it was VERY nice to have around. With the ATV you need to tow a cart so the advantage went to the Rhino on that one. I live VERY close to the Hatfield and McCoy trails so I often ride the ATV for "Fun", if I could trail ride there with the Rhino it would be really hard to pick which one to take! They are both a LOT of fun!
Good luck with getting your Foreman, I am sure you will enjoy it!

 

[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img] Picked up a yellow foreman s monday, have since put only about 15 miles on it doing some light riding around the various job sites. Initial impressions: Way more power than the 300 (which is obvious, but I didn't think it would feel so obvious) The power of the 475 really makes the bike feel much lighter, and the added weight definetely does not seem to affect stability. It is definitely a hill climber and does not hesitate on very steep climbs. However, this brings me to my next question. I've never had a new bike, so how do YOU break in a new bike? I have been keeping the rpms in a reasonable range and just kind of "cruising" around. I have been taking it easy. The bike is cold blooded and takes a while to shift easily in the morning. It(the transmission) is quite stiff untill it gets moving. The honda manual says something about changing the oil after the first 100 miles and 'avoid constant rpms' but nothing else. What exactly does constant rpms mean? Anway, the guy at the place where I bought it says "take 'er easy, then change the oil after 6 hours, then give 'er hell" The removable panel to check the oil is stupid and will probably be put in 'storage' Other than that it is quite responsive and nimble. Does anyone know of a good place (online or retail) to get a relatively small rear hard storage case / toolbox? So far, I am satisfied with my purchase and thanks to all who replied!

 

As far as breaking the motor in...I beat the snot out of it from the git go.
Avoiding constant RPMs...rev the ... out of it !

I think the advice you got at the dealship is good.

The dealer recommended I bring it in for initial service after 20 miles.
I did and but felt stupid, because my vehicles usually don't see
the dealership again unless a major problem, I do my own tune-ups.

Looking back I'm not sorry because I think an oil change early
is beneficial. I've seen people in other threads talking about metalic
flakes in the first few oil changes during break in.

Here are a couple of purchases I made and recommend to protect your invest:

I bought an $89 ATV/motorcycle jack from sears.

I ordered the 2005 TRX500FE/FM/TM Fourtrax Foreman Service Manual
($48.00 ) from helminc, link can be found from the honda website.

A case of honda GN4 oil, several oil filters and some spark plugs.

I did my own 100 hour oil change it's messy. The oil filter spring pops the
filter off and a few ounces spill out, so be prepared. Comparing the old filter
with the new filter I will change at recommended intervals or more frequently.
(an ounce of prevention...blah blah blah)

All the best!

 

Any pics

 

Congrats on getting your new machine! I think you could not have gone wrong with either model. I've always liked the foremans/Rubicons.