I don,t think I would jump to 27" . A jump from 24" to 26" should be plenty.
Another trick is just rock the ATV from side to side and both front wheels will take a turn turning.
You have to be in pretty nasty stuff for diff lock to needed.
Our trials are rough ,narrow and slow but 2wd still enough 80% of the time.

Larger tires would give the Rancher a nice beefy look also even when parked it would look better vs stock..

 

But I ride in really soft swampy stuff and sometimes diff lock makes all the difference.

 

Foremans are very nimble so I don't think you will have a problem n tight trails but it all comes down to the gearing. If you ride slower thru rough terrain than the Foremans gearing will do much better. You should however test out a IRS rancher and see if you find it tippy first. IRS can feel tippy but the rancher has stiffer shocks and a lower travel than most IRS ATVs so it may not be a problem. I think Honda does the best job avoiding that problem with a IRS based on my rincon compared to my Can Ams and my friends bikes (Yamaha Griz, Brute, sportsman) yet it doesn't feel any less comfortable

 

Your correct, you tap the front break a little bit till you hear the click and it will spin both wheels. I have to say tho, my 08 rubicon usually spins both anyways without doing this but my rincon needs the brake tap more. I had a 99 foreman 400 that would never spin both so I'm guessing Honda made improvements throughout the yrs but I'm not really sure. But if you get a 2014 rancher it will come with Dif Lock from what I read so it doesn't matter

 

The irs rancher I don't like the electric shift and ppl say Honda's auto doesn't work very well.

 

I don't think the 2014 rancher will have diff lock I'm pretty sure that it is still going to have trax lok. Go on youtube and look up 2014 honda rancher and it should be the first vid. It never says that the rancher will have diff lock to.

 

I think Honda must have the E.S sorted out. My friends 2006 Foreman 500 has not acted up yet and he bought it new.
Its nice to not to foot shift in the deep goo sometimes.

 

Yea I think your right, I misread it. As far as the trans go, You may want to be the judge on how you like it. Most people who actually own the bike love the auto trans. Most people who talk bad about it are either biased toward Hondas in general or have never ridden it. I have never riden a 420AT so I can't comment on the Auto trans. The magazines for the most part like the AT auto trans a lot but idk how much you rely on them

 

Yea the recon I have now has the foot shift I love it very reliable. my friend has a 2006 honda recon es that thing has got jammed once or twice but never used an auto.