Got a new 420 this morining! Will start break-in riding this evening, then start posting my rider reviews.........

Two things I noticed. They had is side by side on the floor with a 350. Could have gotten the 350 for cheap (all they had was an ES which I didn't really want anyway), but when I pused down on the suspensions the difference between the two was night and day. The 420 is so much more plush, particularly in the rear.....that made up my mind right there........

The other thing is that the stock front rims don't have much offset at all, and this leaves the front kind of narrow. This is no doubt done so the rim will protect the disc brakes. So, I am not sure what the options will be in terms of aftermarket rims. I will eventually put some ITP Holeshot ATR's on with C-series rims, so one issue will be whether those rims will leave my brakes wide open and exposed to rock damage???????

 

Thats great you've been talking about one for a couple of months now. I know that you will keep us posted on how it performs over a 350. I'm looking forward to running into someone that will let me ride theirs. I understand that they make alot more power compared to the 350.

 

Congrats! I wouldn't mind trading my wifes 400 AT for one.

 

congrats i hope u like it. i did'nt look at one cause the ground clearance is too low. i need atleast 10 where i live.

 

Keep posting reviews here. I have been researching which quad to buy later this spring. My choices so far include the Ozark and Z250, Eiger and the Rancher 420. My quad riding has been pretty limited, Raptor 350 and 660, and a Kodiak 450 so I am looking for as much input as I can get.

 

Did some break-in riding tonight, out in the dark and the cold! I use the Motoman method of break-in, to properly seat the rings. I have lots of nasty steep hills behind my house (Reche Canyon), so I just go out there and find a huge hill and ride up it as fast as I can, then back down it fast and under lots of compression braking. I do that up and down three times, then park it and cool it off completely......then I do it all over again. Do that a bunch of times, then ride it normally for the next five to ten hours, but never staying at one constant speed for any length of time. I increase the ride time each ride, but still cool it down completely between rides. By then, it is completely broken in.

This machine is better than the old 350 in every way! On the fast fire roads, handling is excellent.....I keep looking for a 6th gear so I can go faster. Throtle response is nice and snappy off the bottom, and I can punch the throtle in the whoops to help keep the front end light. It can wheelie, if I am willing to work at it. Nice tight truning radius. Steering is very stable, with no bump steer. Stock tires are descent.

It is a little narrow and skittish in extreme off-cambers. First thing I did after the first ride though, is pull the ITP Holeshot ATR tires off the Rancher 350, and put them on the 420. Makes the quad something like +4" wider, which should make it very stable. The ATR's really improve handling, so I am anticipating tomorrows ride!

As for the selectable 2wd/4wd, the owner's manual says you need to be at a complete stop. Now when you think about it, this might be for liability reasons. To shift you need to take your hand off the handlebars and say you catch a rock while you are doing that, then somebody is going to blame Honda! Anyway, I bet it can be shifted on the fly, but they just don't want you to?

The skid plates are minimalist. At first I didn't like this, then I got to thinking about it. Most riders are just casual trail riders, so the existing skid is probably perfectly adequate for them. On the other hand, the hare core rider is going to get a nice aftermarket skid anyway, so what would be the point in welding a bunch of heavy extra metal to the bottom of the quad anyway. I think Honda thought this one out.....and did the sensible thing!

For me, lighter is always better! The 420 gained 35 pounds over the old 350. I can tell it is heavier when loading it on the trailer, but out on the trail it isn't so obvious. Lighter tires and alloy rims, will help out some.

I bet the 2wd version handles sweet!