Ok im am looking to purchase a used honda rancher i wanted to know what you think as far as 350,400,420 and manual shift, electric shift, or automatic?

i live in ohio and plan to use it for trail riding and playin in some mud!
i plan to get the warn 424 switch and a warn winch what do you think about that?
as far as size of winch and is the 424 worth it? wheres the best place to buy accessories?

 

i have a rancher 350 manual shift and love it. From reading all the problems people seem to have with the electric shift i wouldn't touch one with a 10 foot pole but that is just my opinion. The 420 with fuel injection would be nice though. I have a 2500lb warn winch on mine and i plan to buy the 424 eventually. The best price i have found for the 424 is on ebay for 298 shipped.

 

The Rancher 350 is a sweet little machine. Well balanced and stable, but a little underpowered. Mine is 10 years old, and still as good as the day it was new!!!

It is the only one that will need a Warn 424...all the other models have selectable 2wd/4wd from the factory. This is the machine you are most likely to end up with if you are on a budget and buying used.

Rancher 400AT automatic is to be avoided! A fair number of posts in here from folks having trouble with this transmission! Honda discontinued it after only a couple of years...perhaps for some good reason (????). Why buy into possible expensive trouble?

The Rancher 420 is hot and handles as well as a lot of sport quads. Again, well balanced and stable. Power rips right off the bottom. Improved over the 350 in every way, especially power and suspension!

The new Rancher 420AT has IRS and a unique all new gear-on-gear transmission, that can be shifted automatically or manually. The magazine reviews have been favorable, but we have not seen any first hand reviews from actual owners in here yet. (Bad timing! Probably not selling well because of the slow economy. This will probably be my next purchase.)

Complaints....They are all to heavy for my taste, but comparable to other utes in the 400 class.

Probably best to avoid the ES shifting option, and stick with foot shift! If you love the idea and simply must have it then go ahead, but it is the single most common "problem" post here in the Honda forum, so you may be buying into future problems.

Caution....I have no personal experience with mud (thank God!), but probably none of these are going to make a monster mud bogger......

 

I love my Rancher 420, and once you put a good set of tires on it the machine will really perform. I dont go through heavy mud but what i do go through the factory tires just didnt cut it so i changedt them out and now I have no problen at all for the terrain that i drive in. But the whole Rancher line is just a bunch of great atvs.

 

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

The Rancher 350 is a sweet little machine. Well balanced and stable, but a little underpowered. Mine is 10 years old, and still as good as the day it was new!!!



It is the only one that will need a Warn 424...all the other models have selectable 2wd/4wd from the factory. This is the machine you are most likely to end up with if you are on a budget and buying used.



Rancher 400AT automatic is to be avoided! A fair number of posts in here from folks having trouble with this transmission! Honda discontinued it after only a couple of years...perhaps for some good reason (????). Why buy into possible expensive trouble?



The Rancher 420 is hot and handles as well as a lot of sport quads. Again, well balanced and stable. Power rips right off the bottom. Improved over the 350 in every way, especially power and suspension!



The new Rancher 420AT has IRS and a unique all new gear-on-gear transmission, that can be shifted automatically or manually. The magazine reviews have been favorable, but we have not seen any first hand reviews from actual owners in here yet. (Bad timing! Probably not selling well because of the slow economy. This will probably be my next purchase.)



Complaints....They are all to heavy for my taste, but comparable to other utes in the 400 class.



Probably best to avoid the ES shifting option, and stick with foot shift! If you love the idea and simply must have it then go ahead, but it is the single most common "problem" post here in the Honda forum, so you may be buying into future problems.



Caution....I have no personal experience with mud (thank God!), but probably none of these are going to make a monster mud bogger......</end quote></div>

You and IRS say it ain't so LOL [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img] just playin with ya!

 

The reviews say that the Rancher 420AT IRS is tight, so it isn't going to dive when you are off-camber. I have been on some really sloppy long travel huge utes, and the low side would dive in bad off-camber situations. Pretty thrilling on a 700 pound ute, on the edge of a cliff!

 

I think that the 420 AT looks like a nice midsize ute I would like to give one a spin just to see what it is like!

 

Let me say that if you do wind up with the 350...install a 424! Best mod you can make on the Rancher 350 4x4!
I can't speak for the 420 or other machines but I really like my manual shift and I have no reason to upgrade to a 420 or even larger machine because of no more than I ride.

 

thanks im probably going to get a manual shift rancher 350 4x4 and get the 424 by warn thanks a bunch!!!!

 

put a set of 26" mud tires on it and it will be awsome...lots of brands to choose from ..in my opinion the kenda bear claws are great in the mud and not as heavy as exicutioners ,and some other brands,so the 350 should turn them well
.
I have an older 300FW 4x4 with the warn 424 kit and some 27" exicutioners and lifted to the max ...and i love it ...but the lighter bear claws don't strain the machine as much and 26 is the largest recomended size for the 350 or 300