I don't have the ES, I don't trust it. I like the manual shift. But that answer why I couldn't find a oil light.

 

mine is the ES and i have never had a problem(knocks on wood). its a lot faster to shift and i think easier. i love mine

 

I found a major flaw with the ES last weekend. I was shooting a video with my camera in my left hand. I started up a big hill and there was no way to shift down from third to second. I just had to stop and turn the camera off so I could shift down. I hate when that happens.

 

I am getting ready to buy a Honda Foreman or Rancher-leaning toward the Rancher. This will be my first atv at the age of 68 so I need to know the must haves so I do not miss anything. the 420 ES seems to be what I need. I am not going crazy when I get it so I shouldn't have any problems arising from abuse.

 

the major problem is not the rancher, honda needs to come out with a 3rd arm for you [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-tongue.gif[/img]

 

68 wow. good for you! the rancher is very quick and fast because of the EFI. the foreman is a carburator so it does not have the "snappyness" the rancher has. the foreman has many many many more upgrade option then the rancher. hope that helps with your decision nb

 

thanks that does help I want the EFI - it partly makes up for the difference in cc's and yes much more responsive just like autos.

 

The Foreman is an air cooled 475cc engine. The Rancher is a 420cc Liquid cooled EFI engine. The more aggressive tune with liquid cooling, EFI, and lighter weight make the Rancher a quicker machine than the Foreman. The Foreman is overdue for some engine updates but for now I think the Rancher is a better value.

 

Go with the Rancher 420, has quick acceleration, lots of torque, and its fast. Like I said I would go for the TRX420FM but for a person at your age I think the ES will be good for you. And the fuel injected makes a huge difference!!!!! Quick throtle response too!

 

Sort of on the topic...I just switched all the machines over to NGK Iridium plugs due to constant fouling (I wonder if it's gas quality) and wondered if anyone has had similar problem and the subsequent results? I didn't go to hotter plugs in anything as I want to test these out for a while. cleaning fouled plugs everytime we wanted to take out the toys was getting to be a pain. My Ranchers and the Predator were immune most of the timme, the Ranchers are running hot plugs while my daughter winds out the Predator enough to not worry too much...

BTW- nice write up on the 420. I was considering one recently, but haven't finalized...not that I really even need one right now...the 350 FM does pretty good on the plow.