I'm thinking about getting a new 4-wheeler and all I've ever had is Honda. My first (and I still have it) was a '92 300TRX 2wd followed quickly by another one a couple of months later that was identical. My wife and I used them non-stop around the farm and for pleasure. I bought a 350 4x4 Rancher with manual shift in '05 and it's been as trouble-free as the first two.

I'm ready to step it up a notch and get a Foreman or a Rincon to replace one of the '92 models ( the other '92 is in excellent condition...I'm keeping it.)

Money is not the big issue as it was with the first three. Which would you pick for plenty of power, best reliabilty, must be 4x4, and best over-all machine?

Oh yeah...must be a Honda. The first three have just been too good to even think about switching brands.

 

If you work a lot with it, definately the Foreman. But if you only do some work and trail ride or whatever else, the rincon would be fine.

 

Rancher 420!!! Fuel injected, water cooled, good suspension....if you liked the Rancher 350, you will love the 420! Avoid the ES shifting option!

Foreman is a good choice if you mostly do work, and occasional trail riding. One of the magazines had the Rancher along when they were evaluating the Foreman, and they said the Rancher was way more "fun".

The Rincon is more of a cruiser. Even Honda calls it an "SUV", and not a utility quad. It gets good reviews for the ride, but I don't see it as a machine for hard core technical trail riding. It has no engine braking at low speed (it's all brakes), so that's a total killer for me.

 

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>It has no engine braking at low speed (it's all brakes), so that's a total killer for me. </end quote></div>

But at least its all disks brakes,which can not be said of the rest.

 

my sister had my 420 for a month on her farm and didnt want to give it back........she really liked it

and get the ES its very nice

 

I'd say you would likely be happy with the 420 Rancher, which is a snappy and sporty handling machine. Although it is a little smaller, it feels smaller than it is. To me they feel a bit too small. The other disadvantage is ground clearance.

I actually enjoy the Foreman as a trail quad. It handles well and power slides well. Not at snappy feeling as the 420 Rancher, probably due in part to the extra weight, but I think it has better low end torque and if you tow/haul heavy I think I'd pick it over the Rancher. Electric power steering is an option that I think I would get if I were to buy a Foreman today. They are pretty light steering, but it would tame kickback when you smack that rock hidden in the grass. Also when I did farm work, I rode a lot with one hand, while spraying, or holding down the gas can on the back rack while going out to service wheel movers, or whatever...

Both the Foreman and Rancher come in foot shift, or electric shift with push buttons on the bar. Unless you really don't like a foot shifter, I'd avoid the ES. Newer ones are said to be more reliable than older versions, so if a person really wanted push buttons I'd get it, but if you don't- may as well keep it simple.

The Rubicon is similar to the Foreman, except 2 valve liquid cooling, and a hydrostatic automatic. They are well suited for heavy dragging and plowing, and are a bit quicker to shift between forward and reverse that the Foreman or Rancher.

The Rincon is mainly geared to recreational trail riding, but it will handle some plowing or towing. It is honda's only independent rear suspension machine, and it rides much softer over rough stuff at speed. Downhill engine braking starts at about 6 mph, and going down a super steep hill it will get up to about 12 mph on engine braking only, in a situation where the other 3 machines mentioned could hold about 2 without using the brakes.

Although I wish it had a tractor crawling gear, I don't find using the brakes a big deal, and it is actually my favoriate of the Hondas for technical riding, but then big boulders tend to be strewn around where I ride, which favors the extra ground clearance of the Rincon.


Everybody's personal preference is different, and everyone rides in different conditions. I'd suggest a good test ride on all of them. The Rancher, Rubicon, Foreman, and Rincon all have an excellent repuation for reliability.

 

Everyone's input has been very helpful. Especially you JeffinTD.

I do ride alot one-handed holding a spayer wand, hand tools or whatever in the other (make your own joke here about my one-handed riding with "whatever" in the other). On occassion I've even roped small calves for tagging (quite a spectable roping off of a 4-wheeler) so I may benefit from power steering. Never thought about the "kick-back" being minimized when you hit a rock or other obstacle. But I guess it would sure minimize it.

I pull a single axle 5'x10' tilt trailer with a 4-wheeler a lot too. When you get the slightest load on the trailer going up an incline it is just all the 300's and 350 Rancher can do to pull it in second gear. Also in deep water/mud the smaller displacement engines really struggle unless you're in first gear.

I just plain need a little more power. A lot more would be even better.

 

Oh yeah. I am also staying away from Electronic shift. Either foot shift or hydrostatic.

BTW-I didn't even know they made 'em with hydrostatic. I'd love to hear from someone who has one or has ridden one.

 

I've ridden them. They hold quite a bit of oil (like 5 1/2 quarts, or something like that). It can run in two different auto modes, or you can put it in a push to shift mode, where it will emulate a geared transmission and let you shift between 5 preset ratios with up/down buttons on the bar.

They are generally quite reliable, but occasionally an angle sensor, bad connector, shift motor, or other problem will crop up. If you search rubicon, you will find a number of threads where people post about the dash flashing and the engine kind of bogging- where the machine has set an error code and gone into limp mode.

I kind of enjoy shifting, so I went with the Forman, and am quite happy with it. If I wanted a SRA auto, though, I wouldn't hesitate to get the Rubicon.

I should also mention that the Rincon can run in auto mode, or if you like to control when it shifts you can put it in a mode where you choose what gear it is in wth up and down buttons.

Lastly, if you are towing a trailer with a lot of hitch weight, independent rear suspension can squat the suspension quite a bit, where a solid rear axle won't, since generally the hitch is attached to the rear axle.

 

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: marlin39d

Oh yeah. I am also staying away from Electronic shift. Either foot shift or hydrostatic.



BTW-I didn't even know they made 'em with hydrostatic. I'd love to hear from someone who has one or has ridden one.</end quote></div>

Both the 500 Rubicon,and 680 Rincon have the hydrostatic tranny,but the Rubicon has a "low range" option the Rincon does not, which is nice for when the going get tough.