I just picked up my new foreman last Friday. I decided to go with the Foreman over a Kodiak 450 because I plan on doing alot of hauling and loading the racks. I was told by several multi-brand dealers that a SRA will work better than an IRS for heavy hauling. I have not had an ATV since my 89' Warrior so this is a very nice bike. I also read alot of info on this forum that was very helpful. I do own serval other Honda products- 04 Wing, son's xr80, a lawnmower and a snow blower. I guess I'm a little partial to Honda but I did look very hard at all the competition. Yamaha makes a very nice machine, I'm by no means knocking anybody(I've read some pretty heated debates over what's the best Quad). I think it really boils down to your personal needs and the deal you get. I got my bike for $6300 OTD. w/ an 18month ex. warranty, three way hitch adapter and some new tie downs. The dealer also delivered the machine to our deer camp and would agree to come pick it up if I could not fix the problem myself. So far I'm very pleased with the over all performance of the bike. It rides very nice and has climbed over anything I have pointed it at. I esp. like the very bright headlights at nite. The shifting takes a little getting used to,but that's from a guy coming off a street bike. Once your used to it, it's pretty cool! I plan on adding a drop basket to the rear rack- any sugestions would be great! Also does anyone use synthetic oil in their ES?? I'm a big fan of doing my own maintainance. Again any suggestions would help. Thanks againg for a great web site. It was very helpful in my purchase. -Joe.[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

 

congrats on the new ride. You will be very happy with it.

 

I love mine also. As for oil, I go with Honda oil and change it fairly often. (after 8 hours), then I try and change it about every 40 hours after that. I figure oil is cheap so I don't mine it. Syn. oil is good but really should not be run longer than normal oil, dirty and contaminants (sp?) still build up and you always rick getting water or dirt in an off road engine. I figure I will play it safe and change it often (takes about 15 minutes).
Good luck and enjoy

 

i use honda oils and change the oil regulary. when changing the oil is always in good condition still and has worked well.
recon ranger has alot of knowledge in this field and i believe promotes SOME synthetics but not honda oil. do a search and it shoudl help alot, i know it did me.

 

With the Foreman 4x4 Es, i have a question about the tranny. Can it be switched between full auto and ESP? Im tryin to find a quad liek that that can be switched between auto clutch, and full auto transmission.

 

no, the ES is simply manually shifted with push buttons. there is no Automatic mode to this. I think the Rubicon has that though, it is automatic but you can put it in ES mode and shift through "simulated" gear ratios