I have a 05 rancher es and was wondering if there are any mods that will increase perfomance without extensive engine work. I have read about mufflers that help performance but do all of them require a carb re-jet kit. and just how loud are they.

 

I don't know anything about pipes or carb work but I do know that installing a Warn 424 will sure help out in the handling department. It makes the Rancher a lot more fun to drive, feels sportier plus it allows the back end to break loose in a turn.
I put one on my 05 Rancher and it has more "pep" plus has a slightly higher top speed.
The Warn 424 should be on your list of improvements also.

 

The pipe lets it breathe better at higher rpms, but there wont be much increase, and quite posibly be a decrease at lower rpms.

You cant just change one thing, and have an improvement. If you pipe, youll need to free up the intake side (freeer flowing type, like K&N), and then increase the gas flow, (bigger jets). To get any meanful increase, all three areas need to be addressed.

Yes, almost all after market pipes are louder.

The reality of the situation is this....that motor has maybe 12 horsepower, and you can easily spend 700 bucks, doing the pipe, carb work and filter. At most...youll get 10% increase, which works out to 1.2 horse power. You gotta decide if its worth 700 bucks, Also that motors camshaft is designed to give smooth and reliable low rpm power, kind of opposed to the increased rpm power band the pipe provides.

The other downside is, when you go to resell, the type of person whos gonna buy a rancher, isnt going to be interested in those mods, and youll need to heavily discount the price to sell it. Those types of quads only resell easily, if they are totally unmodified.

Bottom line...i wouldnt do it. The resale value drops, the engine sees increased wear due to the higher rpms it sees, itll be noisier, and the gains are just not worth the money spent. Youd be further ahead to trade it in on a bigger model, and spend the 700 bucks that way.

just my two cents.

 

well said, my friend. My rancher is stock, and it's gonna stay that way.

 

Ok. thanks for the advise. think i'll leave it the way it is. 700 for 1.2 hp is not cost effective. the warn 4-2 is already installed big difference in handling and easier to steer and ride. thanks for taking the time to answer my questions.

 

You could put on smaller diameter tires, but that, of course, would give you lower ground clearence.

 

700 bucks for 1.2hp? What utility pipe costs that much?

You can install a higher compression, larger piston and a new camshaft to significantly increase power throughout the rpm range. While it would require rejetting you could run the stock pipe and filter setup if you desired. Since Honda boosted the displacement to around 397cc or so for the rancher 400 I believe the 329cc ES model could use a bigger piston without any worries about reliability.

 

[quote]
Originally posted by: maddog56
700 bucks for 1.2hp? What utility pipe costs that much?
q]

I think he was talking about the whole package. Pipe, jet kit, filter and cam/bore kit? Maybe, i dunno.

 

the rancher engine is actually pretty easy to work on. You can take the cylinder head off, and take the cylinder off too very easily, and since the engine is a push-rod type engine, there is no cam chain running up to the top of the head to worry about. The cam is in the engine block. You could put a larger piston and bore the cylinder and not have to worry about the timing at all.

Also, if you take the engine out of the frame, just take the rear crankcase cover off and take the flywheel off and stuff and the cam slides right out.

Doing the work isnt bad, but it WILL cause more wear on the engine parts. If you plan on keeping the bike forever, dont do anything to it. If you compete with mudding and stuff, then you might think about it.