I want a 420 rancher and here is the problem. To get a speedo, hour meter, etc. you have to get the ES model, but I see a lot of posts about ES problems. So what are the majority of people's opinions on the ES model Hondas?

 

ES's get their problems from "goin deep", other wise known as riding in water higher then factory allows. I've heard alot about water in the angle sensor, or the sensor itself failing. My fiance has the 07' AT and has no problems as of yet(though she doesn't ride deep). I on the other hand have the 07' Foreman ES and have already had water in my main ES switch harness under the front fender with less than 12 hours on the machine(pulled the fenders and greased all the connectors and it's been fine since). If you go with an ES or AT model, I highly suggest removing your fenders and greasing all the connectors FIRST before going into the water.....

 

Is this the first ES you have owned?

 

Yes, my dad has a 99' fourtrax 300 and an 05' rancher 350 at home that are S models and have performed flawlessly. We just went out and bought these two machines(07' rancher and foreman) this spring and after greasing the connections, have worked flawlessly. I was a little upset when I first started getting error codes for the ES shifter, because I had spent over a month asking different dealerships if they've had issues with water in the ES models and EVERY one of them said no. Then I get it into the woods and it's starts malfunctioning, with less than 15 hours on the hour meter. But I don't think it was the woods, it was the fact that every time after we ride, we wash the machines with pressure washers and the connection that was wet was under the left fender well and gets direct blasts from the high pressure water. So kinda my fault, haha.....

 

We sell more ESP models than manual shift models .. They seldom fail ..

 

If it helps, my friends gf has a polaris and EVERY time we go into the woods something happens with it. Wether the shifter sticks and we have to use a screw driver to shift it or the battery dies or the engine overheats, etc......

 

It seems they are overall reliable. I want a geared machine that is very reliable. I don't get in deep water often (much above the floor boards) but do occasionally. I have had a 00 Prarie 300 for about 8 years and my dad has a 84 Honda three wheeler both have been really good and if the Rancher is as good as the other two I have had it will be great.

 

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: wilber15

If it helps, my friends gf has a polaris and EVERY time we go into the woods something happens with it. Wether the shifter sticks and we have to use a screw driver to shift it or the battery dies or the engine overheats, etc......</end quote></div>

Thats not really going to help in this post since he is looking at a Honda Rancher and you are comparing it to a Polaris, which in my experience are a bag of trouble, especially the old ones.

The ES is OK, some people have trouble with sensors over time, but a good coat of dielectric grease at day one sure helps alot. Sucks that Honda failed the consumer by not offering the guage cluster on the manual shift like they do on the foremans.

 

I guess if I was you, I'de try to find the older TRX300 4x4 and buy one of those. Find a grandpa that used it strictly for farm use. Those machines are indestructible. I've had my dad's through more stuff then I care to think about, and we've never had a problem(except a failed front wheel bearing). It's seen rivers to the rack, rolled twice, and more more miles then I'de care to count. And it's till runnin strong!

 

What I've seen of the ES system, so far I like but I really don't have enough time on the machine to give a good opinion, less than 100 miles. Shiftening was pretty notchy at first but is getting smoother on each ride.

Now if you wanna talk about the vibration in the grips, then I can flat out say, it's terrible. I've already changed to the BikeMaster foam grips with little improvement vs the factory grips. Would I go back to the stock grips, NO, but I will be looking for something better.

Other than the vibration problem, I really like the machine. Very comfortable to ride.