Is there more people w/ Manual Shift or do alot of people get the ES models?
I had a '04 450ES never had a problem but, it was only 2 yrs old when I sold it.
It seems that I see alot of S models in these forums of peoples machines. compaired to the ES model.
Why????

 

I have a 02 Foreman 450ES, I have not had any problems at all from the ES, Always works great. It has over 3800 miles on it, through mud, water, snow and dust.

JClintonB@hughes.net

 

I have an ES Rancher and have had no problems with it. I believe many are just skeptical of anything electronic these days. The ESP has been available since 1998 I think, should be pretty well thought through by now. Of course there are problems here and there but my guess is a lot of people want just the S for the most trouble free, reliable quads. Especially those who love their creeks, ponds, mud pits, etc....

 

There are some advantages that the s has over the es. I have an es and havent had any es issues, but now i realize the advantages of the s... if i had to do it over, id buy the s..but it isnt such a big deal that i want to unload my es and get one.
The s can be made to bump start, if necesary...es cant. It may or may not ever be an issue...but if youre in the middle of nowhere, and the battery dies..your screwed on the es, to get it started. The s could just be bumped started if you do the nuetral wire to ground.
The s clutch can disengage and hold disengaged ( for matching rpms on downshifts) es cant. The es just abruptly shifts, up or down, but the s can be made to smoothly downshift..just like a sporty quad.
The s is more dead simple...less electronics, and parts. Its probably never going to need anything more than a clutch adjustment now and then. The es is more complicated, and needs more troubleshooting skills to fix, than the s does,

 

The main reason I bought a Foreman S is the simple fact I dont want my left hand stuck to the grip. Most of the time my left hand has tools, parts, kids or a rifle in it. The es dosent look that handy to me.

 

The honda manual shifters are indestructable. Had a couple of them and no problems at all. They will take a lot more abuse also. MY friends has a honda 400 at and has had his share of headaches with it. He would gladly trade it on a manual shift.

 

I have and 2006 Rancher ES and it has been to the shop twice for shifting problems.

Honda had a bad run of angle sensors in 04, 05 and have been replacing them for free.

My bike had a bolt loosen at the shift drum preventing it from shifting and also a bad dash display.

If I had it do do again I would buy a S or automatic

my .02

 

The ES is alot better when you are riding in the mud and water, my son has a honda 300 with the big foot kit on it, on serveral occasions we have been going through deep mud or water and when he has to shift gears or change to reverse to get back out he has to put his foot in the mud or water, lots of times he has to pour the water out of his boots while my feet are high and dry because my feet was on the fenders and not under the water like his. I get to laugh at him alot because of it, thats when he says he wished he had the ES.

JClintonB@hughes.net

03 Forman 450 ES
95 Forman 400

 

the foreman line is unique, you can get the speedometer/odometer cluster with the S or the ES. I had to go with the ES on my rancher to get that, the S model rancher only has the 3 lights, no speedo or anything. That's why I opted for the ES, my 2004 rancher was an S but i really wished I had the ES. So when i ended up totalling it rolling it down a hill, I made sure to get the ES when the check cleared the bank.