Thanks to all of you....After putting out some fillers I have some tough choices to make. I had that repo guy show up with two new deals. He has a Honda 500 Foreman 4X4 2006 with 84 miles on it. The thing looks brand new. The shifter is on the left at the handle bar. Then he has a 2006 Polaris 500 ES, 4X4 H & L with Mossy Oak patten with 900 miles on it and its automatic. I love the thought of the automatic but again I have never owned one of these myself just rode other folks.

The Honda is $ 4450 and the Polaris is $ 4700.

What do you experts think?

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A buddy of mine had an Eiger auto. It is a little physically larger than a 420 rancher, ride is a little softer, but it is not nearly as snappy. They seem to have a pretty good reputation for reliability, and my buddy never had any problems. That being said, if it were my choice I'd opt for a 4x4 420 Rancher if I were choosing between those two. (The Rancher has an excellent reputation for reliability).

Regarding the Foreman and the Polaris, I have a 500 Foreman 4x4. It is also physically larger than the Rancher, probably with more bottom end torque, but not as snappy. It is heavier, and IMHO better suited for heavy towing, plowing, and work. I enjoy it as a trail quad. It's solid rear axle doesn't ride as smoothly as independent rear suspension, but it corners flatter and is easy to slide the rear around. The electric shift (ES) buttons on the later ones are said to be much better than previous ES machines, however a foot shift would still be my preference. The Foremans also have an excellent reputation for reliability, though you read about bad sensor or dirty connector or whatever sometimes causing problems on the ES ones.

Regarding the Polaris, I believe it is independent rear suspension. Engine braking system might be optional (?). I've never owned a Polaris, and talking with friends who have had them is kind of strange, in that some folks complain that they are in the shop all the time, and others tell me about owning several with many thousands of trouble free miles on all of them...

Good Luck in what you choose. The Eiger 4x4 would be worth considering if it is cheap enough. Otherwise, I think if I were in your shoes I'd wait for a foot shift Foreman to come along if you want a larger machine, or a foot shift 4x4 Rancher if you prefer something a little lighter, smaller and snappier.

 

I had a conversaiton with with the owner of my Honda dealer about him expanding into other brands (Honda is the only think he sells). Polaris is on the top of this list due to their not being any other dealer in the area.

He's primarily looking into it for the Snowmobile aspect (he serviced my Polaris Sleds) and said the same thing about their Quads "in the shop all the time" Honda's come back in for general service if at all. He's hesitant to take Polaris Quads on for that reason.

 

I would not go for the polaris, I would rather choose the Suzuki over that, the foreman would be a great choice but like jeffintd said a footshift would probably be better, I have auto and electric shift on my rancher AT and if it only had electric shift then I would prefer footshift as this frees one hand up, that it what I like about my rancher, when I am hunting I put it in auto and I have one hand free, But if the price is right for you on the foreman then go for it, they are a great quad.

 

The 06 Foreman would be nice but they were still getting the ES parts from China in that year. They are now getting them from Japan and are working much better. I love my ES Rancher. It shifts harder than the foot shift but seems to be a bit smoother and easier for someone that is not use to riding the foot shift. I have driven foot shifts all my life and dont mind them either...just prefer the ES. My dad just got a 07 4x4 Rancher with foot shift and it handles overall much different than my 08 2x4 Rancher ES.

I have had friends with Polaris models full auto and they had many issues with these. Also, the full auto in any model (havent tried the honda AT) seem to not have as much pull from a dead start. This could certainly be just my experience though. I personally like changing gears so that I can make it do exactly what I want....but I like the ES so that my wife can drive it easily enough too.

Like I said before...you can get an 07 Rancher 4x4 foot shift for $4583 and the ES for 4733. If you are already looking at used quads for this price range, then I would still consider the new 07 Rancher. IMO....the Foreman is a great quad...but a bit too big for me. I ride a lot of trails that it might not fit through. I also like the ease of slinging the Rancher around if needed.

Hope this helps.

 

Great info from all of you. I love your passion on this forum. I appreciate each one of your responses. I am going to look at these two choices today so I will let you know what I do.

Thanks again!