Well, I took my '08 420TE out for it's first voyage this past weekend, and I must say...I'm quite impressed with this little bugger.

We went on a 40 mile jaunt through some pretty tough desert terrain (whoops, rocky hillclimbs, loose downhills, sand hills), and the mighty 420 had no problem with anything I put it through.

I already have Skid Plates, but I was wondering if any place offers a Steering Stabilizer?? I noticed that with the 6" of travel, running hard through whoops really made the front end squirrly and I had to back off to keep it under me.

Does anyone have knowledge of who offers accessories for the Rancher 420???

Thanks in advance!!!

 

Anyone???...Please????

My arms will be forever grateful...[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

 

better tires with stiffer side walls will help.....theres not a lot of after market stuff yet for the 420

but im starting to see a lot of new one so it will not be long

 

I don't think the aftermarket 420 market has quite taken off yet.....

I haven't started looking in earnest just yet, but I would like a better skid plate than the rather soft stock one. I want to keep this machine light, so I think I will check out the light but very tough Maier plastic skids when the time comes.

Tires can make a big difference! I like the stock tires on this machine, but when I rode the deep snow in the mountains this winter, they just didn't cut it. I pulled the 25" ITP Holeshot ATR tires on ITP rims off my old Rancher 350 (a superb snow machine!), and put them on the 420 and it made all the difference in the world! I ride deep snow with big bore IRS machines, and they can't get any further up the trail in the snow than I do!

The nice thing about the ITP tires/rims, they increase the ground clearance to 8" and make it considerably wider....for a lot more stability! But....I do pick up a little bump steer and the steering fights me in 4wd (like it has lockers).

As for a stabilizer, maybe you can adapt something from another machine. I have always liked Denton stabilizers...might be able to cob one on in some way, but here isn't much room in the front end of this machine to cram a stabilizer in there. Might also want to look at the ones that attach at the steering stem?

I see you are in So. Calif. We mostly ride our utilities in the local SB Mountains (great snow riding!), the eastern Sierra, Inyo, and White mountains. These all make great riding places in summer, when the desert is to hot!!!

 

Rob-I think I had some conversations with you a few years ago about D37 desert racing. Turns out that my life insurance policies are void if I race, so I had to pass that up.

Anyway, are you familiar with the trails in the local mountains??? Now that you have the Rancher, we have a small group of folks from here in the forum that do rides up there from time to time (snow rides are our favorites). Anyway, if you would like to join us sometime let us know...makes a good place to ride when the desert is hot.

We are also planning an Inyo Mountains ride (Lone Pine area) in the late spring, and we do Sierra rides (Bishop/Mammoth area) frequently during the summers.

 

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: reconranger

Rob-I think I had some conversations with you a few years ago about D37 desert racing. Turns out that my life insurance policies are void if I race, so I had to pass that up.



Anyway, are you familiar with the trails in the local mountains??? Now that you have the Rancher, we have a small group of folks from here in the forum that do rides up there from time to time (snow rides are our favorites). Anyway, if you would like to join us sometime let us know...makes a good place to ride when the desert is hot.



We are also planning an Inyo Mountains ride (Lone Pine area) in the late spring, and we do Sierra rides (Bishop/Mammoth area) frequently during the summers.</end quote></div>

Yeah...sounds like a great time. The only downside is I'm racing almost every weekend from January to the end of November..[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

On the Rancher, I was thinking about looking at the different set-ups with other stabilizers for the sport quads and seeing which one could work. I already installed ITP C-Series T7 wheels with 25" Maxxis Bighorns, and a set Richochet skids. I did notice a big difference in the handling, but still too loose for me. Maybe I'm just used to the 11" of travel on my YFZ....LOL.

I've never owned a Utility before, so maybe I just simply need more seat time to get used to how it reacts on different terrain. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img] [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

Thanks for the advise, Wayne, and if I get some time off this summer, we can contact each other and get a few rides in.

 

No downtime during the hot summer months????

The 420 is a good choice for someone who is use to a high performance sport quad. I have ridden lots of different top of the line big bore utilities, and they all scare me to death! Huge, heavy, top heavy, mushy suspension with lots of body roll....best to keep it medium size and light as possible! My one complaint about the 420 is the weight. To keep the price down, they didn't put on many alloy parts....